PRESERVE SPOTLIGHT / 2020
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Updated June 4, 2020
Rod’s Valley
Montauk
Out at “the End?” Why not take a walk at Rod’s Valley. Also known as Benson Point Preserve or Benson Point Park, this 22-acre waterfront preserve was protected in March of 2002 by the Town of East Hampton and is adjacent to almost 1,500 acres of preserved land in Montauk.
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As a Project Manager in 2002, Kathy Kennedy (now our Senior Manager of Outreach), assisted the Town with its conservation. At the time the land was already approved for a 13 lot subdivision and the Town had been working to protect the property for well over a decade.
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Resplendent with woodland, meadow and bay beach, Rod’s Valley is adjacent to Suffolk County’s Edward Ecker Park (and pier) as well as Hither Woods Preserve, owned jointly by East Hampton, the County and NYS.
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The preserve connects into the trails of Hither Woods and the Paumanok Path — and also has an interesting “feature”: in 2015, an earth art installation of a cobblestone labyrinth was donated and installed by a civic group known as “The Twelve Women.”
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It may just be the perfect time for a hike in the woods or a meditative walk in the labyrinth.
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To read more about the land and its history — as well as its flora and fauna — the Town of East Hampton has posted its management plan online.
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Updated February 24, 2020
Westmoreland Preserve
Shelter Island
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Gifted to the Trust by the late John Roe in 2007, Westmoreland Preserve includes a manmade pond on its 6 acres of conserved land that includes fescue grasses and shrub land. Had Mr. Roe not conserved the land, it could have been developed into 3 single-family residences.
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For birdwatchers, New York State protected birds Northern flicker, American robin, Song sparrow and Barn swallow are known to visit the preserve.
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The Town of Shelter Island works with the Trust on the stewardship of the land, mowing the fields in the season to allow for visitors to wander up to the pond.
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Our sincere gratitude goes out to the Roe family for their history of conservation on Shelter Island! And to the Town for its support!
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To learn more about places protected on Shelter Island and across Long Island, visit our interactive map and our Places to Visit page on our website!
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Red Dirt Preserve
North Amagansett, East Hampton Town
The North Amagansett area of East Hampton has benefited tremendously from the generosity and conservation ethic of many people. The result has been the preservation of over 600 acres of woodland which includes Red Dirt Preserve. The Trust purchased this 10-acre preserve in 2000 from Drs. Robert Abel and Helen Carter.
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Red Dirt Preserve is an upland forest that hosts American Beech, sugar maples, and flowering dogwoods. Highbush blueberry is the dominant understory shrub. The preserve offers habitat for a wide variety of sensitive species including great horned owls, countless migrating birds, and Eastern box turtle.
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It’s adjacent to the Trust’s 189-acre Silver Beech Preserve that was donated in 2003 by Margaret de Cuevas and Deborah Carmichael. These neighboring preserves are important to protecting our area’s biodiversity, drinking water, and natural resources, as well as combating climate change. They sit above the deepest part of the aquifer — our sole source of drinking water — and are part of the Town of East Hampton’s Water Recharge Overlay District.
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Through land conservation, we are all working together
to improve the quality of our precious water resources.
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This land protection of the Red Dirt Preserve was made possible by a gift from an anonymous donor, along with the purchase of a conservation easement by the Town of East Hampton.
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It’s a great place to explore! The winter landscapes of Red Dirt and Silver Beech Preserves are spectacular, so take time for a woodland walk this weekend. You can learn more about these preserves — as well as other nearby woods to hike — by checking out the Places to Visit section on our website.
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And to learn more about how we manage the land we’ve conserved, check out our latest newsletter with the cover story, Stewardship: for the Love of Nature.
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www.peconiclandtrust.org
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