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Massapequa Preserve is a “jewel” that must be protected Dear Editor: I read with great concern the article by Tiffany Elliot (January 2, 2008) about the Town of Oyster Bay gaining ownership of the Massapequa Preserve. I was under the impression that the preserve was held in perpetuity in its natural state by the County. I was also alarmed by the fact that the words Park and Preserve were used interchangeably and fear that the door was being opened to Special Interest Groups. First of all, the word Preserve is defined as: "to keep alive or in existence; make lasting; to keep safe from harm; protect or spare; to keep up and maintain. A Park can mean a lot of things but it's not a Preserve. The following week, you printed a letter from the President of the Massapequa Chamber of Commerce wherein he stated that the Town getting the Preserve was a good investment and now could be used for future "utilization". Judging by all the tree chopping going on in the area, I hope the word utilization does not mean chainsaws and bulldozers. Right now the Preserve is being fully utilized. The fish and turtles are utilizing the streams and lakes. The remaining wildlife is holding on to its last sanctuary. Hikers, Bikers, Bird Watchers, utilize it and people just go there to escape civilization and reconcile themselves with the natural world. The Preserve is a true treasure and must be kept in its natural state forever regardless of what level of government owns it. I have lived in Massapequa Park for 27 years and have seen a lot of land clearing, the building of shopping centers and parking lots. Many years ago a song: "Big Yellow Taxi" was written that seems to address a worldwide problem. One of the stanzas laments: "They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum. And then charged the people a dollar and a half just to see'em. Don't it always seem to go you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot". I sincerely hope my fears for the future of the Massapequa Preserve are unfounded; however, over the past 27 years I've seen too many parking lots constructed. Let's keep the Preserve as a permanent jewel in our environment and perhaps rename it …"Paradise Preserve". Frank C. McLoughlin
Massapequa Park
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