Farmingville, NY – Supervisor Ed Romaine has announced that the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (NYSDEC) has awarded the Town of Brookhaven a Southern Pine Beetle Community Recovery Grant totaling $63,869. The grant will assist the Town with its suppression of the Southern Pine Beetle and for the removal of dead and infested trees. The completion of these projects will address safety concerns related to an increasing number of dead trees while contributing to DEC's suppression efforts to help protect the Central Pine Barrens. The Southern Pine Beetle Community Recovery Grants are part of New York's ongoing initiatives to address the beetle and provide funding directly to impacted communities. The objectives and goals of the awarded projects coincide with DEC's ongoing active management to slow the spread of the beetle.
Supervisor Romaine said, “The Southern Pine Beetle has devastated large areas of wooded land in Brookhaven Town, especially in the Pine Barrens. If we don’t get ahead of this problem now, thousands of acres could be lost, having disastrous consequences on the local environment and wildlife. I thank the DEC for providing this grant so we can move ahead quicker with the fight to save our trees.”
Pictured are Supervisor Ed Romaine, Councilman Dan Panico, Councilman Neil Foley and the Town of Brookhaven’s Chief Environmental Analyst Anthony Graves inspecting Southern Pine Beetle damage near Canaan Lake in North Patchogue in 2015.
Division of Public Information - Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill
Farmingville, NY 11738
Phone: 631-451-6595
