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Long Island's Largest Contiguous Grassland Habitat is at Risk
*Important Announcements*
The two pending contracts for sale of land at the Calverton Grasslands (the massive resort development proposal as well as the smaller industrial development proposal) have both been officially canceled.
However, the fight to protect the Calverton Grasslands is not yet over!
The Town of Riverhead is now beginning to develop a new re-use plan for the area. This is an action that we had recommended in the past, and we commend the town for taking this important step forward. We also plan to take an active role in ensuring that this plan thoroughly takes into account all of the unique features of this site.
The two pending contracts for sale of land at the Calverton Grasslands (the massive resort development proposal as well as the smaller industrial development proposal) have both been officially canceled.
However, the fight to protect the Calverton Grasslands is not yet over!
The Town of Riverhead is now beginning to develop a new re-use plan for the area. This is an action that we had recommended in the past, and we commend the town for taking this important step forward. We also plan to take an active role in ensuring that this plan thoroughly takes into account all of the unique features of this site.
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Summary of Issues
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Enterprise Park at Calverton (EPCAL) is a ~2900 acre mostly undeveloped parcel of land in western Riverhead. This area includes over 800 acres of rare grassland habitat as well as portions of the LI Pine Barrens, SC Special Groundwater Protection Area, the Peconic Estuary watershed and the LI Sound watershed.
In 1998, the Navy turned over EPCAL to the Town of Riverhead, when the Grumman operations located on the site shut down. Recent maasive development proposals have been cancelled, however the future of the site is now undetermined. The environmental and community impacts caused by massive development in this location would surely affect the entire region, from air quality to daily commutes!
If poorly planned the future development on this site could include numerous environmental impacts such as: water pollution from increased sewage and proximity to the sole source aquifer, intense development in the protected Pine Barrens, decreases in air quality due to excessive energy use and increased traffic, increased demand on LI’s limited energy supplies and water supply, destruction of rare grassland habitat relied on by endangered/threatened species, threats to freshwater wetlands, as well as negative impacts on the Peconic estuary and LI Sound watersheds.
Potentially concerning quality of life impacts could include: greatly increased noise, destruction of rural character, greatly increased traffic on currently congested roads, disruption of services at Calverton National Cemetery, possible widening of small community roads or creation of new roads, increased demand on community services (i.e. ambulance, police, fire) and resultant costs for residents.
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Coalition for Open Space at EPCAL is a group of environmental and civic
organizations, working
to ensure that environmental protection as well as quality of life
impacts are thoroughly considered in the planning fir the future use of this property.
____________________________________________________________________________**Special thanks to the Johnson Family Foundation for their generous support in the creation of this website and other outreach materials.**