The Long Island Central Pine Barrens (also known as the Long Island Pine Barrens) is a large area of publicly protected pine barrens in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, covering more than . The Barrens operates in a similar manner to

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

, with public lands managed by a mix of federal, state, county and local public land managers intermixed with private inholdings. It is Long Island's largest natural area and its last remaining

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

. The region contains a remnant of the

Atlantic coastal pine barrens The Atlantic coastal pine barrens is a now rare temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the Northeast United States distinguished by unique species and topographical features ( coastal plain ponds, frost pocket), generally nutrient-poor, often ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

, whose forests might once have covered a quarter million acres (1,000 km²) on Long Island. The Central Pine Barrens overlays and recharges a portion of a federally designated sole source

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

for Long Island's drinking water. All of Long Island's drinking water comes from ground water wells; none of the island's water comes from reservoirs. Almost all of the Peconic River and Carmans River (two of Long Island's four biggest rivers) as well as much of their watersheds are in the Barrens. Two other large, contiguous examples of this ecosystem remain in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

: including the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens and the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

History

In the 1970s the State of New York began acquiring large parcels to create a

greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

. The federal government at Brookhaven National Laboratory transferred in 1971 and RCA transferred around Rocky Point in 1978 (for a cost of $1). In 1984 the Pine Barrens Review Commission was created to review development in the region. In 1986 the Suffolk County Open Space Program financed by a 0.25% sales tax was to result in 28 new Suffolk County Parks in the region totalling Despite the efforts development pressure continued and in 1989 the Long Island Pine Barrens Society filed a multibillion-dollar suit against Suffolk County, and the towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton. The Society eventually lost its suit in the New York's highest court—the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

—after winning in earlier courts. In 1993 the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

approved the Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act to protect the region through the development and implementation of a comprehensive land use plan. The act also created the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission to oversee the plan, and divided the area into two regions: *A core area where no development is permitted at all. The area was expanded to in 1998 with the addition of

Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge The Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge is located on the south shore of Long Island and is one of the undeveloped estuary systems on Long Island. In 1947, Maurice Wertheim donated on eastern Long Island to the United States government; the donate ...

. Seventy-five percent of the land in the core area is to be acquired. A provision of the law allows private ownership in the core area provided there is a

transfer of development rights Transferable development rights (TDR) is a method by which developers can purchase the development rights of certain parcels within a designated "sending district" and transfer the rights to another "receiving district" to increase the density of t ...

arrangement where the owner can build elsewhere by transferring ownership of the core lands to a government entity. *A Compatible Growth Area of where limited, environmentally compatible development is allowed. The initial towns were Brookhaven, Riverhead, and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In 1998 East Hampton set aside a small portion of land for the Barrens and it was expanded to in 2007.

Wildfires

Sunrise Wildfire of 1995

In late August-early September 1995, a series of major

brush fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

swept through the pine barrens region. The first major fire incident occurred in Rocky Point, but was extinguished within days of its outbreak. A larger, more catastrophic fire erupted in the Westhampton area just shortly after the Rocky Point blaze was brought to an end. The fire, aided by high winds and dry conditions, quickly spread, threatening area homes and businesses. The fire was nicknamed the "Sunrise Wildfire", as it engulfed both sides of Sunrise Highway, the major highway connecting the Hamptons region with the rest of Long Island. The fires closed down the highway and stopped railroad service, effectively cutting the Hamptons off from the rest of the island for days as firefighters from all over Long Island, the FDNY and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

worked around the clock to battle the blaze. By early September, the Sunrise Wildfire was extinguished, but the results of that fire, in addition to the Rocky Point fire, were disastrous: Approximately had burned, numerous homes and small businesses suffered damage, and 400 people were forced to evacuate their homes. The fire, which erupted during the peak of the Hamptons' tourist season, resulted in a considerable economic blow for the region. However, the human toll was very light, a few firefighters suffered injuries, and nobody was killed in the event. As of 2007, the region has mostly recovered from the damage it sustained, although some vegetation still bears the scars of the fire. Pine Barren ecosystems are highly adapted to fire and generally require periodic fires to maintain their unique vegetation and wildlife.

Brookhaven Blaze of 2012

On April 9, 2012, several brushfires joined together to ignite over of woodland around Manorville,

Ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

and Brookhaven. By the end of the day, the fires were intense enough to cause a closure of parts of the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

. Parts of Riverhead were placed under mandatory evacuation. Brush fire burned of pine lands. About 600 firefighters from about 109 departments battled the fire with 30 brush trucks, 20 tankers, and 100 engines. Airdrops of water were made by a New York State Police helicopter.

Sister parks

The Central Pine Barrens Commission and the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli (MSRM) Regional Park in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy are "twin parks" under a

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

program which supports such programs with the goal of sharing knowledge and experience between the citizens of both regions.

References

External links

Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy CommissionThe Long Island Pine Barrens Society
{{Protected areas of New York Forests of New York (state) Temperate coniferous forests of the United States Ecoregions of the United States Protected areas of New York (state) Protected areas of Suffolk County, New York Nature reserves in New York (state)