Land preserved after 2 decades
Patricia and Gene Smith have sold their 100 acres to the state after trying for nearly 20 years. Credit: Photo by John Dunn
It took almost 20 years to get the deal done, but land owner Gene Smith has at last managed to sell to the state almost 100 acres in the core preservation area of Suffolk County's pine barrens.
In recent years, the sale has been delayed by the state's grubby habit of "sweeping" the Environmental Protection Fund -- designed largely to pay for open space preservation -- for other purposes.
This property has long been on the state's open space plan, and more recently, it was identified as a priority acquisition in a new plan for preserving the Carmans River.
So the incoming commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, Joe Martens, merits a tip of the cap for seeing the importance of this acquisition to the future of the pine barrens, and for making it happen so soon after taking office. hN
