Shore Road Sanctuary – 8 Acres Protected in 2012

Shore Road, Cold Spring Harbor
Parking: Available on site

This 8-acre parcel in Cold Spring Harbor was once an ExxonMobil fueling site. It has been transformed into a thriving grassland preserve boasting a beautiful shoreline, salt marsh and wet meadow where you will find standing water after rainstorms and ice in winter. The grassland, first seeded in 2011 following the property’s remediation, is dominated by four native warm season grasses and provides invaluable wildlife habitat for foraging and breeding. A pollinator garden was added in 2015. The sanctuary provides significant conservation values not only to the natural upland habitat but also to Cold Spring Harbor, a New York State Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat. These habitats are known to offer maritime beach bird nesting habitat and waterfowl wintering areas as well as highly productive nursery and feeding areas for marine finfish and shellfish. The beach is an important nesting site for horseshoe crabs. The property is also a field trip location for the students of the Land Alliance’s popular Long Island Water Education Program.

History

The property was operated as a petroleum fuels distribution terminal until 2003. ExxonMobil completed removal of the storage tanks and buildings from the property in 2010, and soil remediation followed. It was was donated to the Land Alliance in 2012.

What you’ll find there

Sea lavender, Horseshoe Crab, prickly pear cactus, a variety of native grasses, salt marsh cordgrass, Fiddler Crab, Great Egret, nesting Tree Swallows and Killdeer.