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New Report On Long Island Land Protection Identifies Successes, Shortcomings in 2008; Needs For 2009

While Successful Land Preservation Took Place, Increased Effort Called for by Public

East Hampton, NY — May 19, 2009 — More than 1640 acres of open space, working farms and natural areas on Long Island were protected in 2008, according to a report issued today by The Nature Conservancy. The 2008 Annual Report on Long Island’s Last Stand (.pdf 2MB), observes that land protection on Long Island made considerable progress with 880 acres of open space and 760 acres of farmland protected. This annual total means that 5,800 acres of protected lands have been added since the start of Long Island’s Last Stand in 2006. Despite this progress, however, the public is calling for more land protection according to a poll conducted earlier this year.

Long Island’s Last Stand is a 10-year initiative to save the most significant remaining open space and farmland on Long Island and to restore and protect its harbors, bays and public parklands. It is supported by a coalition of 100 local civic, farming, business and environmental leaders. Considerable progress is being made toward achieving this goal, however, New York State, Nassau and Suffolk Counties and Brookhaven Town need to ramp up their land preservation efforts. Figures for land preservation across Long Island are as follows:

• Suffolk County, 632 acres. At 1/3 of the annual total, Suffolk County topped preservation efforts, though experienced a decline from its efforts in 2007. As the key funder in Long Island land protection, the County must increase funds to maintain momentum and help leverage other government resources for land protection. 
• Eastern Suffolk Towns, 700 acres. The towns of East Hampton, Southampton, Southold, Shelter Island, Riverhead and Brookhaven protected over 700 acres of natural areas, open space and farmland during 2008. Brookhaven preserved 90 acres, despite the 2007 depletion of its bonded funding for open space and farmland preservation and the absence of a replacement for those revenues.
• Nassau County and its three towns together saved 143 acres of sought-after open space.
• New York State, 64 acres. New York State continues to partner in land protection on Long Island. The state must increase its commitment to protect the best of what remains here.

The 2008 Annual Report on Long Island’s Last Stand underscores that protection of our water quality, open spaces and working farms brings important economic benefits to Long Island residents – benefits that vastly exceed the original cost of protecting land.

The report also outlines recommendations to keep Long Island’s environment healthy, including:

• new conservation bonding for New York State, Nassau County and Brookhaven Town
• a greater commitment of public funding to manage and restore the lands and waters already protected and recommends that government fund and implement a comprehensive Island-wide initiative to protect our vulnerable shoreline 
• the creation of a new public authority to help enhance municipalities' and natural systems' resilience in the face of global warming and sea level rise

“In its third year, we can see meaningful progress towards the goals of Long Island’s Last Stand. In the midst of an historic economic challenge, government continued to do what it does best: protect the future of all Long Islanders through thoughtful investments of its limited resources. Despite the challenging times, we’re still investing in our future because that’s exactly what the public wants and is willing to support,” stated Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island.

“The release of this annual report reassures us that, despite challenging economic times, our governments are taking the long view towards building a better Long Island, a sustainable Long Island for our children and grandchildren. It’s great to know that we’re still investing in our future here on Long Island and there is still the will to do so,” said Lisa Ott, executive director of the North Shore Land Alliance.

“As this report acknowledges, there is still much to be done to protect the best of what remains on Long Island. But the best way to assure that success is to mark our progress and keep all the participants engaged in the endeavor. This report should both reassure us that work is still happening and keep the bar high so that greater success in land protection and habitat restoration can be ours in a timely way,” commented Bob DeLuca, president and director of the Group for the East End.

“Those who question the value of land protection simply do not understand the relationship between Long Island’s economy and the resources that we are working so hard to conserve with our public partners - working farms that provide local food and other regional products, clean drinking water upon which we all depend, and the beaches, parks, trails, and woods that sustain residents and tourists alike. We cannot afford to lose the very assets that support agriculture, local tourism, and our second-home industry,” added John v.H. Halsey, president and founder of the Peconic Land Trust.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.