Manursing Lake, at 80 acres in size and reaching depths of some 30 feet, is part of the 179-acre, County-owned Edith G. Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Rye City. The lake also goes by the name “Playland Lake” because it abuts the County's Playland Amusement Park. As part of one of the largest, contiguous, undeveloped coastal tracts in Westchester County, the lake and sanctuary together are designated a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat by the New York State Department of State and included in the U.S. EPA/Long Island Sound Study Stewardship Inititiative.
A long term management plan (February 2015) for Manursing Lake has been developed based on results from a four-year monitoring program (February 2015), which concluded in December 2014. The monitoring report includes appendices.
The lake and its surroundings provide nesting and feeding grounds for native shorebirds and waterfowl, including rare birds, as well as a variety of marine life. In winter, the lake is especially vibrant with migrating waterfowl and shore birds, who are seeking shelter from the freezing winds and temperatures that turn inland ponds and lakes to ice and make Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean less hospitable. Originally, the area that is now the lake consisted of even more biologically rich tidal creeks and wetlands directly connected to Long Island Sound. These were dredged in the 1920s to create the existing lake and small islands where a boating concession has operated paddle and pontoon boat tours.
This restoration project was completed in two stages. The first phase, completed in October 2009, focused on the replacement of a manually operated tide gate with a new, automatically operated gate (shown in photo below). The gate improves tidal flow into and out of the lake, better connecting it to Long Island Sound. This improved connection has enhanced the lake's ecological value. The gate also enabled the creation of a wider intertidal zone - shoreline where the lake bottom is exposed at low tide but covered with water at high tide – thereby enabling the establishment of salt marshes or tidal wetlands.
The wider intertidal zone, therefore, has been exploited by ecologists in the second phase. This phase focused on the creation of a "low" salt marsh, or tidal wetland, dominated by smooth cordgrass in the intertidal zone. Above the "low" salt marsh are other restored coastal habitats, including "high" salt marsh, meadows and woodlands. A short tidal creek has been excavated and flanked with wetlands. It mimics the creeks that once nourished the salt marshes that thrived here before the area was dredged to create the lake. Shoreline bank stabilization also was part of the project's second phase. This habitat restoration will eventually lead to an overall increase in biological diversity and productivity in the Manursing Lake ecosystem and improve water quality both in the lake and Long Island Sound. Construction on the second phase - habitat restoration – was completed in October 2010.
To View The Site: Manursing Lake is in the Edith G. Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in the City of Rye. To get to the sanctuary, enter through Playland Amusement Park and follow the signs to the sanctuary. Ample parking is available at the nature center.