The North Shore Land Alliance’s most recent offer at $5.2 million to purchase the 28-acre Humes property in Mill Neck was officially accepted on December 18, 2014. With the help of community contributions and loans from The Conservation Fund and a private conservation lender, the organization will become the new owner of this historic and environmentally significant property in 2015. Once the land has been acquired, the Land Alliance will begin outreach to the community to orchestrate a plan for conservation.

“We are most grateful to the Humes Family for choosing conservation over the development of this environmentally significant area,” said Lisa Ott, Land Alliance President. The Humes property, one of the largest and most environmentally significant parcels in our community, has been a conservation priority for the Land Alliance for many years because of its connectivity to preserved lands, geographic features such as streams, ponds and wetlands and diversity of plants and animals.

Located adjacent to over 100 acres of protected land including the Shu Swamp Preserve, 15 acres of Nassau County-owned land purchased from the Humes family in 2008 and very near the County-owned Upper Francis Pond Preserve, the 28-acre Humes property is a key piece of the strategic land protection puzzle. These conserved areas and surrounding lands nurture the headwaters of a series of rivers, lakes and waterways (both freshwater and tidal) that eventually reach the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge and the Long Island Sound.  “Conservation of this property will help complete one of the most important wetland and open space corridors on the North Shore of Long Island,” said Carter Bales, Land Alliance Chair.

The Humes property is located within the New York State designated Oyster Bay Special Groundwater Protection Area (SGPA) and has been named a critical bird habitat by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Furthermore, the property has the potential to provide passive access to the Francis Pond wetland systems to the south and the larger Shu Swamp Preserve conservation area to the north.

In acquiring the 28-acre residential property, the Land Alliance will protect this land from being subdivided and developed, thus preserving important open space values, natural features and scenic viewsheds. The organization plans to work with local non-profit and municipal partners to develop a management plan which will protect and preserve the property’s valuable natural resources and provide a platform for increased environmental education.

“The acquisition of the Humes property is a great triumph for the Land Alliance and the neighboring community. Protecting open spaces like Humes is critical to preserving the character and environmental integrity of Long Island’s north shore,” said Stephen Searl, Land Alliance Director of Conservation.

For more information about the North Shore Land Alliance please call our office at 516-922-1028.