The overall goal of the Mud Creek Watershed Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study is to develop a final, feasible, permitted plan of action to improve wetland and stream habitat conditions which were extensively degraded by the operation of the former duck farm located on a 45.8 acre site in East Patchogue and is now Suffolk County parkland. The final project will complement the protection and management of the Mud Creek Watershed located north of Montauk Highway. The primary focus will be restoration of fish and wildlife habitat within the riparian (stream floodplain) corridor of the East Branch of Mud Creek, as well as the freshwater wetland, and upland habitats on the former Gallo Duck Farm. Construction activities associated with implementation of the plan will need to be conducted under a separate capital project in the future; pending a policy decision and available funding.

The experience gained from this project, about how various habitat restoration options can be implemented at this site to support future parkland use and management goals, can be transferred to other publicly owned former duck farms where restoration projects are targeted in the future. In this sense, the Mud Creek Watershed Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study is a case study whose results will be applicable to other locations in Suffolk County, including degraded sites in both public and private ownership located along freshwater streams, tidal creeks, and wetlands that were previously used for duck farms.