152 acres preserved in Manorville

The Town of Brookhaven recently acquired 152 wooded acres in Manorville as open space. According to councilman Dan Panico, the preservation will help protect multiple species, including horned owls.

The parcel is located on the corner of Moriches-Middle Island Road and Weeks Avenue. The preservation came as a transfer of development rights trade with a developer for the Meadows project on William Floyd Parkway in Yaphank.

“If we’ve learned any lessons during the past few decades, perhaps the most important is that preservation of our environment is not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense. Our physical health, our social happiness, and our economic well-being will be sustained only by all of us working in partnership as thoughtful, effective stewards of our natural resources,” Panico said, quoting Ronald Reagan. “President Reagan said those words in 1984, and they remain relevant and true today. There is a value to open spaces and wooded property. Far too often, people are labeled as pro-development or pro-environment; however, the two goals are not mutually exclusive. You can achieve responsible development/redevelopment and preserve land for future generations by working proactively with a broader view and understanding of land use and zoning.”

Panico said he is proud to not only have preserved the large amount of land, but also to do so without costing the taxpayers money.