The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation will host a public meeting on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Montauk Downs State Park at which officials will update residents about imminent tree-cutting projects in Napeague State Park.
The next tree-cutting activity, to address southern pine beetle impacts and reduce wildfire fuel loads, is to begin on Dec. 1.
In 2025 and early this year, Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation officials discussed the effort to address devastation wrought by the invasive insect on pine trees in Napeague and Hither Hills State Parks, particularly a reduction in the risk of wildfires at the Downs. “We are going to make a new forest, and it’s going to be great,” one official said in February.
The southern pine beetle was first detected in Suffolk County in 2014, and first seen at Napeague in 2021. Cold winter temperatures historically kept the species farther south, but it has spread northward as climate change raises temperatures.
Long-term goals were enumerated in 2022. They include the reduction and mitigation of threats to public safety, protection and promotion of rare and vulnerable species and natural communities, and strengthening of ecosystem resiliency to pests and disease. Emergency fuel breaks were established near residences in the winter of 2023 to 2024. In 2024, winter tree cutting was expanded, focusing on hazard trees along trails.
In August 2025, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation office had awarded a $2.2 million, three-year contract for forest management in areas that have experienced significant impact from the invasive species. The contract focuses on areas near residences, trails, and Montauk Highway while creating access for fire departments to reduce risk to lives and property in the event of a wildfire.
Pitch pine woodland comprises around a third of Napeague State Park, where an estimated 40,000 trees, or 80 percent of the forest, have been affected, Tim Watson, the Montauk Downs State Park director, said in February.
The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation can be contacted at 631-668-5000 for more information.
