NYS DEC and Sisters of St. Joseph Conserve 43 Acres in Brentwood
August 27, 2025
By Yvette DeBow-Salsedo
Peconic Land Trust has worked with the Sisters since 2015 to help them realize their conservation goals.
On July 2, the NYS DEC announced the acquisition of a conservation easement from the Sisters of St. Joseph, permanently protecting 43 acres of globally rare pine barrens in Brentwood. To read the full press release, click here.
The DEC and the Sisters will jointly manage the property for groundwater and habitat protection and public access to open space in an area historically underserved by parkland.
“The Sisters of St. Joseph have long been known for their focus on environmental stewardship and their unwavering commitment to serving Brentwood and communities across the region,” Commissioner Lefton said. “DEC looks forward to building upon our existing long-term partnership with the Sisters as we manage this land together to protect habitat and water quality and help connect Long Islanders to the outdoors.”
The property contains species typical of a pine barrens ecosystem including a pine-oak-heath forest, scrub-oak, and blueberry understory, and an herbaceous layer of ferns, sedge, and wintergreen, all in well-drained sandy soils of glacial outwash plains and moraines. This forest type is rare, and even more so given its location in an urban environment as defined by the New York Natural Heritage Foundation.
“Peconic Land Trust has been honored to work with the Sisters of St. Joseph since 2015 to help them realize their Land Ethic and amazing vision for the property. From reintroducing agriculture to the fields and helping to establish a vibrant farming community, to the replacement of lawn with a meadow, siting of solar and advanced septic water treatment, to the conservation of healthy woodlands with an understory that is thriving, the property is both protected and transformed. The Sisters of St. Joseph have made their campus a true community place that is ecologically diverse and healthy,” said Dan Heston, Director of Agricultural Programs at the Peconic Land Trust. “We thank New York State – the Governor, the Legislature and the Department of Environmental Conservation -- for working with the Sisters of St. Joseph to realize the permanent protection of these woodlands for the benefit of the community.”
Yvette DeBow-Salsedo
Vice President
ydebow@peconiclandtrust.org