The Long Island Heritage Trail Area management plan is in its first stages of completion. Last week, Eve Holberg, project manager of Peter J. Smith & Company, Inc., visited the area, meeting with people and announcing the next phase of the work.

The Planning Commission will be holding a series of open workshops on Wednesday, Dec. 3; Monday, Dec. 15; and Tuesday, Dec. 16 to encourage public participation in the development of the heritage area. On Dec. 3, there will be a public input opportunity for interested parties at the Port Jefferson Village Hall at 6 p.m. The meeting is a replacement for their Aug. 14 meeting that was canceled due to the blackout; many people called and said they still wanted to add their comments to the management plan.

The next two meetings on Long Island are to present the Long Island North Shore Management Plan, Phase I summary to the public. Locally, they will be at the Glen Cove City Hall, on Monday, Dec. 15 and in Port Jefferson on Dec. 16. A one-hour presentation on the plan will be held at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on both days. All the workshops are free to attend.

Holberg said the two workshops will present the plan as it exists at this moment in its development. "Conceptually, the management plan interprets the North Shore as a living museum along the 521 square-mile long area," she said. "It tells the stories of the people of the North Shore of Long Island, past and present. Within the concept, its resources are gathered into virtual galleries. The galleries are: the Gold Coast, the American Dream, the Maritime Coast, the Pine Barrens and the Harvest Coast."

The plan goes on to explain, that these "virtual galleries" are related to one another. Here in the Gold Coast area, are the play palaces of the rich. The Maritime Coast area is home to the centers of shipbuilding on Long Island. In the American Dream area the ideal of homeownership for a new middle class is realized in suburbia. The Pine Barrens area is the site of some of the last vast open space in Heritage Long Island. The Harvest Coast area is a diverse and abundant agricultural area.

The plan explains: "This conceptual museum and its virtual galleries bring the disparate elements of the chaotic whole into an understandable and legible series of human dramas - the stories of the people of the Long Island North Shore. The personalities of the people of Heritage Long Island North Shore form the themes that unite these virtual galleries. The themes are: The Seafarers (Whalers, Sailors and Fisherman), The Builders (Patriots, Preachers and Patriarchs), The Naturalists (Birders, Hikers and Beachcombers) and The Rebels (Poets, Pirates and Politicians)."

The Long Island North Shore Heritage Area (LINSHA) is described as a region with a special coherence or sense of place, distinguished by significant natural, historic and cultural resources, which, when taken as a whole, tell the story of the heritage of the region's people. The designation of a region as a heritage area provides a way to protect, connect, package and promote its significant resources.

"This is truly an important project for Long Island, allowing us to both preserve and showcase the rich cultural heritage of the North Shore," said Michael Hollander, co-chair of the Planning Commission. "Because it is so significant, we want to give the public the opportunity to voice their ideas and input to the commission as well as learn more about the Heritage Area and what we are trying to accomplish through its establishment. We encourage all interested persons to attend and take an active role."

LINSHA was created by state legislation in 1998. This designation recognizes the area's unique historical evolution, resources and development. The role of the Planning Commission is to arrange for the development of a management plan for the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area, one of only 16 designated state heritage areas and the first on Long Island. The area is located between the Queens/Nassau border on the West and Orient Point on the East, and from the Long Island Sound on the North to the Long Island Expressway on the South.

While they have completed their resource inventory, Holberg said they welcome information about anything they have missed that should be added to their list. It is a work in progress, she said. All the material they are accumulating will be given to the management person who will be in charge of the LINSHA.

LINSHA is under the auspices of the NYS Office of Preservation, Parks and Historic Preservation and, according to Holberg, it is a preservation program. It has three areas of interest, preservation, economic development and tourism.

"Sustainability is the thrust," she said. "The unique thing about Long Island is its geography that limits its capacity as far as traffic and transportation." Holberg said that is what sometimes worries people when they hear the word "tourism," but she explained tourism can mean people who already live on Long Island and visit another area here. Tourism also can be a trip that ends in a ferry ride to Connecticut and not a return trip that can clog the roads.

The idea of sustainability means planning things during the "shoulder seasons" (not the summer months), but throughout the year. The Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay falls into this consideration as it occurs after the normal vacation times, the weekend after Columbus Day, in October.

Another focus of LINSHA is how to find uses to re-use historic buildings so they are not "lost." Holberg suggested areas need visitor centers that direct people visiting, to where they can go.

She was delighted with the recent Passport to Historic Oyster Bay promotion (for three summer weekends) which she said put together not only a local entity, Raynham Hall Museum, but a state site - Planting Fields Arboretum Historic Park and a federal site - Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. "What a great partnership," Holberg said.

There are five main guidelines to the management plan for sustainable tourism which Holberg said means, "Tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future."

It incorporates five avenues: Protect, which means, understand the limits of growth for Heritage Long Island North Shore. Connect, which means to seek host validation and celebration of Heritage Long Island North Shore as a unifying identity; Package, which means to identify experiences people will enjoy and recommend to others; Promote, which means to increase the amount of tourism and decrease seasonality within sustainable limits: and Partner, which means to create opportunities for profit, reinvestment and growth for the tourism industry.

The Management Plan for Heritage Long Island North Shore will require cooperation and collaboration of many disparate groups. It must be adopted at three levels of government - municipal, county and state. Support and enthusiasm will be required throughout all levels of public and private sector stakeholders. Understanding the product the plan proposed to develop and encouraging its adoption and implementation requires a myriad of enthusiasts. The plan is, after all, a plan. The public and private partners from within and outside the Heritage Area will give it life.

The Planning Commission's voting members include Lori Bahnik and Michael Hollander, co-chairs; and members Larry Austin, Patricia Bourne, John Canning, Ira Paul Costell, Joanne Drielak, Hon. Jeanne Garant, Ann Gill, Samuel P. Girardi, Louise Harrison, J. Lance Mallamo, Diane Moje, Judith Pannulla, Gloria D. Rocchio, Peter Sylver and Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld.

For additional information on the workshops or on the Long Island North Shore Heritage Area, contact Eve Holberg of Peter J. Smith & Co., Inc. at (716) 447-0505 or visit www.linorthshoreheritagearea.com.