Ridge, NY
Cornfield Preserve
- Project Type
- Conservation, Stewardship
- Acreage
- 1
- Address
0 Cornfield Road
Ridge NY, 11961
About
In December 2018, the Trust purchased this 1-acre parcel in Ridge. The property is densely wooded and located within the Central Pine Barrens Core. The Trust was referred to the property by the Town of Brookhaven as a priority for conservation.
Millions of Long Island residents rely on groundwater as their sole drinking water source and it’s important to preserve areas where water is filtered back into the ground. The preserve is adjacent to protected Suffolk County land and parcels encumbered by Pine Barrens Conservation Easements.
In December 2017, the Trust was awarded a $2.3 million Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to implement a Regional Aquifer Protection Land Acquisition Program (RAPLAP). This funding specifically focuses on protecting lands that recharge our drinking water resources. The Cornfield Preserve was the first in the state to be approved and purchased with WQIP funding.
“I would be hard-pressed to recommend a more significant one-acre property in Brookhaven Town than this parcel,” said John Turner, a land management specialist with the Town of Brookhaven and a longtime Pine Barrens Protection advocate. “Not only will the purchase protect the trees and wildlife on site and help safeguard the ecological integrity of a complex of properties previously preserved adjacent to the parcel, acquisition will also prevent a new house with fertilized lawns and a septic system from being installed a few dozen feet from the Peconic River. Congratulations to the Peconic Land Trust on completing this important project.”
Visitor Info
This preserve is open to the public by permission for educational and scientific activities compatible with its ecological character. The preserve can be viewed from the roadside.