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Would You Purchase Plum Island?

Posted June 1, 2010 by Matthew Denton

A look into the controversial issue

So far, many are asking what will happen to Plum Island. The fate of the site of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center is currently debated. The government is trying to put the entire island for sale but critics are highly against it especially New York Rep. Tim Bishop who’s had “serious concerns” with the problem considering that his territory includes the island itself.

For more than half a century, the island has been home to laboratories for animal disease but the facilities will be transferred to its new home in Manhattan, Kansas. Hartford Courant adds, “Bishop says the new lab could cost over $650 million, but says the Plum Island sale might only yield $50 million to $80 million.”

As of this writing, there’s no buyer yet for the island and no use has been proposed by the government yet. The government has justified the transfer. In a report by The Associated Press , “The U.S. Government Accountability Office told Congress in 2007 that Plum Island’s vulnerability was apparent after the 9/11 terror attacks, and that security had been tightened to help protect animal health and reduce the possibility of bioterrorism. Plum Island scientists research pathogens like foot-and-mouth disease, which is highly contagious to livestock and could cause catastrophic economic losses and imperil the nation’s food supply.”

But would an investor see it as a residential area considering its animal disease research history? Or perhaps transform it into a commercial center? I wouldn’t count myself on that. I’d prefer it to be the way it is today. In the blog of John Turner of the coalition Preserve Plum Island, he writes, “We would like to see all or a significant fraction of the island dedicated as a national wildlife refuge, like the federal government has done so many times with other federally surplused properties, including several relatively close to Plum Island such as Sachuest Point, Block Island, and Nomans Island National Wildlife Refuges.”

But if someone offers a good price for its conversion into an industrial, commercial or residential site, Turner must hope for a miracle.

Here’s a closer look at the issue:

I’m hoping for the best amidst all the worry.

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