Shelter Island is a town and an island in Suffolk County at the eastern end of Long Island, NY between the North Fork and the South Fork. Shelter Island is around 8,000 acres. Vast tracts , nearly one-third of the island, are protected wetlands, a nature preserve marshland. In 1980, The Nature Conservancy purchased the Mashomack Peninsula’s 2039 acres as open space to be preserved in a wild state. The Mashomack Preserve, as it is called now, has four nature and bird-watching trails. Shelter Island has great beaches, golf courses, marinas and homes ranging from modest cottages to the grandest of mansions. There is a renovated manor house, scene of social events in the summer, and a variety of environmental programs for adults and children.

At the time of European encounter, it was occupied by the Manhanset tribe, an Algonquian-speaking people related to the Pequot and other Algonquians of New…