Jansen Hahn’s journey to local environmental activism happened almost by accident. He had worked for the Nature Conservancy on Long Island for more than a year when he met Fire Island Pines resident Tony Roncalli. The native Long Islander began to help Roncalli draft bylaws for a new non-profit designed to help protect the beach’s remaining open spaces and fragile ecosystems. This organization became the Fire Island Land Trust, and Hahn became its executive director due, in part, to both his legal and environmental background.

“I was so lucky he was available,” Roncalli said.

He founded the Fire Island Land Trust in 2006 to “provide a mechanism for private participation in voluntary land conservation and foster environmental stewardship of the barrier island,” according to its Web site. It also seeks to maintain a functional dune system to protect the beach from further erosion during storms and preserve historically significant areas or structures on the island. The trust also attempts to bridge the bureaucratic gaps between local, statewide and federal governments that have hindered previous efforts.

“We see ourselves as a conduit to interested parties in preserving the nature of Fire Island,” Roncalli told the News during an interview in the Pines earlier this month.

The trust currently has $60,000 from a variety of grants. The Nature Conservancy provided $16,000 in seed money while the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Land Trust Alliance awarded a $20,000 grant through the New York State Conservation Partnership. And it has already identified a number of properties it would like to restore or preserve.

These include the 37-acre Carrington Estate between the Pines and Cherry Grove. Frank Carrington sold it to the National Park Service in 1969. The compound, which consists of a main house and guest house, has fallen into disrepair despite various restoration efforts. The Pines Conservation Society [PCS] has partnered with the trust and they plan to submit a proposal to the NPS to restore the houses. The trust and the PCS are also considering the establishment of a potential artist colony and housing for other non-profit organizations as a way to generate potential rental income.

Another property which the trust iwould like to purchase is David Sloane’s oceanfront plot in Davis Park. A nor’easter in 1995 destroyed his home, and Sloane engaged in a lengthy legal battle with a variety of local and state agencies to obtain the necessary permits. The NPS and the town of Brookhaven do not have the necessary funds to purchase the property.

Sloane indicated to the News the remains interested in selling his land to the trust after it approached him.

“In 10 years, nobody has stepped up,” Sloane said. “These are the people who have stepped up to the plate.”

The trust is also seeking to purchase Mary Green’s oceanfront parcel in Ocean Bay Park. It lays adjacent to one of the 67 properties across Fire Island that Suffolk County currently owns in lieu of back taxes. The trust is currently in negotiation with Green to purchase the land.

“She’s more than willing to work with them, and they are willing to work with her,” OBP town manager Bartley Horton said. “It’s a win- win situation.”

Hahn said he feels the projects clearly demonstrates the need to protect the island’s remaining undeveloped tracts of land.

“We can be the ones who take all the developable lots off the market,” he said. “With a trust, we can do that.”

A land trust traditionally operates by offering tax incentives to property owners who donate their land in exchange to prevent future development. The Southampton-based Peconic Land Trust, for example, has protected nearly 9,000 acres of farmland and other areas across Long Island since its conception in 1983. The Fire Island Land Trust is unique, however, because it is specific to Fire Island.

“We’re focused on the coastal and some of the wetland areas on Fire Island and what can be done to meet the specific needs of the barrier island,” Hahn said.

The NPS acknowledges it does not have the money to purchase tracts of land on the beach. Hahn added, however, he remains hopeful it will allow local property owners to determine the future of their communities without navigating bureaucratic red tape.

“We want an organization that can kind of bridge the gap,” Hahn said.

Roncalli agreed. He added he feels the trust is essential to preventing the development that has transformed the Hamptons and other areas on Long Island in recent decades.

“My vision is 18 vibrant communities with a healthy and vibrant dune system and open space in each community,” Roncalli said.

He further stressed he hopes local residents will support this effort.

“We are not looking to grind property owners down,” Roncalli said. “We are their neighbors and property owners ourselves. We want to be partners with people in a place that we all love.”

Log onto www. fireislandtrust.org for further information.