On Saturday, March 25th, about 100 Hamptonites turned out to “Hike The Hills” in East Quogue.  It was a beautiful day on Spinney Road, where KDHamptons joined the large group led by Westhampton High School science teacher Jok Kommer on an extended hike through the future site of The Hills resort community proposed by Discovery Land Company.  Before we hit the trail, Jok gave a very charismatic and informative history of the area.  During the trail, Kommer shared information on plans for hiking trails, bird watching, and other Outdoor Pursuits planned for the proposed new resort development.

Many of the hikers were surprised to see that the land had already been cleared for development prior to Discovery Land Company acquiring it for the proposed Hills project.  The open space has been used illegally for paint ball outings and dumping of unwanted junk, sadly.  In addition, the East End has been greatly affected by a beetle infestation and hundreds of trees have been killed [see below] and are not in shape to be preserved, so I was happy to learn that The Hills plans to revegetate a large portion of native species plants and trees.

The Pine Barrens area on Spinney Road is beautiful East End countryside which is in great need of some proper clean up and preservation after many years of not being cared for.  Discovery Land Company has offered to restore the area, revegetate the trees and plants and help to remediate the beetle problem.  On the hike, it was great to hear that 95% of the property will consist of vegetation, and will connect with other preserved land all the way to Sears Bellows County Park.

A few Hamptons hounds joined the fun sniffing out squirrels and chasing birds…

Peewee hikers had a blast collecting all the natural items on the pre-planned scavenger hunt list.

Hikers were also excited to see beautiful renderings along the route which depicted what the property will look like, should it be approved by the Town Board. The plan for The Hills project maintains 95% of the land as open space, supporting area wildlife & protecting the tranquil character of East Quogue.

To keep up with all the news about The Hills project follow along on Instagram HERE

• Photos in this feature provided by Veronique Louis