The North Fork Environmental Council is requesting applications for our 2026 Howard Meinke Scholarship for graduating seniors who are interested in an environmental major. To download the application, please click here. Deadline is May 1, 2026

Congratulations to our Riverhead Land Use Coordinator, Toqui Terchun, who received the 2025 Community Leader of the Year, read more about Toqui in the Riverhead News Review.

Great News for Horseshoe Crabs!

After much support and pressure from the environmental community, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act which phases out commercial horseshoe crab harvesting over three years.

New York State has finally enacted legislation to protect horseshoe crabs, ancient marine creatures that have survived for 450 million years but that are now facing mounting pressure from biomedical harvesting and habitat loss.

This bill matters far beyond New York’s coastlines because horseshoe crabs are a keystone species whose decline ripples through entire ecosystems. Red knots and other shorebirds depend on horseshoe crab eggs as a vital food source during their epic migrations, and declining crab populations have contributed to the red knot being listed as threatened. 

The horseshoe crab’s survival isn’t just about preserving a living fossil, it’s also about maintaining the intricate web of life that connects ocean health to our own wellbeing.