The Department of Conservation and Waterways maintains the area's 17,000 acres of wetlands and 180 miles of coastal waterways, which make up much of the southerly shore. The four marinas operated by the Department of Conservation and Waterways can accommodate some 600 pleasure crafts and a number of party boats. The town maintains the 50-acre Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside. In addition, the Conservation and Waterways chemists provide water-quality analyses of bay waters sampled from 39 sites in the Town of Hempstead estuary. The findings help to support biological modeling and the thriving clam industry in town waters.
The department maintains a staff whose disciplines range from endangered, injured and stranded species, entomology, botany, geology, ornithology, marsh, estuarine and beach processes, clam growout and seeding, to computer design and applications including the newly emerging field of geographic information systems, to real-time and near real-time systems and data collection, to emergency weather detection and dissemination, tide and meteorological gauging.