Fun to explore and hike, but pubic access isn't easy.

Flanders County Park isn't an official name, but it best describes an area between the David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens  Preserve and Maple Swamp County Park.  Just south of the Flanders Firehouse, was protected as a critical resource area.  Though it has several possible access points, none are appealing.  What follows below is a quick review of the reasons why, and a call for action.

 . . . and to public information and access to parking and trails in northern Manorville?

Quality Parks is doing more to stop tick bites by revealing who is doing what where, from existing park conditions to  park resources taking action.

A young man reached down for his golf ball in the rough and ticks swarmed up his arm. He ran home and jumped in his swimming pool.  These were lone star tick nymphs, during late summer.  Irrigated golf courses add more moisture to the grounds.  Tick populations thrive in moister conditions. 

On a recent snowy day, I discovered The Peter Hildebrand Memorial Nature Trail.  Beautifully quiet and still, it's also threatened by bulldozing and tree cutting.

Poxabogue Field (adjacent to Poxabogue County Park)  is an eight-acre open field. It was purchased by Southampton Town’s Community Preservation Fund for agricultural purposes. Yet it also falls within the hydrological boundaries of the Long Pond Greenbelt. The Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt's position is to further protect it from any sort of development, including agricultural use.   They want it to be re-designated as open space, restoring the old field to a grassland instead, akin to their management of Vineyard Field.

 The Sierra Club Long Island Group is working on ways to stop the tendency to feed waterfowl bread, at ​Belmont Lake State Park Bread makes the birds feel full, and thus they don't eat more nutritious alternatives. Sound familiar?  Even humans need to cut the carbs.  And the excess bread in the water can contribute to an over abundance of algae growth. 

There's several interpretive signs at Belmont Lake State Park. What does it take to post interpretive signage regarding why feeding bread to waterfowl is bad?

Updated: Dec 7, 2021

​Many native pollinator gardens have been added to Harborfront Park to increase habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Recently these gardens were being replaced by more and more lawn spaces. Conversations and actions are underway at Village of Port Jefferson  to balance biodiversity and aesthetics.