A former duck farm in Riverhead, featuring 77.5 acres of meadows, woodlands and wetlands, will be preserved in a joint effort involving Riverhead Town and Suffolk County.
The town and county will each contribute $2.7 million to purchase the land, according to a press release issued by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s office on Tuesday.
The property, known as Hubbard’s Duck Farm, sits along Hubbard Avenue and County Route 105, adjacent to Indian Island County Park. A duck farm operated there until the 1970s.
There are a number of run-down buildings still standing on the land, some of which were farm facilities, which will be removed by the property’s current owner.
Developers applied to build condominiums on the site in the 1990s, but the plan was never realized. The Levy administration has since sought to preserve the site due to its “environmental importance,” according to the press release.
“It is important during these tight economic times that we maintain the foresight to look beyond our current situation and see the things that must be done to ensure a better tomorrow,” said Mr. Levy in a prepared statement. “Preserving open space—and specifically environmentally sensitive open space—is one such issue.”
The county’s share of the money will come from existing funds from the Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program, according to the press release, so it will not place a further financial burden on residents.
Representatives from the county executive’s office and Riverhead Town could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
on Dec 2, 2009