The Premium River - Pine Brook Wetlands are located on

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

in the City of New Rochelle, Town of Mamaroneck, and the Village of Larchmont in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The fish and wildlife habitat is an approximately 65 acre area including Pine Brook south of the

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

, the Premium River,

Premium Mill-Pond Premium Mill-Pond is located in the communities of New Rochelle and Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. The mill-pond is situated northeast of Echo Bay, between the Premium Point peninsula and the mainland. It is fed by the Premium Rive ...

, the northeast portion of Echo Bay, and Pryer Manor Marsh.The land area bordering the wetlands complex is predominantly moderate density residential and commercial. The portion of the habitat area within Mamaroneck and Larchmont was designated as a 'Critical Environmental Area' under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

Fish and wildlife values

The Premium River - Pine Brook Wetlands area is a diverse and relatively undeveloped complex of

tidal river A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are influenced by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it has been given a separate name. Generally, tidal ri ...

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

, shallows,

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

and freshwater

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

which is unusual in Westchester County. Although adjacent and upstream developments and water pollution have degraded this area, the wetland complex remains undeveloped and the range of natural communities in this area support a diversity of fish and wildlife species. Local efforts are underway to preserve, maintain and restore the wetlands. As an initial step, the Department of State has funded the development of a wetland restoration and management plan for the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont. The productive salt marshes, tidal flats and shallows serve as nursery and feeding areas for a variety of finfish species including alewife,

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

blackfish Blackfish is a common name for the following species of fish, dolphins, and whales: Fish * Alaska blackfish, (''Dallia pectoralis''), an Esocidae from Alaska, Siberia and the Bering Sea islands * Black fish (''Carassioides acuminatus'') a cyprin ...

bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

winter flounder The winter flounder (''Pseudopleuronectes americanus''), also known as the black back, is a right-eyed ("dextral") flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to coastal waters of the western north Atlantic coast, from Labrador, Canada to ...

, summer

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...

, porgy,

weakfish The weakfish, ''Cynoscion regalis'', is a marine fish of the drum family Sciaenidae. A medium-large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark brown in color with a greenish t ...

, silversides and

killifish A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish (including families Aplocheilidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Profundulidae and Valenciidae). All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest family ...

. Shellfish found in the area include hard

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two she ...

, soft clam, blue

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

, American

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

and bay

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

. Although the area was once used for planting and harvesting oysters, the entire area is now closed to shell-fishing due to degraded water quality (high coliform levels). A variety of coastal wildlife species occur in and around the Premium River - Pine Brook Wetlands. Nesting bird species include

black-crowned night heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

, ring-necked

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

, mute

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

and killdeer. Many species of waterfowl, shorebirds, marsh birds and passerine species feed in the area as residents during the summer and also during spring and fall migrations. Large concentrations of black

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

occur during migrations and in recent years,

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

have been observed migrating through the area. Overwintering species include common

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

, American coot, greater scaup, lesser scaup, northern shoveler,

, common goldeneye, canvasback, common

merganser ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Merg ...

, hooded merganser and red-breasted merganser. The use of this area by waterfowl in winter is influenced by the extent of ice cover on Premium Mill Pond.

Impact assessment

The combination of this area's diverse natural communities and wildlife and its proximity to New York City and the densely populated region of

makes the Premium River - Pine Brook Wetlands area significant for informal nature study, birding, photography, environmental education and research. Any activity that would further degrade the water quality in Premium, River, Pine Brook, Premium Mill Pond and associated wetlands would impair the biological productivity of this area. Species of fish and wildlife may be affected by water pollution such as chemical contamination, oil spills, excessive sedimentation, waste disposal, and sewage discharges. Efforts should be made to improve water quality in the area by controlling runoff and waste discharge from adjacent and upstream commercial and residential areas and by improving tidal flushing. Elimination of freshwater wetlands, salt marsh and inter-tidal areas through excavation or filling, would result in a direct loss of valuable habitat area. Natural plant communities bordering the wetlands should be maintained to provide cover for wildlife, erosion control, and buffer zones.

Fish and wildlife values

Impact assessment

References

See also