Arshamomaque Pond Preserve To Be Renamed

Plans to rename a pristine parcel in Southold after a iocal legend are proceeding after months of planning.

In June, the Arshamomaque Pond Preserve will be renamed the Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve, in honor of a local environmental champion.

A ceremony will be held on June 13 at 1 p.m. at the preserve, on Main Road in Southold. In case of rain, the event will be held at Southold Town Hall.

In January, Southold Town land management specialist Laura Klahre compared Stoutenburgh "to "the Rachel Carson" of the North Fork.

Klahre said there were parallels between the longtime Suffolk Times nature columnist to the author of the famous “Silent Spring” — a book by Carson that sparked a global environmental movement — in her pitch to the Southold Town Board to rename Arshamomaque Pond Preserve to the Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve.

“I’m amazed by the work he’s done over his lifetime,” Klahre told the board during the work session.

Stoutenburgh, now in his 90s, not only wrote the popular “Focus on Nature” columns for the Suffolk Times for 50 years, he was also a specialist in protecting local natural resources and served for years as a town trustee and board member. 

The 120-acre Arshamomaque Pond Preserve is owned jointly by Suffolk County and Southold Town in Greenport and has 1.3 miles of trails through mature woodlands, wetlands and open fields.

Board members agreed that the renaming was a fitting tribute to a local living legend.

“I couldn’t think of a better person,” said Southold Town Councilman William Ruland.