Dan's Papers - June 12, 2009 -

Many people visit Long Island's North Fork for the farm stands, nurseries, vineyards and restaurants. For the adventurous visitor, a little exploration will yield a coast of rugged picturesque beauty and a growing number of parks and preserves. Last week I stumbled upon a lovely, relatively new natural gem named Arshamomaque Preserve. This preserve offers its visitors a parking area, 1.3 miles of well maintained trails with benches, and even a well built observation platform provides a spectacular view of two nearby ponds. Opened to the public in 2004, Arshamomaque Preserve is owned by Suffolk County Parks and the Town of Southold. It is part of the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve. It was listed for protection because of its exceptional scenic, biological and recreational resources. This 135-acre preserve is blessed with a wide variety of wildflowers, birdlife, and other wildlife, so be sure to bring your camera and binoculars!

Not to be confused with the 54-acre Arshamomaque Pond Preserve located west of Arshamomaque Pond, this trailhead is in Greenport on the west side of Chapel Lane. Chapel Lane runs between Route 48 and Route 25, west of where the two roads intersect, and east of the Pond.

From the parking area, walk by a kiosk with a large topo map of the preserve, you enter a wide, well-groomed trail, bordered by patches of marsh marigold. Red plastic trail markers on the access trail guide you to the main loop trail, also marked with red rectangles. After crossing a solidly built wood bridge spanning a low point in the wetlands and continuing left onto the red loop trail, there is an interpretive sign explaining that the nearby meadow is the result of a combination invasive plant eradication and grassland restoration project. There's a sturdy bench nearby, one of several located along the trails. At the next split, you can stay on the red trail, or turn left onto the blue (vernal pond) trail. The blue trail meets with the red trail a little farther on. The interpretive sign at this trail intersection explains that vernal ponds are "small, shallow, fishless waters that are seasonally flooded, and typically disappear by mid- to late summer. These vernal ponds are important for a wide variety of birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles and mammals that depend on these ponds for food, water and breeding habitat."

Shortly after passing where the two trails come back together, bear left onto the green trail that runs between two freshwater ponds. Two more bridges keep you above the freshwater swamp, enabling visitors to access the solidly built observation platform. From the platform, I watched several ospreys "ripping" fish out of the pond. These raptors were hitting the water, churning it up with wings and feet, and mostly flying off wet and empty taloned. My impression was that they were still perfecting their technique. I was pleasantly surprised to see only a few invasive phragmites among the cattails along the edge of this pond. This excellent platform designed by Mike Eckhardt, a Public Works maintenance mechanic, and constructed by the Department of Public Works crew, provided a great spot from which to watch the osprey.

After retracing your steps up the green trail, a left turn continues the circuit of the red trail, passing through a copse of swamp cottonwood, considered to be rare in New York State. The next left turn is a short dead-end trail to a bench by the irrigation pond. A large number of blue lupine was in bloom here. After returning to the trail, it's about a half-mile walk before you pass a trail branching left. This is a short access road to a service entrance off Route 48. Another 200 yards brings you to the access trail; make a left to return to the parking area.

The Arshamomaque Preserve is open to the public year round from dawn to dusk. The Town has a comprehensive, user-friendly Web site. To download the trail guide that the Town has produced with the assistance of the Marine Program of the Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, visit southoldtown.northfork.net and, under trails of North Fork, select "Arshamomaque."

Jim McMahon, director of the DPW, indicated to me that he was very impressed with the care and respect with which the public has treated this preserve. I can attest to this fact; I saw no vandalism or littering when I walked these trails that the DPW has done such a great job of maintaining.