New trails behind Soundview lot will connect preserved land in Greenport

Southold Town is moving forward with plans to create new trails in Greenport as part of its Bay to Sound initiative.

On Tuesday, the Town Board approved the creation of a pair of new trails behind the old parking lot and tennis courts south of the Sound View Inn that would connect Arshamomaque Preserve and Arshamomaque County Park.

The new trails would add more than 400 feet to existing routes in the preserve, branching from the parking lot. 

The Bay to Sound project dates back to 2007 and aims to link preserves and parks in the town and Greenport Village from Long Island Sound to Peconic Bay.

At a work session earlier Tuesday, John Sepenoski of the town’s land management coordination department also unveiled a draft for a new stewardship management plan for Hummels Pond, so that park can officially open to the public following the development of a new Park Passport program.

The properties at 15160 Soundview Avenue and 2105 Lighthouse Road were purchased by the town for open space purposes. A third parcel along Lighthouse Road will remain “in its natural state … solely used to accommodate drainage and overflow from Hummels Pond.” Since there isn’t a safe buffer zone between the trails and areas designated for hunting deer, the Hummels Pond properties will be open to the general public only between April 1 and Sept. 30 each year.

The town also plans to address a significant parrot feather infestation in the pond. The invasive plant has degraded the pond’s water quality, forming dense mats of vegetation in shallow areas. The town is considering a combination of physical removal and herbicide control to curb the plant’s proliferation. 

The Hummels Pond stewardship plan was also approved Tuesday.