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Mission
The Foundation for Research & Stewardship in the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve (FOREST)
FOREST is a charitable, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting research, stewardship, and strategic partnerships to conserve and enhance natural, agricultural, historical, cultural, and recreational resources within the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve and surrounding regions for the benefit of current and future Long Island residents.
FOREST’s work is focused on central and eastern Suffolk County, including the Central Pine Barrens and the Peconic Bay estuary, a federally designated National Estuary recognized for its ecological significance. This region contains rare and endangered species, diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and a critical sole-source groundwater aquifer that supports both ecological and human communities. Its intact natural systems also sustain agriculture, fisheries, and tourism.
FOREST is the successor organization to the Foundation for Ecological Research in the Northeast (FERN), founded in 2003. FERN advanced habitat conservation through research, monitoring, and education, including the first forest health monitoring program in the Central Pine Barrens and long-term freshwater wetland monitoring. In 2020, FERN transitioned to FOREST, which continues and expands this legacy with an increased emphasis on stewardship, collaboration, and applied conservation.
Timothy Green
Chairman
Jade Blennau
Treasurer
Henry Bokuniewicz
Vice-Chairman
Thomas Malanga
Member
Edward Schneyer
Member
Broad Goals:
- To promote and provide funding and support to qualified individuals and entities for aquatic, ecological, environmental, terrestrial and related scientific research within the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve, particularly within the Central Pine Barrens area, as well as similar ecosystems within the Northeastern United States;
- To create a centralized database repository of information concerning completed and ongoing research in order to foster and advance greater understanding and appreciation of the aquatic, ecological, environmental, terrestrial and related scientific issues within the the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve and similar regions in the Northeast;
- To hold, conduct, support and organize meetings, gatherings, lectures and other educational forums in order to disseminate and exchange knowledge concerning aquatic, ecological, environmental, terrestrial and related scientific issues within the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve and similar regions in the Northeast between resources managers, the scientific community, policy makers, and the general public.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support research, prescribed fire, conservation and ecological and environmental management, restoration, preservation and enhancement activities in the entire area of the Central Pine Barrens of Long Island and the Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve, both as described in the State of New York's Environmental Conservation Law Article 57;
- To conduct, promote, foster, advance, enable and support public awareness of the Central Pine Barrens and Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve.
- To conduct, promote, foster, advance, enable and support environmental educational programming within and about the Central Pine Barrens and Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support the mission of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission, its participation in regional ecological, prescribed fire and wildfire management initiatives and organizations and the spirit and intent of the Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support the New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy and all-hazards incident management, wildfire management and prescribed fire management.
- To conduct, promote, foster, advance, enable and support the preservation, protection, restoration, reconstruction, enhancement and research thereon of historical, archaeological and cultural resources and re-enactment of traditional activities within the Central Pine Barrens and Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support the existing “Twinnings” international exchange program between the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission and the Migliarino–San Rossore–Massaciuccoli Regional Park (MSRM Park) in Pisa, Italy.
- To support environmental enforcement efforts and activities within the Central Pine Barrens and Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable, support, establish and maintain memberships, on behalf of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission, in professional organizations.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support recreational activities within the Central Pine Barrens and Long Island Pine Barrens Maritime Reserve which are compatible with the ecological and natural resources of these areas.
- To promote, foster, advance, enable and support training programs and seminars for staff, members and designated representatives of the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission and Commission cooperating agencies.
