The Nature Conservancy Partners With Feds, NYS, Suffolk County & Southold Town to Preserve Keystone Tract
in Pipes Cove, Greenport
Scenic Watershed, Keystone Site Protected in one of Region’s Last Untouched Wetlands
East Hampton, NY—December 16, 2005—The Nature Conservancy announced today that along with its partners at the federal U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Suffolk County and Southold Town, a keystone tract of 47 acres – part of Southold’s last untouched wetlands – is preserved in Pipes Cove, Greenport.
The preservation of this site is part of the larger effort to protect 600 acres on the North Fork. The project will link hundreds of acres of already protected open space at Arshamonaque Wetlands and Moore’s Woods, resulting in a unique greenway for passive recreation from Pipes Cove to Long Island Sound. The property was purchased from the Reese Family who owned the site since the 1960’s. It is the largest undeveloped property left at Pipes Cove.
Preservation of this area is also critical to protecting water quality in the Peconic Estuary and ensures the protection of maritime forest and habitat for migratory songbirds, as well as endangered and threatened species like the Osprey and Piping plover.
“This acquisition is just one of many tracts that we are working to protect in Pipes Cove, one of the jewels of the Peconic Estuary. Along with our partners, we have set a goal of preserving nearly 600 acres of exceptional wildlife habitat in this region,” said Nancy Kelley, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proud to be a partner in this collective effort to protect lands that provide important habitat for wildlife as well as conserve natural resources in the Peconic Bay estuary,” said Marvin Moriarty, northeast regional director for the Service. “The National Coastal Wetlands Grant awarded to this project is the first $1 million grant competitively awarded by the agency for the acquisition of wetlands on Long Island.”
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Denise M. Sheehan said, “Governor George Pataki is committed to helping Long Island municipalities and community organizations conserve precious open space. The State DEC is a proud partner in the preservation of Pipes Cove and the ecologically important wetlands habitat that will be protected.”
“Preservation of environmentally significant land requires all levels of government to work quickly and cooperatively,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. “Partnering on acquisitions like this makes more resources available for other significant purchases. We are proud of the tremendous progress being made here in Suffolk County in preserving open space and farmland, and we are equally proud to be partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Town of Southold and The Nature Conservancy to protect this significant wetland complex that feeds into Peconic Bay.”
“We have worked long and hard on preserving this one-of-a-kind estuary in Greenport. This is a landmark acquisition and while our work is not done, this partnership will accomplish our end goal of preserving forever Pipes Cove in its entirety,” said Josh Horton, Southold Town Supervisor.
The County and Town each provided a 50% undivided interest in the “Levin” property to be utilized as a match for the $1 million awarded to the State DEC by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enable the purchase of the Reese property. The County is currently under contract for a 3.7 acre parcel in the Pipes Cove region which brings the total to close to 60 protected acres. The Town of Southold contributed $750,000, in addition to other land matches, towards the Reese acquisition. The Nature Conservancy committed $500,000 to this project, which was made possible by a gift from the Wildlife Forever Fund.
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