With a Little Help From Its Friends

Neighbors joining forces to try to block a planned development in their neighborhood has been a fairly common occurrence on the South Fork for years. Once the development is abandoned — or approved, in an unfortunately high number of cases — the members of those wartime confederacies typically retreat back behind their hedgerows and privacy fences, knowing the battle was either won or lost, and waiting for the next proposal, to muster again.

But, in one case dating back 25 years, a group of residents living around Black Pond in Bridgehampton formed an alliance that would stand the test of time.

The group they formed, what is now the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, had an original mission of stopping a plan for a condominium complex and golf course near the South Fork Natural History Museum. The neighbors were victorious. The condo plan was rejected, and the group’s efforts convinced Southampton Town and Suffolk County to preserve the 72-acre property.

And they didn’t stop there. With encouragement from the Southampton Town Board, the group took the extra money it had raised and formed a more permanent environmental preservation group, and the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt was formed.

Earlier this month, the group celebrated the quarter-century mark — and all the achievements it has made since forming. Led by President Dai Dayton, it has helped preserve about 800 acres of the 2,000-acre greenbelt ecosystem between Otter Pond in Sag Harbor and Sagaponack Pond. It is a significant ecosystem of coastal plain ponds, freshwater swamps, wetlands, and woodlands, and is home to over 30 globally rare species and over 100 species of birds.

And while many battles have been won, Dayton says the war is far from over. She’d like to see more of the greenbelt preserved. So as the organization looks ahead to its next 25 years, its members should rest easy that they have allies on the South Fork and beyond, and they’re all eager to help protect the wonderful resource that is the Long Pond Greenbelt.