New Preserve Dawns on Great Hog Neck
December 11, 2020
We are pleased to announce that over 50 acres of woodland will now be available for passive recreation with the recent purchase of 29.8 acres by the Trust from the Reese family. The new preserve, named after the family’s father, Harold A. Reese Preserve, is located adjacent to the Trust’s Wolf Preserve (23 acres) on the Great Hog Neck peninsula. The land will be available for hiking and exploring in the future as part of the expansion and improvement of the existing trail system at the Wolf Preserve, thanks to your support.
By conserving the land’s ecology, the new preserve will contribute significantly to the area’s resiliency to the effects of climate change, provide important wildlife habitat, and contribute to groundwater protection in this part of the Peconic Bay Estuary. Acquisition of the Reese property was made possible by the Reese family’s choice of a bargain sale, and also by accessing a line-of credit provided by an anonymous donor to the Trust. The acquisition was completed on November 25.
"Having been in real estate development on the North Fork for over 50 years, our family saw this property as an important opportunity to preserve land in an ecologically sensitive part of the North Fork and to recognize our father’s important contribution to the community. We are pleased to have been able to work with the Trust to see this land be open, available and contributing to the natural resources of the North Fork," said Harold Reese, Jr.
The property has been owned by the Reese family since the mid-1960s and is predominantly woodland, with a 1-acre area of fresh water wetlands and is on the Peconic Estuary Program’s Critical Land Protection list. “This is an extraordinary opportunity to protect and conserve a significant amount of land in the Great Hog Neck area. We thank the Reese family for recognizing the importance of conserving this environmentally sensitive area of the Peconic Bay Estuary and for working with our team, led by Project Manager Holly Sanford,” said Trust President John v.H. Halsey.
