The Mother of Udalls Cove

For those New York residents lucky enough to live in northeast Queens, one doesn't have to go far to experience wilderness and nature. 

At least, not when there's approximately 33 acres of preserved forests and wetlands, filled with hiking trails, wildlife and plants right around the corner along . 

But were it not for the efforts of two women, Aurora Gareiss, who founded the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee with help from her co-hort, Virginia Dent, there's no telling what would have become of Little Neck's wetlands.

Named after an 18th Century merchant whose descendants owned the Saddle Rock Mill in Great Neck until 1950, Udalls Cove protects one of the few remaining salt marsh wetlands — which at one time surrounded much of the city.

"What people don't realize is that a great deal of the waterfront homes, buildings and property in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx are actually built on top of fill ... essentially wetlands where people would go to dump trash, which would eventually be covered by dirt and then packed down by builders who'd put up high-rises or homes," said Walter Mugdan, president of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee.

By the mid-1960s, most of the remaining wetlands east of Douglas Manor had been purchased by several different developers, each with its own vision of a future that would have seen the winding creek at Udalls Cove filled in and replaced by a range of single-family houses, apartments and a marina.

In 1969, a group of local Little Neck-Douglaston residents led by Aurora Gareiss began a letter writing campaign urging government intervention and formed the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee to protect what they saw as the last vestige of urban ecosystem left in northeast Queens. 

"Gareiss was a feisty old woman, armed with conviction who wanted to preserve the natural beauty of Little Neck Bay," Mugdan said.

But Gareiss' fight would last over 22 years.

In 1990, Udalls Cove was officially dedicated as a wildlife preserve that included precious wetlands, forest, and ravines on both sides of the Nassau-Queens County line.

"There's a good chance that none of this would happen without Gareiss," Mugdan said.

Gareiss passed away in 2000.

Today, to mark Gareiss' many achievements, a pond located in the middle of Udalls Cove has been named in her honor. The area is now home to snapping turtles, shorebirds and waterfowl including egrets, osprey, herons, ducks, geese and swans.

But perhaps her greatest accomplishment was the formation of the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee which brought together a community engaged in the preservation of its wetlands.

"We look forward to a future filled with more conservation, preservation and restoration of our beautiful waterfront," Mugdan said.