Long Island developer Robert Toussie to acution off a batch of his Pine Barrens credits

Developer Robert Toussie, the largest individual owner of Pine Barrens credits on Long Island, is auctioning off a batch of 20, according to his son Ike.

But Toussie may be facing weak demand, since projects on which to use them have been facing a tough time in the approval process.

The credits, given to owners of land in the 55,000-acre core of the protected central Pine Barrens in Suffolk County, allow builders a higher density or greater wastewater flow on their projects outside the core in exchange for protecting the land inside the core from development. Most of the protected area lies in Brookhaven and the rest sits in Southampton and Riverhead.

Pine Barrens credit prices have fluctuated over the years along with the price of real...