Photo of the Week
FROM THE SCHS LIBRARY & ARCHIVE
—– August 28, 2025 —–
Fire Island Sunken Forest Preserve
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“How shall we know it is us without our past?”
– John Steinbeck
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The Fire Island Sunken Forest Preserve. (Image courtesy of Wendy Polhemus-Annibell.)
First protected from development in the early 1950s by a concerned group of private citizens, a roughly 50-acre tract of beach, dunes, and ancient holly forest on Fire Island, east of Point O’Woods, was gradually cobbled together through a fund-raising campaign spearheaded in 1952 by the Wildlife Preserves and the Nature Conservancy. The Sunken Forest Sanctuary was officially dedicated as the Sunken Forest Preserve in 1960. The entrance plaque can still be seen along the western trail entrance. In May 1966, the Sunken Forest Preserve donated the property to the recently established (1964) Fire Island National Seashore, under the condition that the property shall always be maintained in its natural state and operated as a sanctuary, and that no public road or highway shall be built through it.
The Sunken Forest is dominated by American holly (Ilex opaca), some of which is estimated to be three hundred years old. Other trees in this maritime forest include the sassafras (Sassafras albidum), shadbush or juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis), and other hardwoods. Oaks and black cherry also grow in the maritime forest. However, none of the trees grow taller than the unique double dune system that protects them. The forest is “sunken” behind the dunes on the ocean side and the bay side.
The Sunken Forest on Fire Island is arguably one of the most beautiful settings on Long Island. You can get there by taking a ferry from Sayville to Sailor’s Haven. Or enjoy this video tour of the Sunken Forest with Ranger Dave of the National Park Service:
https://www.nps.gov/media/
by Wendy Polhemus-Annibell, Head Librarian
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HOLIDAY CLOSURE: We will be closed on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025 for the Labor Day Holiday.
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