NYSG's Recreation Specialist Dave White (at right), who received a certificate at a 50th anniversary event held in Wayne County this past June, will retire this November after 38 years with Sea Grant. Credit: Becky Shuford/NYSG

Stony Brook and Ithaca, NY, September 21, 2022 - This fall, we close the chapter on 50 years of New York Sea Grant (NYSG) working with coastal residents, communities, businesses and teachers, among others, along New York's marine, Great Lakes and Hudson River coasts … and we embark on a new one.

Since New York Sea Grant was established in 1971, our coastal program has provided nearly $180 million for university research, education, and outreach projects, sponsored conferences, seminars and workshops on vital coastal issues, and made it possible for more than 870 students to access graduate school training. 

Learn more about our program’s five plus decades of “Bringing Science to the Shore,” visit www.nyseagrant.org/NYSGat50, where you can check out the eight page NYSG at 50 — Through the Years (pdf; flipbook; web version) and pursue our recently expanded NY Coastlines archive at www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines. Also, we’ve been serving up #NYSGat50 highlights on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram since last October and will continue to do so throughout this year.

In Photos: #NYSGat50 Celebrations

Throughout Summer 2020, NYSG held several 50th anniversary events, including one at Jones Beach on Long Island and another one in Wayne County, which is in New York's North Country. Here are some photos from the events, along with reflections from some of NYSG's partners and legislators who support NYSG and its work ...

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center, Wantagh, NY — June 28, 2022


Sunset at Jones Beach, one of several locations statewide that was host to #NYSGat50 events. An array of NYSG partners and supporters were in attendance, including members of the program's Board of Governors and Program Advisory Council and staff from various state, county, and local agencies. Credit: Sarah Anker

"While the event was on the South Shore, and I’m an elected official from the North Shore, it’s important to remember that we are one island," said Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillittti (NY-16). "We share the same natural resources, the same love for the water and the same mission to protect our Ocean, Sound, Harbors and Bays for our next generation. New York Sea Grant has been working to teach our neighbors and our next generation about sustainability, and resiliency. Thank you for everything you have done, and everything you will continue to do, for our State, our Island, and both of our shores."


(l-r) Michael Reid, Chief of Staff for Senator John E. Brooks (NY-8); NYS Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillittti (NY-16); Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker; NYSG Associate Director Kathy Bunting-Howarth; NYSG Director Becky Shuford; Dr. Andrew Knecht, Deputy Commissioner of Health, representing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman; NYS Assemblyman Steve Englebright (NY-4). Credit: Sarah Anker

"New York Sea Grant has been a wonderful partner to the County," said Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker. "I have had the pleasure of working directly with folks like New York Sea Grant’s Director Becky Shuford, [NYSG's Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist] Kathleen Fallon and NYSG's Sustainable and Resilient Communities (Suffolk County) extension professional] Elizabeth Hornstein on many projects in my district. Just recently, through legislation that I sponsored, New York Sea Grant developed a 15-lesson curriculum for our local schools on ocean pollution and marine debris called, Plastic Pollution and You. Additionally, I have worked with Hornstein and Fallon to provide Coastal Erosion presentations throughout the district to educate coastal homeowners about what is happening on our county’s bluffs and what we can do to mitigate and prevent further erosion in our area."

"Additionally, they have partnered with all levels of government, businesses, industries, educators and community members to implement impactful policy and provide free access to curriculum and educational resources including, Plastic Pollution and You, Freedom Seekers, Covering the Climate in the Classroom, IFISHNY Lesson Plans and much more."

"Through passion, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to preserving and supporting New York State’s natural coastal environments, New York Sea Grant has provided a great service to the residents of Suffolk County and the State of New York."


(at left) SBU Provost Dr. Carl Lejuez and (at right) Dr. Paul Shepson, NYSG Board of Governors member and Dean of Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences shared remarks on the past, present, future of New York Sea Grant. Credit: Rebecca Shuford/NYSG


(l-r) Kathleen Fallon, NYSG's Coastal Processes and Hazards Specialist; Emma Forbes, NYSG's NY Aquaculture Specialist; Sara Powell, Sustainable and Resilient Communities (Westchester County) extension professional. Credit: Barbara Branca

"NYSG has been a steady fixture in marine restoration for the past decades [and] we have collaborated on many initiatives in their mission to Bring Science to the Shore," said the Marine Team at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

"I love the work that we do with New York Sea Grant and [I'm] proud to participate in [its] 50th Anniversary Celebration!" said Mary Yates Ford, Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS).

Wayne County — June 23, 2022


Credit: Becky Shuford/NYSG

"It was a beautiful morning in Sodus as we celebrated New York Sea Grant's 50th year of Bringing Science to the Shore!" said Pam Helming, New York State Senator (R-54), who represents all of Wayne and Seneca counties, parts of Ontario and Cayuga counties, the Town of Lansing in Tompkins County, and the Town of Webster in Monroe County.


Credit: Becky Shuford/NYSG

"Thanks to their collaborative efforts with the Village of Sodus Point, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Wayne County Soil & Water Conservation District and partners in state and local government, this community has benefited from resilience projects that have made improvements within the village and along the shore. Thank you to all involved for your commitment to preserving and protecting our lakes and water and to securing our shoreline!"


(l-r) New York State Senator Pam Helming (R-54) and NYSG's Recreation Specialist Dave White. Credit: Pam Helming


More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.