Why is this important?
Land preservation is important on Long Island for reasons both environmental and economic.  Preserved lands protect the Island’s drinking water, provide critical habitat for wildlife, ensure the viability of the Island’s farming industry and maintain the strength of its tourism sector.  A 2010 report by the Trust for Public Land concluded that preserved lands contribute $2.74 billion to the Island’s economy each year.

How are we doing?
Since 1977, the State, both counties and numerous towns across the Island have expended $1,872,802,584 to preserve 60,929 acres of land on Long Island.  This land helps to protect the Island’s drinking water, sensitive environmental habitats and the Island’s general quality of life.  With experts forecasting the Island’s final build-out to take place within the next decade, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) 2006 plan calls for the additional preservation of 25,000 acres of environmentally significant open space and 12,000 acres of working farmland before that time.  These goals would leave the Island with 92,147 acres of preserved land, just 1/10th of its total land mass, at the time of final build-out.

Despite a 14% drop in the cost of preserved land since 2007, the Island preserved just 966 acres of land in 2010, the second lowest rate of preservation since 1994.  Since 2006, the Island has preserved 6,646 acres, nearly 12,000 fewer than it would take to keep pace with the DEC goal.  If current preservation rates persist, it would take nearly 23 years to achieve the goal of preserving 37,000 acres.