Sorry for not sending enough information the first time.
The SSNC is 206 acres of land owned by the Town of Islip (thanks to the generosity of the Decker Orr family), Suffolk County (it is unknown if there is a legal agreement between the Town and the County), and land leased from the Nature Conservancy. The legal issues are being handled by lawyers at this time. However, I do believe the Town is legally forbidden from selling the property. If the Town of Islip does not live up to the lease agreement with the Nature Conservancy, that portion of the land will revert back to the Conservancy. So far all the Town has said is that they can’t afford it. All budgetary line items regarding the SSNC have been removed from the 2013 budget. I’m not a biologist so I cannot say what will happen to the environment if the building, which houses the museum downstairs and the naturalist’s living quarters upstairs, boardwalks, and trails are abandoned and left to deteriorate. My first concern is vandalism. The Great South Bay Audubon Society is the steward of a County park that has an unoccupied historic building. I can attest to the vandalism issues and the SSNC is even more remote than this park. I can only assume that the Town of Islip will close the entire preserve and restrict access. Allowing the public to have unrestricted access to an abandoned building and trails and boardwalks not maintained and repaired is a recipe for disaster. It would be very unfortunate to have the SSNC closed. It offers residents and nonresidents the opportunity to experience and learn about Long Island ecology. This is the only tract of land on Long Island that has eight uninterrupted habitats including upland and wetland woods, freshwater ponds and mars, and saltwater marsh. The center offers affordable school programs, family programs, and summer nature camps. As I mentioned previously, the SSNC is an area included in the Captree Christmas Bird Count and has been the site of bird banding providing invaluable date. The Town of Islip is holding its regularly scheduled board meeting tomorrow, December 11th at 2 pm at Town Hall, 655 Main St, Islip. Hopefully we will have a full house of people willing to speak in support of the SSNC and perhaps the Town will provide us with more information. So far any correspondence from the GSBAS has been met with silence. Thank you for your patience and time. Judy Davis, PresidentGreat South Bay Audubon Society -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
