Dan's Papers - June 22, 2007 - Take a Hike with Ken Kindler

The property just south of Sunrise Highway on CR 31, adjacent to the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) was on a the acquisition wish-list for a lot of agencies for many years. It was the largest remaining privately owned parcel in the Core Preservation Area of the Central Long Island Pine Barrens. It is a vital groundwater recharge area and supports a globally rare dwarf pine forest ecology in the heart of the Pine Barrens.

The acquisition of this preserve was the result of a cooperative agreement between three levels of government: New York State, Suffolk County, and the Town of Southampton. WJF Realty was paid $11.2 million in exchange for the 308 acres and for the service of settling old land use litigation with the Town of Southampton. The real estate transaction was negotiated and coordinated by The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy bought the land and then sold the property to the County and the State, which were each responsible for half the purchase price.

In exchange for Pine Barrens Credits, the Pine Barrens Commission put a conservation easement on 100 acres of the total parcel, protecting the land from being developed. The Pine Barrens Credit has a specific monetary value, so Pine Barrens Credits can be exchanged for money. The land is still owned by the developer. The landowner will keep 100 development rights that can be either sold on the open market, or used by the holder of these rights to add density to development in other less environmentally sensitive locations.

Dominated by diminutive pine and oak trees forming a canopy little more than fifteen feet high, this "dwarf pine plains" area is a unique community, made up mostly of dwarf pitch pines and scrub oak. The sandy, nutrient-poor soil hosts a shrub layer dominated by huckleberry, bearberry, blueberry, and wintergreen, along with some native grasses.

Long Island's dwarf pine forests harbor several rare plant and animal species including the largest population of coastal barrens buck moth in New York. A small breeding population of Northern harriers has been observed in the area. This is important because breeding populations of this ground-nesting raptor are declining elsewhere in the region. The property is also a favored nesting site for pine and prairie warbler, ovenbird, and several declining migrant songbirds, such as whip-poor-will.

Creation of a Dwarf Pine Trail on this property adjacent to the SCWA was recommended as a stewardship project during a May 2005 Commission meeting. Committee members include representatives from the three landowners (SCWA, NYSDEC, and SC Parks), the Town of Southampton, the Pine Barrens Commission and The Nature Conservancy. The SCWA has furnished dedicated parking spaces for the trail, and has engineered the trailhead for easy accessibility. The trailhead will soon feature three interpretive kiosks. This is the first public access project completed by public agencies on Pine Barrens credit program conservation easement land. At the dedication of the trail on June 1, Peter A. Scully, Chairman of the Commission and Regional Director of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, indicated that land management in the Pine Barrens is moving into a stewardship phase.

The .06-mile trail is an excellent example of Dwarf Pine Plains; it contains the species of flora and fauna one associates with this ecosystem. The day of the trail dedication, the bright yellow flowers of Pine Barrens Golden Heather adorned the new trail.

Not far from the trail head, John Virgilio and I have been leading hikes from the Sarnoff trailhead 2 miles north of the Riverhead Circle on Rte. 104. Heavy rains over the last two years, mild winters, oak worm, and gypsy moths opening up the forest canopy allowing rapid growth of brush and grass have caused many of the trails to become overgrown. The two yellow trails, the Paumanok Path (PP) running west, the red trail, and the blue trail all are impassible. We did find that the 6 miles of the PP running east on County land between Spinney Road and the NYSDEC parking area had only a couple of problem areas, and could, with a little work, be the venue for our next hike. I called County Parks, related the maintenance challenge and two days later I was working with Suffolk County Park's Environmental Crew to trim back the problem areas. The County Environmental Trail Crew, Ray, Mike, and Peter met me at Spinney Road off of Route 24. We cleared the yellow trail to Owl Pond and then headed west. Thanks to County Parks, we had an enjoyable hike. At the end of the hike, along the PP, just before reaching the parking area, we came upon two interesting, new kiosks explaining the part fires play in the Pine Barrens ecology.

Ken Kindler is a Trails and Open Space Advocate working to help the trails groups and land managers care for our "Natural Island." If you would like to learn more about our trails or help care for them, visit the Hiking Long Island website. www.hike-li.org