Protect Beach Access on the South Fork

The Eastern Long Island Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is working to preserve public access to the shore and protect sensitive habitats at 190 Old Montauk Highway in Montauk—otherwise known as “Atlantic Headlands”.

This property represents an opportunity to safeguard a vital stretch of Montauk’s Atlantic coastline, advancing shared goals of coastal protection, public beach access, and long-term climate resilience.

According to the Town of East Hampton Planning Department, Atlantic Headlands contains exceptionally sensitive natural resources and is located within multiple state and local environmental protection designations, including a Scenic Area of Statewide Significance, Coastal Erosion Overlay Zone 1, Peconic Estuary Programs Critical Natural Resource Area, Class I freshwater wetlands, and the unique Montauk Moorlands ecosystem.

The Planning Department has also formally documented that this property has served as an informal public access point to the Atlantic Ocean, including for surfing and fishing. Despite historic use, no legal public access easement currently exists. The property extends to the high-water mark, leaving vertical beach access vulnerable to permanent loss through subdivision. 

Surfrider strongly supports the use of East Hampton Town Community Preservation Fund (CPF) resources to acquire this property. Acquisition through the CPF could secure public access to a beloved surf and fishing destination, while preserving a highly sensitive coastal landscape in Montauk for generations. Public ownership would protect environmentally significant wetlands, bluffs, and uplands that support biodiversity, water quality, and natural shoreline processes, while avoiding future development. From an environmental and recreational perspective, proactive preservation represents a responsible investment.

Should the conservation of Atlantic Headlands through the Town of East Hampton’s CPF program not be feasible, Surfrider urges the Town of East Hampton to work with all current and future property owners to guarantee a public access easement, consistent with the current access, on existing historic trails with vertical access to the Atlantic Ocean while preserving the wetlands, moorlands, and bluffheads that make this property unique and ecologically significant.

The East Hampton Town Planning Department has identified Atlantic Headlands as recommended for public acquisition and raised the question of whether the Town should pursue preservation for open space purposes. CPF acquisition would be fully consistent with Town policy encouraging public access in waterfront areas, protection of natural coastal systems, and preservation of land that provides broad community benefit.

For these reasons, the Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter supports CPF acquisition of the Atlantic Headland property, not only to ensure the long-term protection of coastal ecosystems but to secure permanent public access to the Atlantic Ocean—consistent with what already exists, and uphold the intent of the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) for the benefit of present and future generations.

The Eastern Long Island Chapter sent a letter to the Town of East Hampton in February, 2026, concerning this issue.