Dear Supporters,
Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation, Inc. was founded as a not-for-profit organization eight years ago. As a start-up we quickly gained momentum by hiring excellent advisors and adhering to our science-driven agenda.
We have some exciting news to share with you. My colleague, Jonathan M. Wainwright, one of our founding members and senior counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, has taken over as your new President. Sid Perkins is now filling Jonathan’s former role as Treasurer. Annie Hall and Anna Chapman will remain as Vice President and Secretary and Kathy Rayner and I will continue to serve on the board.
Because of your generous past support, FOGP has been able to implement a watershed-wide, multi-pronged approach to remediate the glaring water quality problems confronting Georgica Pond eight years ago. At that time, there were pond-wide toxic blue-green algae blooms, fish kills and low dissolved oxygen. Carpets of decaying algae and pondweed covered the pond. There hasn’t been a pond-wide blue-green algae bloom or fish kill for over five years and dissolved oxygen levels have been excellent.
Under the leadership of Dr. Christopher Gobler, one of the world’s experts on harmful algal blooms, FOGP has worked on in-pond and watershed-wide programs to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering Georgica Pond. At least 54 households have either already installed or are in the planning process to install low-nitrogen I/A (innovative & alternative) septic systems. This is the single most important thing you can do to help improve Georgica Pond’s water quality and we applaud everyone who has taken this critical step.
We have been monitoring Georgica Pond since 2015 and we now have substantial data on the ecosystem conditions and the flora and fauna that make the pond unique. With multi-year permits in place for the East Hampton Trustees to dredge the mouth of the pond and to operate the aquatic weed harvester, real water quality improvements have been made.
Our work is focused and effective. The operating budget for FOGP is $500,000 annually and we raise these funds from you, our neighbors, supporters, and friends. We must meet this goal by December 31 and I hope you will be as generous as you can to ensure a great start to this exciting new era of the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation.
We thank you for your interest and support and wish you a happy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Priscilla Rattazzi
Co-Founder & President Emerita