Calling Nature's Buffs

When last we dropped in on the South Fork Natural History Society, it was deep in negotiation with state officials over a dream - a natural history museum that would be at the western edge of the parking lot at Montauk Point State Park, complete with exhibits on our flora and fauna, programs for kids and adults, and a small aquarium.

Then last week we heard something new. East Hampton Town officials are considering turning the old Cox's Fishing Station at the mouth of Three Mile Harbor, which the town owns, into an environmental center for programs particularly for youngsters.

Add to these the summer programs at the Nature Conservancy's Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island and the amazing number of year-round "interpretive" hikes led by the Group for the South Fork and the East Hampton and Southampton Trails Preservation Societies.

All of these efforts to enhance awareness of, concern for, and pleasure in the environment among the public at large are welcome. They may in part be responsible for the public's willingness to spend tax dollars for clean water and the purchase of open space, and they may help make permanent the accolade from the Nature Conservancy that the East End is one of the "Last Great Places."

This generation of adults may be the last that grew up here knowing the harbors, meadows, woods, and wetlands almost by birthright. Informal and unfettered access to wondrous places was the best teacher, with friends, family, and centuries-old tradition. Today, that is becoming scarce; signs and fences say "private." Instead, the formal programs of environmental organizations are proliferating.

In this case, too many cooks can't spoil the stew but they can make it a jumble. The time would seem to be overripe for a summit among all those who know and love the East End, and who want to pass their knowledge and pleasure along. Working in concert, they could insure that all the environmental programs and any future nature centers are complementary, rather than competing or overlapping.