Yaphank Taxpayers & Civic Association

Aquatic weeds have impacted recreation and wildlife at Upper and Lower Lakes in Yaphank for years. In 2007 the Brookhaven Town Board formed the Carmans River Protection Working Group.

This group is comprised of a number of governmental, conservation, civic organizations, and local residents working together to reach a consensus on how to clean, restore, protect and preserve the entire Carmans River environment from the problem of invasive weeds.

In 2009 the group retained engineering consultants to undertake the study of the problem and to develop strategies to clean and protect the lake from the invasive species.

During the summer of 2009, the Town of Brookhaven used a harvester to mow the weeds in Lower Lake. Recent studies indicate that the harvester had no impact on the amount of weeds growing in our lake.

An Overview of Lily & Willow Lakes

Lily (Lower) Lake is 25 acres in size and has a maximum depth of 7 feet. Willow (Upper) Lake is 19 acres in size and has a maximum depth of 6 feet. Both of these lakes are a part of the Carmans River system and are located in Yaphank, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County.

As a whole, the Carmans River system is ten miles long. It starts as a freshwater river from the headwaters in Cathedral Pines County Park and continues south for 8 miles through Upper and Lower Yaphank Lakes, South Haven Pond, then flows for approximately two miles of tidal river from Sunrise Highway into Bellport Bay at the eastern portion of Great South Bay. There are four dams along the upper sections of the river located at Upper Lake, Lower Lake, Southaven Park, and Sunrise Highway.

The Carmans River is one of only 4 relatively large, undisturbed, riverine ecosystems on Long Island. Despite the presence of small dams on the river, it remains an outstanding fish and wildlife habitat in the region. All of the river encompassed by the habitat has been designated by New York State as either a "Scenic River" or a "Recreational River" (under Article 15, Title 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law) to encourage preservation and restoration of its natural scenic and recreational qualities.

Fish, Wildlife, & Plants
Lily and Willow Lakes provide a habitat that is important to a diversity of fish and wildlife species throughout the year. Our lakes provide suitable nesting habitat for osprey, various breeds of hawk, marsh wren, Great Blue Heron, owls, songbirds, ducks, mallards, trumpeter swans, geese and much more.

Other wildlife species which use the area include a variety of mammals, such as white tailed deer, eastern cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, raccoon, opossum, red fox, woodchuck, mink, and muskrat.
Our lakes also provide habitat for various reptiles and amphibians including snapping turtles. The Upper and Lower Lakes specifically support a good population of largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, black crappie, yellow perch, brown bullhead sunfish, and several other warm-water fish species. The DEC provides additional fishing opportunity during the cooler months of the year by stocking brown trout and
rainbow trout.
Vegetation along our freshwater section includes pine-oak, pepperidge trees, swamp maples and other deciduous forested wetlands. Shrubs such as sweet pepperbush, chokeberry, rose and blueberry thrive along the lake shores.

Our Lakes Need Life-Support

As representatives of the residents who reside in our hamlet, the Yaphank Taxpayer’s & Civic Association, Inc. is deeply concerned about the quality and integrity of our lakes. We have been working to restore our lakes to their former beauty but we need your help!

So what can you do?
Attend all public meetings in which plans to restore our lakes will be presented. It is critical that you express your concerns to the meeting organizers and governmental officials. Through careful planning we can ensure that our river continues to flow, and our lakes flourish not only for our residents but for the wildlife that make this their habitat.

“The care for the Carmans River is entrusted to no one single entity, it is entrusted to us ALL. “

What is the “Carmans River Protection Plan”?

The Carmans River Protection Plan proposes four overarching goals:

First, encourage land use that meets the needs of the community and the Town while also protecting the environmental health and quality of the river.

Second, for the sake of everyone and everything, improve and protect water quality both above and below the surface.

Third, protect and restore the species and biodiversity of the main kinds of habitat present in and along the River: streams and lakes; woodlands; and floodplains and riparian areas. Each sort of habitat has strengths and vulnerabilities to be understood in its nature.

Fourth, reduce the territory invaded and held by non-native plant species, and encourage the return to dominance of native ones.