Summer's a great time for enjoying Long Island's natural resources. Why not also support its conservation?
"Our conservation concern is that wild turkeys may not make it to western Long Island. But if they have, no one's talking," says Mindy Block, Quality Parks founder, president, and executive producer of stories that green our world. "When I stopped by a site in Mount Sinai, a garden fence was being used not so much to keep out the deer but to keep out wild turkey!" In walking through an isolated nature preserve further up the island, she speculates, "Spotting wild turkey, or imagining oneself to be part of the team that reintroduces wild turkey, if no turkey are to be found, that would be great!"
Quality Parks Ranger volunteers will be collecting data and contacting local groups and nearby park agencies to find out where wild turkey have been spotted. Contributing to this survey offers anyone who is interested, a hands on opportunity to understand an important principle of conservation biology: island biogeography. With so much commercial and residential development isolating our parklands, it's harder for some animals to maintain their populations within these restricted boundaries. And, it is also more difficult for some animals to repopulate isolated parklands that have no greenways between them. Wild turkeys were reintroduced to parts of eastern Long Island in the early nineties, after being over hunted. Are they making their way to parks in your area? Join us and find out.
