It seems that wildlife is running rampant in the Massapequa Preserve and surrounding areas and The Friends of the Massapequa Preserve want it stopped. They’re not talking about trapping raccoons, chasing squirrels or catching rabbits. Instead, they’re charging that local teenagers are ruining the area’s natural park land that adjoins the 423-acre Preserve in Farmingdale and Bethpage.

“Concerned citizens in these areas are already calling our group for help, and there’s nothing we can do unless we oversee those portions,” said Richard Schary, the group’s president who said the land managers (the state and county) do not maintain the areas, which are not dedicated parks.

Specifically, Schary is talking about a three-mile corridor along Bethpage State Parkway which is a DOT right of way that allows access to the Southern State Parkway and 31-acres that lie behind Farmingdale High School. Schary said that young people are holding parties in the woods there, littering and lighting fires that are dangerous to the landscape and its inhabitants. In addition, the area has become the site of dumping by homeowners and landscapers.

On January 19, volunteers from his group, the Concerned Citizens of Farmingdale and others gathered for a “Take Back the Woods” event to support the preservation of the Bethpage corridor and to lobby for its dedication as a park land area.

“The State needs to designate that (Bethpage) portion a park so that it can get the proper care and oversight it needs,” said Schary.

The groups are asking for help from the County and State Police, the County and State Parks Department, the State Department of Transportation and the Town of Oyster Bay to protect the land, which they said is valuable and irreplaceable.

“The State needs to step up and clean that area that looks like a war zone,” said Legislator Dave Mejias, whose office invited State DOT officials to town meetings and wrote them letters, none of which have resulted in responses.

“The area is littered with mattresses and broken bottles leftover from kids partying. The problem is that no one wants to take responsibility for it...we’ve been trying for years,” added Mejias.

Additionally, 31-acres in Farmingdale known as the Viceroy section, will no longer be a park as of February 2007 when the lease expires.

“This land needs to be transferred to the County for its preservation. It can then become part of the Massapequa Preserve and we will help maintain it,” he said.

“I would be behind turning both locations into parks 100%,” said the Legislator who has been lobbying for such changes.

According to the Friends, youth have been reported chopping down trees for a footbridge, causing damage by riding ATVs, stealing planks from an existing footbridge to construct a tree house, dragging couches and tables into the woods and even setting bonfires left burning long after the party ends. The bulk of the activity takes place on weekends behind the Albany Avenue elementary school in Massapequa and the Farmingdale High School, according to Schary.

The Friends group also helps ensure that bike/ running paths are clear and mowed, graffiti is painted over, refuse is picked up and that damage done to benches by unruly youth are fixed. Its volunteers have gone as far as showing an educational video about the Preserve they produced to Massapequa and Farmingdale students in the hope of educating them to the value of the land and discouraging littering and destruction there.

“The kids don’t see how a little litter will affect the area until they see our film,” said Schary. “Then they realize if what is taking place there doesn’t stop, the preserve will disappear,” said Schary, whose group just celebrated its fifth anniversary. “It’s been a very useful tool.”

Although Nassau County Police have increased patrols in the area in the hope of discouraging teenagers from hanging out there, The Friends group continues to clean up party spots. They say that if the Bethpage and Farmingdale portions are turned into designated parks they will be able to expand the area they look after.