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Recycling Matters
As of January 1, 2023, the Town of Oyster Bay has reinstated its glass recycling program after a four-year hiatus. Oyster Bay joins the towns of North Hempstead, Huntington, Hempstead, Islip, Babylon, Smithtown and others across the island in recycling this highly used material. Why is Recycling Important? Americans dispose of some 10M metric tons of glass annually, with an astounding two-thirds of it ending up in landfills. Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality or purity. It is an easy step that we can all take to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators. And we know less land dedicated to landfills means more land for wildlife. And that is something we can all agree is in short supply these days. We applaud the Town of Oyster Bay for reinstating its glass recycling program and encourage you all to recycle your glass jars and bottles with your recycling each week. Why waste precious land for landfills when we can recycle, renew and reuse. Just this simple step will make a world of difference for our environment!
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Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act Signed Into Law
When landowners choose to conserve their land there are several different ways to achieve that end. One important tool is a conservation easement, a voluntary, perpetual agreement between a landowner and a qualified conservation organization, such as the Land Alliance, that restricts the use of the land to protect its conservation values. Since 1979, donations of qualified conservation easements have been eligible for federal tax deductions. To date, according to the National Conservation Easement Database, over 201,525 easements have been donated protecting 33,527,688 acres of land. Unfortunately, there has been some abuse of these tax deductions. In rare, but harmful, instances, appraisals have been inflated in transactions known as “syndications”. These abuses have jeopardized the integrity of conservation easements and the tax incentive that has helped thousands of Americans voluntarily conserve millions of acres of their own land. Now the syndications will be halted thanks to the federal spending bill signed into law by the President on December 29, 2022. Included in the law was the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act, targeted legislation that will protect conservation easements into the future. If you are interested in learning more about conservation easements, please contact Andrew Geisel at [email protected] or 516-922-1028.
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Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation Grant for the Historic Tavern House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For more information contact Debra Wiener, Director of Development Email: [email protected] or 516-922-1028 Oyster Bay, New York | The North Shore Land Alliance is honored to have been awarded a grant through the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation for the adaptive reuse of the Tavern House at the Humes Preserve. This historic structure on Oyster Bay Road in Mill Neck will become the Land Alliance’s new headquarters. The unassuming, wood-framed Tavern House has been a part of Long Island history since the mid-18th century. Over several centuries, this property passed through multiple owners serving as a tavern or inn, farmhand quarters, guest cottage and summer home for Ambassador John P. Humes and his family. The Land Alliance acquired the 28-acre property in 2015. The land was purchased for conservation purposes and is now open to the public. With the conservation of the Humes property, we have created a 150-acre conservation corridor in the most biodiverse area in Nassau County. The Tavern House within the Humes Preserve will serve as the Land Alliance’s first permanent headquarters. The 4,000 sq ft building will include offices, meeting spaces, room for small-group educational programming, and environmentally-friendly septic and geothermal heating systems. While the structure’s interior will be modernized, the Land Alliance has made great efforts to preserve the building’s original features. “The move will better connect the lands we have conserved for public purposes to the people and the organization who made their permanent protection possible,” said Lisa Ott, President and CEO of the Land Alliance. “Through this project, we can preserve an important piece of Long Island’s story. The Tavern House has borne witness to hundreds of years of growth. It is an important part of Long Island’s history. With this grant, we are proud that we have ensured that it will be an integral part of Long Island’s future as well”, states Kathryn Curran, Executive Director of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Thanks to the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation’s generosity, the adaptive reuse of the historic Tavern House at the Humes Preserve will be possible. “The Land Alliance is grateful for The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation’s efforts to preserve Long Island history,” said Lisa Ott. “We are so grateful for the strategic funding they have provided to our organization and so many worthy projects across Long Island.” The Land Alliance’s new headquarters are set to open in February 2023. Established in 1987, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation primarily supports the study of New York State history. Until his death in August 2004, Robert David Lion Gardiner was the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island, NY. The Gardiner family and their descendants have owned Gardiner’s Island since 1639, obtained as part of a royal grant from King Charles I of England. The Foundation is inspired by Robert David Lion Gardiner’s personal passion for New York history. For more information, please visit rdlfoundation.org. The North Shore Land Alliance, Inc. is a nationally accredited nonprofit land trust founded in 2003 that works to conserve and steward Long Island’s natural and historic lands, waters and environmental resources. For more information about the North Shore Land Alliance, please visit www.northshorelandalliance.org.
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North Shore Land Alliance Protects Water with Hydro-Action Clean Water Septic Technology
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For more information contact North Shore Land Alliance Email: [email protected] or call 516-922-1028 North Shore Land Alliance Protects Water with Hydro-Action Clean Water Septic Technology Oyster Bay, New York | The North Shore Land Alliance is leading the charge by installing a new, eco-conscious Hydro-Action clean water septic system at their newly remodeled headquarters at the Humes Preserve in Mill Neck, New York. This was made possible by a generous donation from Wastewater Works, Inc. for the system, and grant from Nassau County’s SEPTIC program for the installation. The Hydro-Action septic system will remove harmful chemicals like nitrogen from wastewater ultimately protecting our bays, harbors, and sole source aquifer. The Land Alliance is dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of Long Island’s natural and historic lands, waters, and environmental resources. Through education, outreach and volunteerism, the Land Alliance aspires to connect people to nature and build a community conservation ethic. Residents are cordially invited to view headquarters in February. When visiting, you can also check out the Land Alliance’s clean water septic system as well as the state-of-the-art, carbon-minimizing geothermal energy system. Stormwater runoff preventing rain gardens to follow this spring. It is imperative that we work together as a community to protect our open spaces and water resources. By upgrading our homes with environmentally friendly technologies we can improve water quality, reduce CO2 emissions, and protect wildlife. If you’re interested in receiving a grant to upgrade your outdated and polluting septic system, check out Nassau County’s SEPTIC program at nassaucountyny.gov/SepticReplace. You may be eligible for $20,000 to switch to clean water septic technology.
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Williams Preserve Progress
Our first order of business at the charming Williams Preserve in Lattingtown, donated by Mary and Tim Williams, was to mow the areas along the driveway to facilitate access for maintenance. We then conducted an initial clearing of what will become a tiny parking area, to be installed once we have secured local approval. Since our last newsletter we began the long process of tackling extensive growth of undesirable vegetation throughout the property. A large volume of vines and invasive shrubs has been cleared mechanically, rescuing a number of native trees and shrubs (including a statuesque oak leaf hydrangea) in the process. In addition, a wall that was part of a formal garden designed by Ferruccio Vitale was uncovered. Much of the remaining clearing needs to be done by hand to protect the native vegetation that remains and access hard to reach areas along sensitive slopes and pond and stream edges. Coincidentally, Ferrucio Vitale also designed the formal garden at the Rumpus House at the Humes property. Umberto Innocenti began his work as a landscape architect at the firm of Ferruccio Vitale and Alfred Geiffert, Jr. He left it in 1931 to start the firm of Innocenti & Webel which, over the following decades, became the preferred landscape architects for the Humes Estate. Since the initial clearing was completed, our dedicated volunteers have removed vines by hand from the countless mature, majestic trees that are found throughout the property. They are beginning to remove invasive shrubs and vines from along the creek that goes from the property boundary and under the driveway into the pond. The spring ephemeral trout lily was observed on the bank of the creek in the spring; we hope to find more of this and perhaps other spring ephemeral’s as the property’s restoration continues. The creek is also lined with native jewel weed, which supports hummingbirds, so we are excited to learn more about the wildlife here. A highlight of the work our workers and volunteers has done was the uncovering of a stone staircase installed decades ago to connect the future meadow at the top of the property to the pond below. While it will require a little “engineering” to fully make the connection and become safely navigable, it is a discovery we are very happy about! We are working to develop a phased habitat restoration plan that will map out several natural communities – meadow, grassland, freshwater pond, stream and woodland – with implementation to begin next spring. We welcome volunteers and look forward to the time when St. John’s Church parishioners and summer camp attendees can take a quiet stroll or eat a sandwich by the pond. With many thanks to the Williams family for their generous gift.
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