Shelter Island resident warns of major fires

A question of insufficient maintenance, putting Shelter Island at risk for fires similar to those that destroyed properties in Los Angeles, North Carolina and the South Fork, was raised at last week’s Town Board work session.

Resident Patricia Walker is concerned that failure to properly maintain public lands could produce similar devastation, and requested the Town Board hire a crew to remove debris and invasive plants and clean up sites she sees as overgrown and threatening.

She pointed to the two controlled burns conducted successfully in the past week at Mashomack Preserve, adding that planned burning should be a tool for those tackling a project in other areas of the Island.

Noting the unusually dry conditions in recent weeks, and the possibility of a hot summer with little precipitation, Ms. Walker told the Board that it’s critical to take action.

“I’m a landscaper,” she said, as she suggested the expansion of controlled burns. Discussing sites purchased with Community Preservation Fund (CPF) money that have stewardship plans, Deputy Supervisor Meg Larsen said she would consult with members of the CPF Advisory Board to provide information on the issue.

Councilman Gordon Gooding, who served as CPF Chairman prior to his election to the Town Board, said there are many invasive plants on the Island that “grow like wildfire,” and a group of volunteers who called themselves “Vinebusters” used to work at cutting them down.

To his suggestion that Ms. Walker get a group of volunteers together to take on some of that work, she replied it’s not her responsibility.

“You need a crew and you need to pay for it,” she countered.