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

pine barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, covering more than . The Barrens operates in a similar manner to

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

, 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. The region contains a remnant of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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 ...

, 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 characteris ...

for Long Island's drinking water. All of Long Island's drinking water comes from

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

wells; none of the island's water comes from reservoirs. Almost all of the

Peconic River The Peconic River is a river within Suffolk County on Long Island, New York.Carmans River The Carmans River is a long river in Brookhaven, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island. It is one of the four largest rivers on Long Island and is similar to other Long Island rivers in that is totally groundwater generated (e.g., no lak ...

(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: including the

Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens The Plymouth Pinelands, also known as the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens, is an ecoregion located in Massachusetts in the United States. It is a part of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens. Ecology Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the is ...

and the

New Jersey Pine Barrens The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguou ...

History

In the 1970s the State of New York began acquiring large parcels to create a greenbelt. The federal government at

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...

transferred in 1971 and

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

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—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 officia ...

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. 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 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 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 New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent com ...

, the major highway connecting the

Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

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 The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

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 capita ...

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 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 men ...

. 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 The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The Stat ...

helicopter.

Sister parks

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

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, 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)