May 28 2021
On a geological time scale, barrier islands are by definition impermanent, ever-changing, ephemeral. At some point, amidst all this flux, the 32 mile-long barrier island along the south coast of New York’s Long Island transformed from yet another shifting sandbar into something remarkable. Fire Island is doubly rare as the home to one of only two maritime holly forests in the world and the first gay-controlled geography in the world.
Fire Island’s Sunken Forest is a remarkably unique ecosystem. Ilex opaca, the American holly, typically grows as an understory shrub, but is the dominant tree species in the Sunken Forest. The holly forest reproduces vegetatively and is limited by the height of the surrounding dunes, which keep ocean salt spray to a minimum. Additionally, the island has been home to several threatened or endangered species, including the federally-listed seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus), the New York State listed seaside knotweed (Polygonum glaucum), and the New York State protected orchid, Spiranthes vernalis.
The small beach community abutting the Sunken Forest, Cherry Grove, is the world’s first LGBTQ-controlled geography, in which a majority of renters and homeowners are queer. LGBTQ people have called Cherry Grove home since as early as the 1920s. During an era in which partner dancing between members of the same gender was illegal, gay people in Cherry Grove found the liberation to sponsor elaborate drag competitions, host legendary costume balls, and live authentically with their partners when doing so elsewhere would likely have resulted in imprisonment and unemployment.
The preservation of these two unique resources was not the result of chance, but of multiple disasters. The first action taken to preserve Fire Island was borne of an all too familiar tragedy. During a cholera epidemic in 1892, New York State purchased part of the island to use as a quarantine area and screening center for ships entering New York Harbor. Once the epidemic had passed, the state retained use of the land, eventually adding it to the first New York State park, Robert Moses State Park.
Another disaster, the great hurricane of 1938, served to insulate Cherry Grove. Prior to the hurricane, the resort town of Cherry Grove had housed an eclectic mix of New York City artists, both gay and straight, and Long Island families. The devastation of the hurricane scared away most community members aside from the gay Cherry Grovers, who had nowhere else to turn as mainstream American society turned more conservative.
Just as disasters paved the way for the protection of the Sunken Forest and Cherry Grove, so too did they provide an opportunity for the community to showcase its unique character. Gay Cherry Grovers had learned from the hurricane of 1938 the importance of protecting the dune ecosystem. Hurricane Gloria, in 1985, provided a reminder of the dangers of living so intimately with the ocean. The annual Blessing of the Houses tradition began, in which a group of drag queens paraded through Cherry Grove, offering blessings to beach houses in exchange for donations to the Dunes Fund. The Ad Hoc Committee to Save Cherry Grove, ostensibly created to protect the queer character of the community, also became involved in dune preservation efforts, posting signs encouraging people to avoid walking on the fragile ecosystem.
The establishment of the Fire Island National Seashore in 1964 inadvertently did double duty in preserving the island’s communities along with its ecosystems. Designating the island a National Seashore put the final nail in the coffin of a plan by infamous developer Robert Moses to run a highway across the length of the island. Additionally, it prohibited the development of car roads and provided strict zoning laws, protecting the communities from overdevelopment and overcrowding.
Today, the doubly unique nexus of the Sunken Forest and Cherry Grove is threatened once again, by the increased frequency of major storms and the explosion in the island’s deer population. Efforts to cull the deer population have been controversial, due to the large human presence on the island. The deer population has exploded more than tenfold during the period from the 1980s to the early 2000s, and rare ground plants are impacted both by deer herbivory and trampling.
As Fire Island faces new challenges, we can learn from the resiliency and creativity the island’s communities have shown in the past. Hurricanes, epidemics, and homophobia haven’t tarnished the island’s shine yet, and there is no reason to believe it won’t be able to withstand these latest obstacles.
