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| LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN TO SAVE CALVERTON GRASSLANDS! (click here for google map) |
| "PROTECT LI GRASSLANDS IN RIVERHEAD PROJECT" Written to Newsday October 10, 2007 by Trish Pelkowski (Pine Barrens site director for Nature Conservancy) It has been said that those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it. Does anyone remember Nassau County's vast grasslands? They're history now. And now in Suffolk, the Town of Riverhead is in the process of developing the largest contiguous grasslands on Long Island for recreational and commercial purposes. These grasslands, one of Long Island's last remaining confirmed breeding locations and wintering strongholds of the Eastern meadowlark, consist of roughly 800 acres of the nearly 3,000-acre Enterprise Park at Calverton, the former Grumman Corp. site. Instead of total development, the Town of Riverhead should balance development of EPCAL with natural resource protection. To protect rare species, wetlands, the deepest aquifer and contiguous forest, at least 60 percent of the entire site should be protected. The sweet song of the Eastern meadowlark will be silenced from the Long Island landscape if development goes forward at the scale projected by the Town of Riverhead. Historically, grasslands were a prominent feature of Long Island's natural landscape. The Hempstead Plains, at one time the largest prairie east of the Mississippi River, covered more than 60,000 acres - nearly 100 square miles - of central Nassau County, stretching from the Queens border to modern-day Plainview. Now fragmented among several small parcels in the vicinity of the Nassau Coliseum and Eisenhower Park, fewer than 100 acres of the mighty Hempstead Plains remain. Commercial, industrial, recreational and residential development have taken their place. The ecological values of grasslands, long associated in the public mind with abandoned farm fields and other "wasted" parcels of land, remain a mystery to many. But grasslands support their own unique assemblage of plant and animal species, contributing significantly to the overall species diversity of its parent ecosystem. Due in large part to both human and natural activities, grasslands are the most rapidly declining habitat in the northeastern United States. And as a result, dramatic regional declines have recently been seen in many species of grassland-nesting birds, including the Eastern meadowlark, upland sandpiper, bobolink, short-eared owl, and vesper and grasshopper sparrows, as well as in several moth and butterfly species. On Long Island, remnant populations of many of these species can only be found at a few isolated grasslands within the pine barrens. Historically, the loss of Long Island's grasslands also contributed to the extinctions of birds such as the heath hen and Eskimo curlew, as well as the local extirpations of numerous other plant and animal species. With the significant regional decline of grasslands, preservation of even small parcels can make a difference to the survival of grassland-dependent animals. But, because of their vulnerability to natural succession, grasslands cannot be preserved by acquisition alone. This habitat requires ongoing management to preserve its viability and prevent its development into shrubby and ultimately forested land. Most grasslands are located on topographically flat, well-drained soils, and such lands are relatively easy and inexpensive to develop. Compounding the problem still further, if left undisturbed, grassland habitats on Long Island will naturally be colonized by shrubs and trees, gradually resulting in a forest. The triple whammy of public apathy, development pressure and natural succession makes grasslands the most threatened, and most rapidly disappearing, habitat on Long Island. It was not always this way, and the loss of Long Island's remaining grasslands need not be a foregone conclusion. With partners like the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District, The Nature Conservancy is attempting to inventory all the grassland parcels that remain here. Using this database, appropriate management programs will be created to help ensure that Long Island's remaining grasslands remain a vibrant part of our ecosystem in the years to come. And there are ways that everyone can help. For one thing, Long Islanders can voice their support for open space at EPCAL, thereby protecting rare plants and animals, wetlands and groundwater. Large, fully functioning grasslands like that at EPCAL are vital to myriad species, not just the Eastern meadowlark. And we can all work to preserve grasslands in our own backyards. Consider replacing your lawn with native grasses - particularly bluestems, which are attractive plants that can be used as landscaping accents or on low-traffic lawn areas. Purchase native wildflowers, such as butterfly weed and lupine, and plant them in a perennial bed or border. Create a backyard habitat; a parcel as small as an acre can provide a migratory resting area for grassland-dependent species. |