Plum Island: From Secret Disease Research Site to Real Estate Hot Spot?

(Oct. 7) Plum Island, a small, pork-chop-shaped landmass off the tip of New York's Long Island, is one of the few remaining unspoiled habitats for the natural flora and fauna of the Long Island Sound, offering a rare natural oasis in a heavily developed region.

Also, there's a germ warfare and animal disease research facility.

This seeming paradox is what a team of environmentalists and civic leaders were faced with when they toured the island earlier this week as part of a process that could lead to opening up the island to development. The government is considering moving the lab to Kansas, which would remove the strict air of secrecy surrounding the island that led it to be proposed as a possible home for Hannibal Lecter.

Predictably, it's also the impetus for a number of dreadful conspiracy theories even being blamed for the appearance of the so-called (which was later determined to be a horribly mutilated raccoon carcass).

But Long Island real estate can be a valuable commodity, and one agent said he's heard that the property could fetch up to $50 million.

"As a high-end real estate project, whether it's developed as a resort or for high-end individual homes, Plum Island is very appealing to a certain segment of the population," real estate developer Alan Schnurman told The Associated Press.

The General Services Administration, which is responsible for selling the island, plans to release an environmental impact statement in December as a first step in the sales process. READ MORE AT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. FOLLOW SURGE DESK ON TWITTER.

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