Pine Barrens Society preservation campaign enters third year

The Long Island Pine Barrens Society “Best of the Rest” campaign recently helped to preserve parcels on both sides of Fresh Pond Avenue in Calverton. A 65-acre parcel on the west side has already been acquired, and another nearly 100 acres on the east side is in the final stages.

According to Nina Leonhardt, acting executive director of the society, Suffolk County has received a $5 million grant through the Regional Economic Development Council to purchase almost 100 acres on the east side of Fresh Pond Avenue, with a small carve-out for the charter school.

“It’s been a long, long struggle, but we are making great strides on Fresh Pond Avenue in Calverton,” said Ms. Leonhardt. “The remaining approximately 100 acres are about to be acquired by the county. So we will have a significant amount of preserved land, and it’s adjacent to [an already preserved] DEC property.”

The “Best of the Rest” is a multi-year effort aimed at protecting the most environmentally significant parcels remaining in the Pine Barrens region. Launched in 2022, it seeks to ensure that the Pine Barrens ecosystem remains undeveloped. 

“We identified 3,800 acres that are critical to preserving our water quality and essential habitat for many native species. And we are fortunate to have the support of the New York Community Trust Long Island to help us meet our goals,” said Ms. Leonhardt.

As previously reported, a number of the targeted properties are in Riverhead. Besides the two parcels in Calverton, there are also five parcels along the Peconic River, more than 100 acres within EPCAL, 150 acres of federal land east of Calverton National cemetery and north of EPCAL, and various smaller parcels near the Calverton Ponds area.

“We’ve managed to protect about 800 acres [out of the 3,800 for Suffolk County],” Ms. Leonhardt said. “Then we have another 1,100 acres that are somewhere in the process of being appraised, in negotiation or under consideration to be acquired.”

Any property owner with land in the Pine Barrens can sell a conservation easement for their property. This means they can no longer develop the property but they are allowed to continue living there. 

“Anything over there is in the core or in the compatible growth, we are interested in for acquisition. And some of these things are small parcels, and they’re on what we call old file maps. And so we work with the [Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission], and the commission solicits interest in obtaining conservation easements or selling the property outright,” said Ms. Leonhardt. “We’re making progress, but it’s slow progress. We’ve been at this for quite a while, and we’re very pleased with progress we’ve made and we do understand that it’s a lengthy process. We have to get owners to agree; you have to involve the lawyers and municipalities.”

Both the commission and the society are looking to construct a nature center nearby from which tourists can explore the Pine Barrens and learn about its ecosystem. The society is pushing for this nature center to be adjacent to one of the “Best of the Rest” properties in hopes that it will then spur further acquisition. 

“We’re very excited about this, because it will bring much wider attention to the importance of the Pine Barrens. People will come from all over, it will be a tourist destination for people, as well as for local people to really learn and appreciate [the land],” said Ms. Leonhardt. 

Ms. Leonhardt cited public support for the society’s mission as the key to reaching their goals. 

“Without the public’s interest and desire for the Pine Barrens to be preserved, it wouldn’t be happening. And that goes right back to the beginning. 
When the initial campaign was in place to protect the Pine Barrens back in the late ’80s, it was the public with average citizens who got behind us, and supported what it is that we do.”