Jaws director Steven Spielberg protected 7.46 East Hampton acres with conservation easements in 2011; all 3 marsh and forest parcels are closed to development

Steven Spielberg placed conservation easements on three properties in East Hampton Village in 2011, which permanently protected 7.46 acres from development. The land sits around Georgica Cove and contains brackish tidal marsh, maritime forest, old field and shrubland.The parcels were held through a Spielberg family subsidiary called the S.A.M. Trust. The Peconic Land Trust received the conservation easements, while the Village of East Hampton approved the transaction. The three properties measure 2.45, 2.65 and 2.36 acres respectively, according to the Peconic Land Trust's 2011 newsletter.Three separate pieces of landThe properties are located around Chauncey Close and Cove Hollow Farm Road near Georgica Cove. Two of the parcels are next to one another, while the third lies across a small road. The conservation easements placed permanent restrictions on what could be done with the land, and the Peconic Land Trust said the easements prohibited vegetative screening and landscaping except when such work was needed to manage or improve natural habitat or prevent a public hazard.The land trust described the properties as remnants of the former Cove Hollow Farm, whose habitats included brackish tidal marsh and successional maritime forest, along with old fields and shrubland. The organization said the protected areas contributed to the health of Georgica Cove and Georgica Pond and provided habitat for mammals, birds, turtles and other wetland species.Spielberg lived across the waterSpielberg's family home, Quelle Farm, was on Apaquogue Road across the water from the three parcels. A December 2011 report in The East Hampton Star said Spielberg had donated the conservation easements through the S.A.M. Trust to the Peconic Land Trust. It reported that the three parcels were located in the Cove Hollow Farm neighborhood at the intersection of Chauncey Close and Ruxton Road.The East Hampton Village Board had approved the transaction at a meeting that month, with village administrator Larry Cantwell saying that the approval recognized that the easement and gift were consistent with village policies for preserving natural resources. Spielberg did not simply hand the parcels over to a public agency; instead, the conservation easements placed legally binding restrictions on development while the land remained under private ownership.The restrictions went beyond constructionThe 7.46 acres were protected from development but the restrictions extended further, as seen by the Peconic Land Trust's account, which says that landscaping was also prohibited except where it served a conservation purpose or addressed a public hazard. The parcels were valuable waterfront land, which is why that matters. The easements preserved the existing ecological communities rather than allowing the properties to be cleared or landscaped as conventional residential lots.The land trust specifically linked the protection to Georgica Cove and Georgica Pond, and its 2011 publication said the easements would help protect habitat used by numerous mammals, birds, turtles and other wetland species. The village's involvement also gave the arrangement a local planning dimension. The transaction was approved not as a public acquisition of a park, but as a conservation measure consistent with East Hampton's policies on natural resources.What did the easement change?The Peconic Land Trust's records identify the three conservation easements as covering 7.46 acres of natural habitat, and the restrictions were mainly designed to remain with the properties rather than expire when ownership changed. The three parcels needed to be preserved as they kept a section of tidal marsh, forest, old field and shrubland from being converted into a more developed residential landscape.Spielberg's role was tied to the land through the S.A.M. Trust rather than through a public park created in his name, and the conservation easements instead provided a legal mechanism to keep the three parcels undeveloped while maintaining their existing habitat. The Peconic Land Trust continues to describe conservation easements as a way of permanently protecting natural lands while ownership can remain private.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.