Farmingdale partners with county for open space purchase of 171 acres in Carmans River Watershed

On November 19, supervisor Ed Romaine and councilwoman Connie Kepert joined Suffolk County officials, environmental leaders and civic members to announce the open space purchase of 171 acres in the Carmans River Watershed. The acquisition of this environmentally sensitive property was in partnership with the County. Also pictured are Long Island Pine Barrens Society executive director Richard Amper, (second from left), county executive Steve Bellone (third from left), County Legislators Kate Browning and Rob Calarco (third and fifth from right). The site, which at one time was being considered for a mixed-use development known as "Avalon Bay," is the highest rated property in the Carmans River watershed based on the open space matrix in the Town of Brookhaven's Carmans River Plan, adopted by the Town Board in 2013. It is located in the 0-2 to 25-50 year groundwater contributing zones to the Carmans River and recharges an estimated 267,000 gallons of water daily, or 97.5 million gallons annually to the underlying aquifers. "This acquisition by the Town and County is a result of our strong commitment to protect the Carmans River and the environmentally sensitive area that surrounds it," said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. "The Town and County have once again proven that we are jointly committed to protecting the Carmans River," said Supervisor Ed Romaine. "Our partnership has resulted in many land purchases in the past and I look forward to our continued cooperation to preserve more throughout the Town. I thank County Executive Bellone and Legislator Browning for their participation and for sharing my pledge to save what's left of our open space." "I am delighted that the 171 acres of environmentally sensitive land within the Carmans River Watershed, previously owned by developer Avalon Bay, will be preserved as Open Space," said Councilwoman Connie Kepert. "As the Councilwoman representing the communities within the Carmans River Corridor, I have long advocated for the dedication of open space funds to purchase sensitive land surrounding this precious natural resource and the purchase of these parcels has been a top priority of mine. Thank you to Legislator Kate Browning for her help in preserving these critical parcels." The topography is rolling with slopes as great as 15%. The property is on the Ronkonkoma Moraine, the southernmost location reached by a continental ice sheet approximately 60,000 years ago. It contains both woodlands and fields. Forest covers most of the property and provides habitat to hundreds of species of plants and animals. The Town and County split the $4 million cost of the property in a 50/50 partnership..