A federal judge in New York says environmentalists can move ahead with a lawsuit against the federal government to stop the sale of Plum Island. Seven environmental groups, including Save the Sound, are suing the Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration.
The federal government owns the island off Long Island’s North Fork, which has been used as an animal disease research lab for 60 years. In 2008, they decided to move the lab to Kansas and sell Plum Island to the highest bidder.
Environmentalists say the sale threatens more than 400 federally protected species on the island. They filed a lawsuit in 2016 to block the sale. The federal government asked a judge to dismiss the suit last year.
