Brookhaven adopts Landmark Tree Code to preserve historical trees

Historically significant trees in Brookhaven will be preserved under a new policy adopted by town officials.

The Landmark Tree Code was added to an existing town code and prohibits trees with environmental and historical value on town property from being demolished.

Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Jane Bonner voted last week in favor of the legislation and said a group of aspen trees in her district would be the perfect addition to the code.

“The new codes allows us to designate the trees that have been part of the fabric of our community for generations,” Bonner said Thursday. “They provide a living thread through history.”

Trees must meet specific criteria such as having existed during key events, bringing community value and or having a state or federal government historical designation in order to be kept safe. Brookhaven would need permission to landmark trees not on town property.

The aspen tree groves, believed to be the only trees of the kind on Long Island, are at Cedar Beach, behind the former Hagerman house turned Marine and Environmental Stewardship Nature Center.

Bonner said the Hagerman family built the house and planted aspen seeds there from Colorado in the early 1970s.

Lake Ronkonkoma historian Ellyn Okvist on Thursday said she’s already sent Brookhaven information on 19 trees that should be considered for preservation.

“I’m very happy the trees are going to be protected,” she said.

An evergreen tree outside the Terryville Union Hall could also be considered for landmarking status since it is rooted in a Brookhaven designated historical district.

Members of the now defunct Terryville Welfare Association planted the tree in 1932 in honor of the bicentennial of George Washington’s birthday.