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More Park Facilities Reopen During May 2013
Watch Hill and Sailors Haven marinas open May 10. Limited ferry service from Sayville to Sailors Haven resumes May 13 and ferries from Patchogue to Watch Hill start on May 18. Remaining park facilities to reopen by May 25, 2013. More »
Wilderness Management Plan
The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness encompasses 1,363 acres of the Fire Island National Seashore, located immediately west of Smith Point County Park and east of Watch Hill. The wilderness area was named in honor of Otis G. Pike who represented New York's 1st District in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1960 to 1978. 1983 Wilderness Management Plan Under guidelines established by the 1964 Wilderness Act, the park's Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness was designated on December 23, 1980 (PL 96-585). Three years later a formal Wilderness Management Plan for this area was approved.
"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Wilderness Management Plan
Learn More All National Park Service lands are evaluated to determine their eligibility for inclusion within the national wilderness preservation system. Those lands that are determined to possess wilderness character—like the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness—are managed according to the criteria found in the 2006 Management Policies, Chapter 6. Director's Order # 41: Wilderness Preservation and Management and NPS Reference Manual 41 provide further guidance for the management of these special places. To learn more about the national wilderness preservation system, visit the following sites: |
Did You Know?
The first Fire Island Lighthouse was built in 1826 on the western end of the island. Today, Fire Island Inlet is more than 5 miles west of this foundation. More...
Fire Island Wilderness
Wilderness Visitor Center & Backcountry Permit Desk Hours