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North Fork Preserve price tag: $18.3 million

TIM GANNON FILE PHOTO | Suffolk County envisions turning the North Fork Preserve in Northville into Suffolk's last great county park.

The Suffolk County Legislature’s environment, planning and agriculture committee on Monday unanimously approved resolutions authorizing $17.8 million to acquire the 307-acre North Fork Preserve property in Northville.

A vote of the full Legislature is still needed to make the purchase official.

Last month, Riverhead Town authorized paying up to $500,000 toward that purchase, bringing the total price to $18.3 million. The county plans to turn the land into a major park. However, the issue of trap and skeet shooting still has officials at odds.

In its resolution, Riverhead Town agreed to contribute up to $500,000 toward the purchase so long as trap and skeet shooting and all-terrain vehicles are not permitted in the park.

County legislators Bill Lindsay (D-Holbrook) and Kate Browning (GP-Shirley) have sought to relocate a controversial skeet shooting range in Ms. Browning’s district to the North Fork Preserve park. A trap and skeet range was not included in plans for the site recently unveiled by the county parks department.

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