100 Groups To Save Most Significant 25,000 Acres
Of Open Space & 10,000 Acres Of Farmland On Long Island
“Long Island’s Last Stand” Coalition Aims to Preserve Long Island’s Quality of Life
Melville, NY—January 11, 2006—A coalition of 100 partners announced a 10-year action plan today to save the most significant remaining open space and farmland, and to restore and protect our bays, harbors, and public parklands across Long Island.
Named “Long Island’s Last Stand,” the campaign aims to preserve 25,000 acres of the most significant remaining open space and 10,000 acres of farmland, and restore and protect hundreds of thousands of acres of parklands, harbors and bays, in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The Long Island’s Last Stand coalition is made up of concerned citizens, farmers, business leaders and conservation groups who are taking a stand to protect remaining natural areas and to restore Long Island’s lands, waters and way of life.
“It is our duty to give future generations the best natural environment for Long Island that we can,” said Kevin McDonald, director of public lands for the Nature Conservancy on Long Island. “It starts with reinvigorated leadership of regional conservation—not patchwork approaches, but a bold, coordinated effort to protect our remaining natural areas and better manage the natural resources already entrusted to the public. Without this commitment, the Long Island we love does not stand a chance.”
“Long Island is unique. Here, we live on top of our drinking water supply. Every square foot that is paved over or built upon means more compromised groundwater and less open space to recharge the water supply. This plan lays out the necessary actions over the next 10 years to protect groundwater. 100 years from now, Long Islanders will thank us for our vision and our actions today,” said Steve Jones, chief executive officer, Suffolk County Water Authority.
Each year, on average, Suffolk County loses 1,400 acres of farmland and protects only 600 acres. If this trend continues, Suffolk’s farmland will be in great jeopardy of losing its remaining farmland in less than a decade.
“The time to ensure protection of Long Island’s critical agricultural industry is running out,” said Joseph Gergela, executive director of the Long Island Farm Bureau. “We must act now to preserve farmland and our farming tradition for future generations. We owe it to our fellow Long Islanders to offer fresh fruit and vegetables grown locally from family farms. If this initiative is not successful, we put at risk not merely thousands of acres of farmland, but farming itself on Long Island.”
“Our quality of life is under siege. Rapid and inappropriate development has created traffic congestion, high property taxes, and strip malls that diminish the character of our towns and villages,” said Doug Dittko, president, Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization. “This strategic initiative will protect open space and farmland, and restores our parkland and waterways; it is a desperately needed to balance the unrelenting development that is consuming Long Island.”
“This proposal is about sustainable balance. Recently, Long Island, the nations 16th largest metropolitan economy was ranked as its 5th fastest growing. To sustain the region’s economy and attractiveness as a place to work and raise families, quality of life is essential – without it, we lose one of our most important competitive edges compared to other regions. Long Island can be an expensive place to live and without the high quality of life, beautiful bays, beaches and parks, what reason would anyone have to stay here?, ” said Marty Cantor, chief economist for Sustainable Long Island.
“Protecting lands that drain into the South Shore Estuary Reserve, Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay are critical in protecting water quality. This program realizes the importance of upgrading sewage treatment plants and stopping polluted stormwater run-off from entering our bays and harbors,” said Maureen Dolan, program coordinator, Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
“Apart from the compelling economic, environmental and quality of life arguments for preserving open space and farmland we need a healthy environment to ensure good health for ourselves, our children and generations to come,” said Sarah Anker, founder and chairperson of the Community Health and Environment Coalition (CHEC).
Long Island’s Last Stand heeds the plea of professional planners to protect the best of the lands that remain on Long Island—before they’re lost to development – by preserving 10,000 acres of threatened farmland and 25,000 acres of open space over the next 10 years.
Scientists believe we can still repair our damaged lands and waters through a coordinated management and restoration program, one that will improve hundreds of thousands of acres of forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
From 1980 to 2000 alone, Long Island lost more than 40 percent of its open space. Despite current preservation efforts, our natural landscapes and seascapes need additional protection if they are to remain healthy and thriving.
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