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Politics & Government

Town Purchases Five Acres in Tuckahoe Preserve

Acquisition helps to complete preservation of Tuckahoe Woods.

The has added another five acres of open space to its preserved parcels, according to Mary Wilson, the manager of the town’s Community Preservation Fund. The acquisition of the acreage, which is located within the Tuckahoe Preserve and is comprised of freshwater wetlands and woods, completes more than 115 acres of land protected in the area.

The purchase of the five acres was a critical piece to the puzzle, Wilson said, because of its central location within the preserve, commonly known as the Tuckahoe Woods. “It helps to fill the rest of it in,” she said.

The town spent $337,500 from its CPF to buy the property from Deborah Kendrick, L. Pierson Hildreth Jr., Cynthia Ann Karzenski and Linda K. Levenson. Wilson said the town also inherited 25 percent of the property, which was deeded to the town in a will.

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Jenn Hartnagel, an environmental advocate with the , which has been active in promoting the preservation of the Tuckahoe Woods, said this most recent acquisition helps to protect a unique and diverse habitat as well as preserve clean drinking water — wells from the Suffolk County Water Authority located within the preserve service parts of Southampton Village. 

“Environmentally speaking, Tuckahoe Woods provides valuable habitat, including a number of freshwater wetlands, for a diverse range of plants and animals including a few rare species,” Hartnagel said. “In terms of aesthetics, the Tuckahoe Preserve provides fantastic hiking opportunities and is truly a community asset.” 

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The newest hiking trail in the preserve is known as The Kurt Billing Loop, a 2.5-mile route named after a local swim instructor who died in 2009. The trail was designed "to showcase the preserve's scenic views and interesting ecological attributes," according to the Southampton Trails Preservation Society.

Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst said the Tuckahoe Preserve is an important natural area with significant plant and animal habitat. “This helps complete a wonderful block of woodlands within the Tuckahoe Preserve,” she said.

CPF revenue is generated by a 2 percent tax on real estate transactions paid by the purchaser. That money is then set-aside to preserve farmland and open space.

Established in June 1998, the CPF has accumulated more than $500 million and has preserved some 10,000 acres across the five East End towns of Southampton, East Hampton, Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island, all of which participate in the CPF program.

Despite a downturn in the economy, and in the real estate market specifically, Wilson said Southampton Town’s CPF is healthy. “It's been pretty consistent and stable,” she said, adding that a drop in real estate values presents an opportunity to acquire more land. “It’s a good time to buy,” she said.

As of the end of October 2010, according to the CPF status report furnished by Wilson’s office, Southampton Town took in an estimated $27.2 million in CPF revenue for the year and spent roughly $8.2 million of that on acquisitions.

However, Wilson noted that it was difficult to gauge the exact worth of the town’s CPF as money from the fund is allocated to debt service and for compensating schools that lose tax revenue when lands within their districts are preserved and taken off the tax rolls.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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