North Shore Land Alliance celebrates 20 years

It’s a very good feeling to have grown and matured as an organization, and to be in this place right now.”

Lisa Ott president and CEO, North Shore Land Alliance

The North Shore Land Alliance has been celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, as well as the completion of its new headquarters at the Tavern House and Cook’s Cottage in the Humes Preserve in Mill Neck. After two decades of work, the future of land preservation on the North Shore is looking a little brighter.

Founded in 2003, the nonprofit Land Alliance was originally several distinct organizations, including the Centre Island Land Trust and the Oyster Bay Cove Land Trust, which were both created in the late 1990s. Working in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy, which was seeking to adopt a more global outlook, the land trusts came together to take over the conservancy’s local land-preservation efforts.

Lisa Ott, the president and CEO of the Land Alliance, has been with the organization since the beginning, having been one of the founders and served as secretary of the Oyster Bay Cove Land Trust. It seems like just the blink of an eye, Ott said, since the Land Alliance was formed, and she added that she was amazed by how much it has accomplished over the years.

“It’s a very good feeling to have grown and matured as an organization and to be in this place right now,” Ott said. “You know, it’s clear there’s a lot more work to be done, but it’s nice to take a minute and look back at what’s been accomplished.”

The mission of the Land Alliance is to “conserve and steward Long Island’s natural and historic lands, waters and environmental resources.” Using a mixture of outreach, volunteerism and education, it promotes awareness and protection of the North Shore’s natural beauty, covering an area that stretches from the western boundary of Nassau County to the western boundary of Brookhaven Township, and from the Long Island Sound to the north to the Northern State Parkway in the south — roughly 1,300 acres of land.

The celebration this year has included the official opening of the alliance’s new headquarters on the historic Humes property, which it has been renovating for the past eight years. In the past, the organization had rented office space, most recently from the Planting Fields Arboretum.

Before the alliance purchased the Humes estate, which also includes 42 acres of nature preserve, the property, including the historic Tavern House and Cook’s Cottage, was in a state of disrepair. The two buildings date back to the late 1700s, and over the decades the land has served 

he country estate of John P. Humes, the former U.S. Ambassador to Austria. 

Numerous local officials and representatives of organizations the Land Alliance has worked with gathered for the ribbon-cutting on June 17. Oyster Bay Town Councilwoman Vicki Walsh presented the alliance with a citation commemorating its two decades of efforts to protect the area’s history and natural beauty.

“For me, open space is very important for us to preserve and protect, because I just think about how important it is for the residents, and especially the kids,” Walsh said. “Their work has preserved so much over the years, and I think part of the excitement of it all is if we can get the residents out there to explore all these secret gems that we have in our community.”

The alliance protects numerous land preserves across the North Shore, from larger areas, like the 42-acre Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve in Upper Brookville, to the eight-acre Shore Road Sanctuary in Cold Spring Harbor. Anyone who would like to visit one of the trails or preserves, or donate to the organization, can find out more at its website, NorthShoreLandAlliance.org.