‘This Land Is Your Land:’ A portrait in preservation
“This Land Is Your Land” is a book that brings history, photographs and preservation together and asks Islanders to look at what has been saved and what comes next.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, Island residents, history lovers and preservation-minded neighbors gathered to hear the stories behind “This Land Is Your Land.” The Shelter Island History Museum brought together the book’s authors, Kathy Gooding, Cathy Kenny and Ed Shillingburg along with editor Tim Purtell, photographers and collaborators for a conversation that quickly moved beyond its pages.
The book grew from a 2021 exhibit jointly presented by the Shelter Island History Museum and the Town’s Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board (CPF). What began as a look at 15 CPF properties expanded during a three-year process to encompass 32 preserved properties, becoming part history, part guidebook and, through the work of local photographers, a visual portrait of the Island.
“This book is a community effort,” said Ms. Gooding, who led the project from its beginnings as a museum exhibit through publication.
Perhaps the afternoon’s most startling moments came when historic subdivision maps revealed a Shelter Island that might have looked remarkably different. Plans once envisioned extensive development on Ram Island, Silver Beach and elsewhere. Mashomack itself faced proposals that included an airport and marina. “Shelter Island would be a very different place,” Ms. Gooding said.
Some plans vanished through circumstance — economic downturns, failed ventures and changing times. Others were overtaken by a growing determination to preserve the Island’s open spaces. That preservation continues today through the CPF and the work of the Town, County, State and conservation organizations.
But Sunday’s discussion made another point clear: acquiring land is only the beginning. Trails must be maintained. Invasive plants must be controlled. Habitats sometimes need restoration. Speakers described the continuing stewardship of preserved properties and the difficult decisions involved in determining what should come next.
There is no “magic number” for how much of Shelter Island should ultimately be preserved, they said. Future acquisitions depend on the importance of individual properties, willing landowners, opportunities as they arise, and available funds. Audience questions carried the conversation further. Could additional historic homes and neighborhoods someday receive landmark protection? Which properties should be priorities for future preservation? And how does the Island protect what it has already worked so hard to save?
The research behind the book offered its own surprises. Ms. Kenny, an attorney, described tracking the histories of properties without conventional deed records as “quite a treasure hunt.” Mr. Shillingburg, an historian and writer, spoke of gaps in early Island records and the challenge of following generations of families bearing the same names.
The photographs told another part of the story.
Ms. Gooding recalled asking contributors for particular images, such as birds at Crab Creek or a landscape, and being met again and again with an abundance of choices. “Here’s what we’ve got. Take your pick. How can we help?” she recalled. That generosity helped create a beautiful portrait of an Island whose preserved places are meant not simply to be protected, but experienced.
Ms Gooding recalled one woman who bought the book and later told her that she and her husband had made it their weekend guide. They open it, choose a preserve, read its history and then go explore it. “I think that is the most precious,” Ms. Gooding said.
Perhaps that small story captured the afternoon best. Preservation is not simply about acreage or acquisitions. It is about knowing these places, walking their trails, understanding their histories and recognizing what might have been lost. The book tells us what Shelter Island saved. The next chapter, the authors agreed, is for Islanders to write.
