On Rte. 25A at the corner of Washington St. in Poquott there is a Three Village Community Trust sign designating the Stephen D. Matthews Nature Preserve.   The Trust was chosen to manage the ten-acre conservation easement created as part of a settlement between Poquott and LIPA/KeySpan.  Before his death in 2005, Matthews, as Environmental Commissioner and Deputy Mayor of Poquott, had negotiated for several years to preserve the wooded buffer between Poquott and the KeySpan plant.  The ten acres, will be maintained in perpetuity as a passive park, stretch from 25A to Port Jefferson Harbor and include both old growth and coastal specimens.

The Trust is responsible for annual monitoring of the site against littering, growth of invasive species, and incursions.  Donations to the S.D. Matthews Memorial Fund will be used to manage the Trust’s first Conservation Easement.