The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee was founded in 1995 as Long Island's first inter-municipal watershed organization. It was created specifically to protect and improve the water quality of Hempstead Harbor.

The Committee accomplishes through planning studies, capital improvement projects, educational outreach, water quality monitoring, information and technology sharing, development of model ordinances, coordination of enforcement, and working with other governmental agencies as well as environmental, educational, community and business groups. This approach saves each municipality expenses and effort by cooperation, provides for a more coordinated approach to solving harbor problems, and provides year-round focus on harbor issues.

The current municipal members of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee include the County of Nassau, the Towns of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead, the City of Glen Cove and the Villages of Sea Cliff, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn, Flower Hill and Sands Point.