Most years, more than 750,000 people are attracted to the park facilities and resources of Fire Island National Seashore. Millions of people come to Fire Island each year. Keeping the park clean and green is important.

Climate Friendly Parks / Clean Marina Initiative

In 2008, Fire Island National Seashore will join the Climate Friendly Parks Program (CFP). A collaboration of the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this program provides national parks with comprehensive support, management tools and resources to address climate change both within park boundaries and in surrounding communities.

The Climate Friendly Park program is expected to:

• measure park-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• develop sustainable strategies to mitigate these emissions and to adapt to climate change impacts, and
• educate the public about these efforts.

Fire Island National Seashore facilities include public marinas at Watch Hill and Sailors Haven.

The Clean Marina Program initiated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also expected to be implemented at Fire Island National Seashore in 2008.    

In addition to the National Park Service operated marinas, there are municipal and privately owned marinas within the boundaries of the park on Fire Island.

Learn More

You may learn more about climate change and its impact on National Parks around the country by perusing the following sites:

• Climate Change (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency)
• National Park Service Critical Issues: Global Climate Change (National Park Service: Nature & Science)
• • Climate Change in National Parks
  • Global Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise (National Park Service: Nature & Science)
• Relative Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of National Park Units to Sea-Level Rise (USGS Woods Hole Science Center)
• • Relative Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) to Sea-Level Rise (USGS Woods Hole Science Center)
  • Vulnerability of National Park Service Beaches to Inundation During a Direct Hurricane Landfall (USGS)
• Guiding Principles of Sustainable Design (National Park Service: Denver Service Center)

Planning for Today and Tomorrow

Fire Island National Seashore is in the middle of its general management planning (GMP) process, which began in the summer of 2006.

Principles of the Climate Friendly Park program and sustainable design will be incorporated into future plans for Fire Island National Seashore facilities.

Park staff and partners are also committed to implementing best practices and creating a more sustainable future today.