Peconic Land Trust to work with Riverhead Town to assist with its conservation and preservation strategies

Peconic Land Trust will be partnering with the Town of Riverhead to assist with preservation and protection strategies for open space and farmland.

The Land Trust was awarded a $30,000 grant from the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance to support the collaboration project, the group’s president announced in a press release today.

The conservation catalyst grant will underwrite the Land Trust’s review of the town’s community preservation project plan and its transfer of development rights program.

There are hundreds of acres of unprotected working farmland in Riverhead, as well as natural habitat including woodland and wetlands, the organization said in its release. “Riverhead is also a regional hub for retail development and is strategically positioning itself for significant development of commercial and industrial complexes,” it said.

The research initiative will be in coordination with the town’s Farmland Preservation Committee and Agricultural Advisory Committee, and will seek to develop strategies that will leverage private funds to jump start the town’s preservation efforts.

Supervisor Sean Walter said there’s still much work to be done to preserve farmland and open space in Riverhead.

“We need to be creative and forward-thinking in our approach,” he said. “We look forward to working with the staff at the Peconic Land Trust to develop new strategies that can leverage private funding and to revitalize our transfer of development rights program for the long-term benefit of our residents,” he said.

The grant was made available through the Conservation Partnership Program of the Environmental Protection Fund.