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Montauk Point Lighhouse, Montauk NY

Although the lighthouse structure itself has resisted the elements, the bank below the tower has been gradually eroded away by wind and waves. By the late 1960s...
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Although the lighthouse structure itself has resisted the elements, the bank below the tower has been gradually eroded away by wind and waves. By the late 1960s, the tower was a mere fifty feet from falling into the sea. The Coast Guard was preparing to abandon the site and build a new light further inland, when a New Yorker named Giorgina Reid claimed to have the solution.

Montauk Lighthouse decorated for the holidays
Photograph courtesy Guy Turchiano
Reid had patented an innovative method for stopping erosion on hillsides, using trenches that were dug across the eroded face of a hill and then planted with tall grasses and reeds. The vegetation slowed runoff and further erosion, while at the same time holding moisture and giving other soil-grabbing grasses and plants a chance to grow. The Coast Guard pronounced Reid’s method a roaring success, and the lighthouse remains at its original site. A border of large stones has since been placed around the base of the point to lessen the impact of the pounding surf.

http:--www.lighthousefriends.com-light.asp?ID=391
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