The Harold H. Malkmes Wildlife Education and Ecology Center is a park, zoo, and ecology site in

Holtsville, New York Holtsville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,714 at the 2010 census. The hamlet is mainly in the Town of Brookhaven, while the southwestern portion ...

, United States, operated by the Town of Brookhaven, and located on the site of a former landfill. The official address is 249 Buckley Road, although some of the land owned by the site extends along Blue Point Road and as far south as Woodside Avenue. The ecology center was named for former Town of Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways Harold H. Malkmes.

Attractions

The Harold H. Malkmes Wildlife Education and Ecology Center contains an Animal Wildlife Center, with free admission, containing over 100 injured or non-releasable wild and farm animals, including mountain lions. One well-known resident is groundhog "Holtsville Hal", who emerges each

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from ...

to make a weather prediction. The center also offers greenhouses, a picnic area, a paved exercise trail, free compost and wood chips, and a town pool (with an admission fee).

History

The site of the Ecology Center was once a general dump owned by New York State, and was acquired by the Town of Brookhaven in 1937 for use as a town dump. Prior to this, the right of way for the

Suffolk Traction Company The Suffolk Traction Company is a former streetcar system in Suffolk County, New York. It operated primarily between Patchogue and Holtsville, but also included a route that served Blue Point, Bayport, and Sayville. It was opened in 1909 and cea ...

trolley line also ran through this location. In 1968, the State Environmental Facilities Corporation converted the site into a sanitary landfill with seepage lagoons, and closed the facility completely by 1974. By 1971, the park was already under development, and opened in 1979. The animal preserve has included mountain lions since 1987, when "Kimo" was recovered from an owner who had abused him. The site faced closure due to budget cuts proposed in the 2013 Brookhaven Town Budget."Brookhaven unveils final budget cuts" (News 12 Long Island; September 13, 2012)
/ref> However, as of 2016 the center remains open, officially known as the Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center.

References

External links

Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center
{{authority control Tourist attractions on Long Island Brookhaven, New York Zoos in New York (state) Tourist attractions in Suffolk County, New York Parks in Suffolk County, New York 1979 establishments in New York (state)