The beautiful Bittner Preserve just got more beautiful.
Wednesday morning, over 40 local kids and parents helped Southold Town workers plant 250 bayberry and beach plum shrubs to restore a section of a dune at Sound View Dunes Park overlooking the Long Island Sound between Goldsmith Inlet and Peconic Dunes Park in Peconic.
The 58-acre parcel was privately owned by the Bittner family and was acquired jointly by Southold Town and Suffolk County in 2008. Last fall, the park opened to the public, and restoration efforts like this one continue, lead by Southold Town Land Management Specialist Laura Klahre.
“Thanks to everyone, and a special thank you goes to Tamee Jester
for helping to get the word out to everyone,” Klahre said.
Commenting on an article on the Bittner Preserve last fall, Rich and Linda Kendenburg described the park like this:
“As leaders of the Southold North sector of the Orient Christmas Bird Count, one of the oldest in the USA, we were always allowed in to count birds by the J. Bittner and then later the Town. There was a nature-birdwalk there a while ago led by North Fork Audubon. The place is a wonder of various North Fork habitats and home to many species of breeding birds and mammal as the Red Fox. It includes Maritime Forest and fresh water ponds as well as high dunes. It's addition to Town Open Space allows for a contiguous reserve for plants and animals from Great Pond to the west of Goldsmith's Inlet, Including GI County & Town Park and Autumn Pond. Some of the forested areas appear to be old growth, as there was never any farming done in many areas. It's a treasure for all people on the North Fork to enjoy.”
