Bay to Sound Project Blazes New Trails on the North Fork

Leaders of a long-term, ongoing project to blaze new hiking trails on the North Fork took steps to add 1.8 miles of additional paths to the growing 10-mile network, officials said.

About 170 volunteers with the Peconic Bay to Long Island Sound Integrated Trails Initiative — dubbed Bay to Sound for short — also removed more than 55 tons of trash, debris, equipment, scrap metal, and more from nature preserves in the Town of Southold during phase five of the effort.

“Getting to work with volunteers on this project is extremely rewarding, especially the younger  volunteers,” said Taralynn Reynolds, the outreach director for the Group for the East End, the nonprofit environmental advocacy group that has been spearheading the project. “Their enthusiasm makes working in the field so much fun. It brings something different to  the day and without our community volunteers we wouldn’t be pulling as much debris and trash from these preserves.”

The project in the works since 2007 aims to create a trail network linking public parks and preserves managed by Suffolk County and the Town of Southold between Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound. The project’s anticipated completion date is Monday, Dec. 31, 2029.

The latest leg of the project involved trail cleanup, maintenance, trail creation, and habitat restoration in Arshamomaque Preserve, Pipes Cove Preserve, and Skipper Horton Park. At Pipes Cove Preserve, the location of the former Sill’s Dairy Farm, volunteers removed a defunct milk house, the remnants of a dairy barn, and the contents of the two buildings. In addition, more than 50 wheels and tires were removed from the site, along with a broken plow, sickle bar mower, multiple engines, household appliances, trailers and a houseboat.

Volunteers put in more than 1,630 hours of work with a record number of 61 participants in a single day. Among the volunteers who participated were members of local Boy and Girl Scout troops, Southold ROTC students, Mattituck High School students, Southold Elementary School fifth graders, Peconic  Community School students, Southold Peconic Civic Association, library groups, and the general  public.

Organizers said the initiative offers new opportunities for the public to enjoy outdoor activities such as birdwatching, hiking and creating and maintaining trails. The cleanups also improve the ecological health of the preserves, benefitting pollinators and wildlife. The project is being funded by New York State, the Town of Southold, and Suffolk County, which has also assisted in the acquisition and preservation of public parcels involved. Phase five was funded by a $258,750 state grant.

The Nature Conservancy in New York, which works to solve climate change and biodiversity loss, assisted the project by helping acquire a number of properties in the area adjacent to Pipes Cove Preserve and other local properties.

“While we provided the town with support letters through the phases, all the credit goes to the town and we fully supported their access to and through a number of different properties,” says Kevin McDonald, the Long Island policy adviser for the Nature Conservancy in New York. “It really will present an opportunity for the public to experience the diverse shorelines and water resources of Southold and the landscape, walking from one place to another.”

Additional restoration projects within the Bay to Sound project area will continue throughout the fall and winter. Over the next few months, the Group is calling for additional volunteers for trail work and trash  cleanup.

To volunteer for the Bay to Sound project, contact Taralynn Reynolds at treynolds@eastendenvironment.org or the Town of Southold.