The Hempstead Plains is a rare East Coast prairie ecosystem that once covered 40,000 acres of central Long Island but today faces the risk of disappearing forever.
This globally unique grassland has lost over 99.9% of its historic area to development and is designated G1 Critically Imperiled.
Resembling the prairies of the Midwest - but sitting just east of New York City - the Hempstead Plains provides key habitat for birds, insects, and numerous rare and threatened plant species.
Here you will find tall grasses characteristic of Midwestern prairie growing alongside Northeast coastal plants such as the federally endangered sandplain gerardia (pictured below).
The Hempstead Plains has also played an important role in US history as a military center and as the “Cradle of Aviation.” During the Civil War, it was the site of Camp Winfield Scott and then in 1917, Mitchell Air Force Base.
By the 1920’s, the area housed several flight schools and three major airfields including Roosevelt field - the departure point for Charles Lindberg’s historic transatlantic flight to France aboard the Spirit of St. Louis.
Unfortunately, decades of development have paved the native prairie to the brink of extinction.
Today, Friends of Hempstead Plains and Nassau County protect most of the remaining grassland within two preserves. There we are working to manage and restore the native prairie so that it will endure for future generations.