In Long Island, NY, residents, together with local organizations, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr., and Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, are urging PSEG Long Island and Long Island Power Authority to cease its proposed plans to run a 5.2-mile underground power cable between its substations in Bridgehampton and East Hampton.
This right-of-way bisects the Long Pond Greenbelt, a roughly 800-acre expanse of coastal plain ponds, wetlands, and woods stretching from Sag Harbor to Sagaponack.
PSEG Long Island proposed clearing an acre of its property near the Great Swamp preserve for use as a staging area and using fracking, for an 0.8-mile portion of the cable that would destroy an area under a vernal pool in the Greenbelt – a known habitat of the endangered tiger salamander and other species of global significance.
“It is an area that lends itself not only to the appreciation of nature but recreation. It is one of a kind, and it can’t be replaced.” said Assemblyman Thiele. “Literally tens of millions of dollars have been spent in public money to protect the resource that is the Long Pond Greenbelt”. Thiele encouraged PSEG to work with the community to find a solution that protects “everything that is special about the Long Pond Greenbelt.”
This community is dedicated to the preservation of the area and needs our help. Please consider signing Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt's petition to help protect this unique nature preserve at the #linkinbio.
Climate change and nature destruction affects us all. Sharing this story kicks off a series of highlighting events and issues at the local level, in hopes that it inspires action to #savetheplanet in our own neighborhoods.
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