The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has transferred 102 acres of land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) in West Sayville, N.Y. The Service will manage the property as part of the Sayville Unit of the Long National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
The grasslands on the property are the last of their type remaining on Long Island, providing unique habitat for a variety of uncommon animals and plants including New Yorks largest remaining population of the federally endangered sandplain gerardia (Agalinus acuta). A combination of habitat loss, invasive spread of non-native plant species and the loss of natural processes like fire have resulted in the decline of many of these species on Long Island.
The Service will use a variety of management techniques, such as mowing and prescribed burning, to maintain the grassland communities on the Sayville Unit. The Service also has plans to restore approximately 42 acres of grasslands that have reverted to shrub-land or small pitch pines. This restoration will connect several existing grassland areas to provide larger and more diverse habitats for wildlife.
The transfer of the property by FAA was directed by the U.S. Congress in the interest of managing the population of sandplain gerardia. FAA also provided the necessary asbestos and other PCB contamination clean-up resulting from commercial uses of the property and removed the transportation facility structures prior to the transfer.
Quotes:
"Protecting open space is a vital part of preserving Long Island's character, its plants and its wildlife. Chances to preserve 100 acres of land on Long Island, at no cost to taxpayers, don't come along very often. This is a very exciting development for our community and will play a key role in keeping Long a beautiful place to live for generations to come."
- U.S. Congressman Steve J. Israel (NY- 2nd)
"FAA is very pleased to be a partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service and local, state and federal officials in preserving this green space on Long Island."
- Manny Weiss, administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Eastern Region
"Conserving more than a hundred acres of mostly undeveloped land on Long is a major accomplishment. We appreciate the efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration to ready the property for our management and for their work in completing the transfer. These lands will permanently protect valuable wildlife habitat and will help in our efforts to recover rare species, including the endangered sandplain gerardia."
- Marvin Moriarty, northeast regional director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
"The Long National Wildlife Refuge Complex protects some of the last significant natural areas for wildlife on Long Island. I am so appreciative, that thanks to the efforts of many community members, elected officials, and agency representatives, we can add the Sayville property to our list of treasured places."
- Debbie Long, manager, Long National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Supplemental information:
Sandplain gerardia (Agalinis acuta), listed as an endangered species since 1988, occurs at 18 sites in five states. Ten of these sites are naturally occurring: three in Massachusetts, one in Rhode Island, one in Connecticut, four on Long in New York and one in Maryland. The plant has been established at eight additional sites through seed introductions. Four of these are in New York, three are in Massachusetts and one is in Rhode Island. There are historical records for an additional 34 sites. All 18 current sites are managed to some degree for the species. Site management, including mowing and prescribed fire, has enhanced several of these populations, in particular the sites in Maryland, one on Long and four in Massachusetts. The long-term viability of all sandplain gerardia populations remains tenuous, particularly if habitat disturbances such as burning or mowing are absent.
In addition to the federally endangered sandplain gerardia, the following plants and animals found on the new Sayville Unit property are included on the State of New Yorks list of threatened and endangered species:
- State-listed endangered plants - sandplain gerardia, stiff tick-trefoil, few-flowered nutrush and spring ladies-tresses
- State-listed threatened plants - stargrass, showy aster, slender pinweed, velvety bush-clover, northern blazing-star, sandplain wild flax, southern yellow flax and flax-leaf whitetop
- State-listed animals - frosted elfin (threatened), pine barrens underwing (special concern) and coastal barrens buckmoth (special concern)
Other bird species that forage and nest on the site include northern kingbird, rofous-sided towhee, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, eastern screech owl and sharp-shinned hawk. The property is also home to white-tailed deer, eastern cottontails, red fox and other native animals. Resident eastern box turtles and eastern hognose snakes are of interest because of their perceived decline on Long Island.
Web sites of interest:
Long NWR Complex - http://www.fws.gov/northeast/longislandrefuges/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - http://www.fws.gov
Federal Aviation Administration - http://www.faa.gov
Agency information:
The Long National Wildlife Refuge Complex protects important habitats for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, and other native wildlife on 6,500 acres in New Yorks Suffolk and Nassau counties. In addition to Sayville, the complex includes eight other units, including Amagansett, Conscience Point, Elizabeth A. Morton, Oyster Bay, Seatuck, Target Rock and Wertheim national wildlife refuges and the Lido Beach Wildlife Management Area.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
FAA oversees the worlds safest, most efficient aviation system. The agency regulates civil aviation, encourages and develops new aviation technology, develops and operates a system of air traffic control and navigation for both civil and military aircraft, develops and implements programs to control aircraft noise and other environmental effects of civil aviation and regulates U.S. commercial space transportation.
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