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By Rita J. Egan

Hundreds visited Long Beach in Nissequogue on Saturday, Sept. 7, to satisfy their curiosity about Stony Brook Harbor and the waterway’s inhabitants.

The villages of Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue, along with The Friends of Stony Brook Harbor, partnered to host Harbor Day at the Long Beach boat launch with Stony Brook Harbor as its background. Last year, the event returned after a 15-year hiatus.

Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith presented Peter Scully, Suffolk’s former deputy county executive, with The Friends of Stony Brook Harbor Lifetime Achievement Award. “There is no better candidate,” Smith said.

The mayor congratulated Scully, who resides in Stony Brook and grew up in St. James, on his longtime commitment to improving the health of local waterways, including his work with nitrogen remediation during his tenure with the county.

Upon accepting the award, Scully, dubbed Suffolk’s “water czar” when he was deputy county executive, said he didn’t consider himself a water champion but someone who had been in the right place at the right time on many occasions “working with a lot of outstanding elected officials.”

Environmentalist John Turner, of Setauket and the Four Harbors Audubon Society, accepted the Dr. Larry Swanson Environmental Award from Head of the Harbor Mayor Michael Utvesky. 

“Name any endangered part of nature on Long Island, and John L. Turner will be there to help preserve it,” Utevsky said.

Turner said he was honored to accept the same recognition as the 2023 recipient, Suffolk County Legislator Steven Englebright (D-Setauket), and the award that bears Swanson’s name.

“I knew Larry and had a great deal of respect for him,” Turner said. 

In addition to the awards ceremony, attendees enjoyed various activities including live music, a talk by historian Vivian Nicholson-Mueller about harbor life in the 1860s and a dunk tank. Representatives from Four Harbors Audubon Society, Sweetbriar Nature Center, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons and more were on hand with educational activities and to answer questions about Stony Brook Harbor and its aquatic animals.