Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi toured two North Shore sites on Tuesday, Nov. 18 that are slated for open space preservation. Mr. Suozzi has been encouraging the preservation of open space projects. He said, "The county is still going to aggressively follow up to purchase every piece of open space we can in an effort to maintain the suburban quality of life that exists here."

Lisa Ott, North Shore Land Alliance executive director said, "The properties will next go before the Nassau County Environmental Committee of the NC Legislature and once they are approved they will go in front of the full legislature, two weeks later. Once the newest open space bond was passed by the voters in 2006, the project began in January of 2007. When they were first nominated for acquisition in 2004, the Helds were interested but didn't make the top of the list. (The Halls were not interested at that time but were working on their own plans for subdivision.)"

Ms. Ott said, "Even though the first environmental bond in 2004 was for $50 million, only $38 million was spent on open space. There were $250 million in nominations for that $38 million."

The Held property in Oyster Bay Cove and the Hall property in Muttontown each offer a chance to enlarge existing public access of local preserves through the use of trails, as well as help groundwater protection. The funds for the acquisition of both properties come from the $100 million NC Open Space Acquisition Bond Act of 2007.

The benefit of the acquisitions is that in each case, they add to existing public open space. The Held property is contiguous with the Tiffany Preserve and the Hall property is contiguous with the Muttontown Preserve. The Hall property is environmentally significant and the Hall property is important because it is in the Special Groundwater Protection Area.

The Held property was first documented in a proposal for open space acquisition by Louise Harrington, environmental consultant who explained the natural features of the parcel. Owner Michael Held said, "The property has one of the last two stands of Atlantic White Cedars in Nassau County: this one and one at Shu Swamp. In New York State there are less than 25 stands. We have some very old tulip trees, and one has a circumference of about 15 ft. and the property shares about 900 feet of common property line with the existing Tiffany Creek Preserve and which is pretty much one common woods. The pond is the destination of ospreys and great blue herons, (which have a 6-foot wing span), and come to the pond to fish for trout and bass.

"The pond pushes over a million gallons of water into Tiffany Creek and the water goes into Oyster Bay harbor where the clams and oysters thrive because they have this continuous flush of fresh water. It's a very unique, pretty piece of property. It reminds one of upstate.

"It has all types of habitat for wildlife. Yesterday we saw an opossum back there. It's a good habitat for birds, fish and people. That is what we want to do in this area: protect this dwindling natural resource.

"There are some really huge old trees that predate the American Revolution and our children have found Indian arrowheads on the trails so we feel good about it being protected by the county," he said.

Robin Kreisberg, FOB executive director said, "The pond is the headwaters of Tiffany Creek, and is obviously important to protect." She added, "The Tiffany Creek Preserve, composed of 14 parcels totaling 223.5 acres in the Oyster Bay SGPA, has been listed in the 2006 NY State Open Space Conservation Plan. Two water district wells are located in the project area, as well as spring fed ponds and streams, old growth woods, migratory songbirds, several turtle species and tiger salamanders. The 8-acre Held property in Oyster Bay Cove is a priority acquisition as part of the Tiffany Creek Preserve and Enhancement Area. It is unique in that it contains the rare Atlantic white cedar, and offers critical wildlife habitat as well as wetland areas for passive recreation."

Lisa Ott added to the comment saying, "The Held Property is home to a coastal plain Atlantic white cedar swamp very rare in New York State. It is also reported to be habitat for endangered tiger salamander. Threatened and endangered plants have been found around the Held Pond including marsh straw sedge (carex hormathodes), yellow flatsedge (cyperus flavenescens), Virginia bunchflower (melanthium virginicum) and heart sorrel (rumex hastatulus). The Held Property is part of the very important Tiffany Creek Watershed that delivers fresh water to Oyster Bay harbor."

"Let's take a walk to see our property," said Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi as he arrived at the Held's estate on Tuesday. The group carefully made their way down a steep treed hill covered with damp leaves, to the pond glistening below. The Held's American bulldog, Buster, shared his enthusiasm for the spot.

Attending the unveiling of the properties - so to speak - with Mr. Suozzi - were the owners, and their attorneys, Nassau County staff involved in the acquisition and village representatives. Mayor Julianne Beckerman represented Muttontown and Deputy Mayor Ralph Fumante represented the Inc. Village of Oyster Bay Cove. Mr. Fumante is also the chairman of Nassau County's Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee. He said, "This day has been a long time in coming! The acquisition of this stunning and environmentally sensitive property was the missing piece to the Tiffany Creek Preserve and with its purchase the preserve will now be complete. This could not have been possible without the support of many individuals, in particular County Executive Tom Suozzi, Legislator Judy Jacobs and land owners Mr. and Mrs. Held...and we must not forget to thank Nassau County taxpayers for their commitment to Open Space preservation and to protecting our environment for future generations to come."

Although she wasn't able to be at the walk-through, Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs said in a telephone interview that she was especially involved with the Held property. "It is in my district and this was the one that was a confusion because of the creek being there and if it would fit under the environmental bond act. People finally came to the conclusion that it should be preserved and in these difficult economic times it is something the people of the county agreed that it should be preserved for years to come; and anyone who walks on this property and has the opportunity to view the terrain will be enriched for years to come. It is a perfect reason why 77 percent of the residents voted for the Environmental Bond Act."

Ms. Jacobs added, "The Hall property is over the Special Groundwater Protection Area, and what could be more important, as we live our lives here with our children and grandchildren, to know we have done all we can possibly do for preservation, at a time when the environment has become so important to us. The Hall property is an example of this. Both properties are legacies for us to preserve."

Bruce Hall said his family's property was originally owned by Diego Suarez who was a landscape architect from Argentina. His family bought it from his wife, Mrs. Marshall Field Suarez in about 1952-53. The original plantings are still there, including the trees along the driveway. There had been Dutch elm trees on the property until the Dutch elm disease wiped them out. There is a greenhouse on the property but it has been renovated and is rented, said Mr. Hall.

Mayor Beckerman said the well-known Muttontown area's Zog Estate, on the corner of Route 106 and Muttontown Road, now part of the Muttontown Preserve was originally owned by the Hudsons who held fox hunts throughout this area. "King Zog never came here," she said.

"This seemed a logical extension of the Muttontown Preserve," said Mr. Hall. "I'm so very happy. We've been good stewards of the land."

"We will all work together to preserve it," said Mayor Beckerman. "We are very grateful to your family, for having the wisdom to see that this property was preserved."

Mr. Hall said "Many nice people come from the Muttontown Preserve and walk through here." He seems pleased to share the land with others. Still, Sean Rainey, deputy director of the Nassau County Department of Real Estate, said the county plans to move some of the existing fencing around the county property to merge the new land into the Muttontown Preserve. Mr. Rainey is involved in negotiating all the open space acquisitions for the county. Two appraisals and one review appraisal are done for each property the county is considering acquiring to determine the fair market value of each. A benefit of the projects is that it will allow the public greater use of the properties. The acquisition of the Held property will enlarge the trails at the Tiffany Preserve. The longest trail is presently 1.7 miles and will now be a 2-mile hike, said Mr. Rainey. There is parking at the Tiffany Preserve for about 30 cars, and there is a kiosk with a map of the trails indicating the different levels of hiking ability.

As for the Muttontown Preserve he said, it is the largest preserve in Nassau County to which the Hall property will add 18-1/2 acres of open space.

Ms. Ott said, "The Hall Property is listed on the New York State Open Space Plan as part of the Muttontown Preserve Enhancement Area. It is located within the state-designated Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) which provides important recharge for local drinking water. The acquisition of the 18-acre Hall Property will increase the county's ability to preserve important habitat and expand recreational trails."

Ms. Ott added, "The North Shore Land Alliance commends Nassau County for the acquisition of these environmentally significant properties. Both will contribute greatly to protecting our drinking water and the quality of our beautiful Oyster Bay Harbor. These acquisitions also create wonderful opportunities for us all to spend more time in nature. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, "the land is the appointed remedy for whatever is false and fantastic in our culture...food for our mind, as well as our body."

Leaving the Hall property, Mr. Suozzi said he intended to go horseback riding through the Muttontown Preserve Trails for which it is famous, recreationally.

Kathleen Kleinman, treasurer of the Nassau Land Trust and president of the Muttontown Horsemen's Association said, "I'm always happy when they add to the Muttontown Preserve. It's a win-win situation. I hope there is money for more acquisitions available. I hope Mr. Hall will consider a further purchase, such as what was done at the Underhill property where the Town of Oyster Bay and the state came together with additional funding. It seems like a nice area to protect. They have more horse trails as well as kettle ponds and salamander habitats." The MHA maintains the trails at the Muttontown Preserve.