Brookhaven, Suffolk announce land purchase

Brookhaven and Suffolk County officials Tuesday announced the purchase of a parcel of Ridge land that they said would provide a habitat for endangered Eastern tiger salamanders and completed an effort to protect Lake Panamoka.

The 0.41-acre wetland parcel, at the northeastern corner of Lake Panamoka, is the last of nine parcels in and around the lake to be purchased by the town and the county. The nine parcels total four acres, Brookhaven officials said.

"The acquisition of this property near Lake Panamoka will go a long way to protecting this jewel of a natural resource," Supervisor Mark Lesko said in a statement.

Lake Panamoka is located north of Route 25 and east of Brookhaven State Park. The $150,000 cost of the parcel was split between the town and the county, officials said.

Councilwoman Jane Bonner, who represents the area, said the preservation effort would "help protect water quality and the ecology of the lake."

In other town news, the town board set a March 29 public hearing on the Carmans River Watershed Protection and Management plan. The plan proposed a battery of recommendations to protect more than 9,100 acres of the river's watershed.

The recommendations will not be adopted at the March 29 hearing, which will give the public a forum to make comments on the plan. Several residents Tuesday aired concerns about the plan, including fears that it could usurp their property rights.

It is "likely" the plan will be amended before it is adopted, Lesko said.

The town board voted 7-0 to designate the AME Zion Bell House, a historic residence in Center Moriches, as an official town historic landmark.

The town board set a March 15 special public hearing on the future of the Gordon Heights Fire District, the most-taxed fire district on Long Island.

A recently released consultants’ report recommends dissolving the district or radically scaling back its budget.