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ANNUAL MEETING - THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2002 - 10:30 A.M. PLACE: Suffern Free Library, 210 Lafayette Ave, Suffern, New York. 11:15 A.M. Program: "Human Health Effects of Power Plant
Pollution" Dr. Thurston is co-author of a study of long-term health impacts from what scientists call combustion-related fine particulate matter. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in March. He is a member of the American Lung Association' s National Air Conservation Commission and a member of the American Thoracic Society's Environmental and Occupational Health Long-Range Planning Committee, among many other responsibilities. Dr. Thurston has participated in power plant siting proceedings and has testified at Congressional hearings. Lunch will be sewed.
THANK YOU, MEMBERS AND FRIENDS Your support of the Rockland County Conservation Association through your 2002 membership dues and donations is gratefully acknowledged and deeply appreciated. Your contributions make it possible for RCCA to carry on its efforts to preserve, protect and conserve our natural resources. Many thanks. Betty Hedges, President
Report of the Nominating Committee - Faith Leigh, Chair First Vice President - Faith Leigh
The Rockland County Conservation Association Eleanor Burlingham Award is presented annually to a graduating senior from a Rockland County High School who demonstrates outstanding achievement in environmental conservation. Faith Leigh and Jeanne Nelson, RCCA Award Go-Chairs, have announced that the $500 award application forms have been sent to the scholarship chairs at all high schools in the county. The winner will be honored at RCCA's summer quarterly meeting in July. The Eleanor Burlingham Award memorializes this outstanding woman's
contributions to environmental conservation. She served as President of RCCA for
23 years and continued working as an active member of the Board of Directors
until her death in 1991.
Cropsey's Paintings of Torne Valley - A major new show cf·90 Hudson River School paintings, American Sublime, is now at the Tate Gallery in London. The next stop for the show will be the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia where it will open on June 17. Included in this highly received exhibit are four paintings by Jasper Francis Cropsey, one of which is a dramatic 1850 work. High Torne Mountain, Rockland County, New York. The exhibit catalog states, "This is one of the most romantically wild of Cropsey's early landscapes... Cropsey's evocation of the brooding power represented by the looming crag... [is] expressed as a response to natural phenomena." This painting was formerly known as Eagle Cliff, New Hampshire, but due to the recent research of Dr. Kenneth Maddox, with help from RCCA Ramapo Director Geoff Welch, the title was corrected in time for this historic exhibit. We are pleased to announce that Dr. Maddox will be presenting a slide show program on Cropsey's Paintings of Tome Mountain at the Suffern Free Library on June 11 at 7:QO P.M. Don't miss this exciting event.
The Rockland County Conservation Association (RCCA) has been involved with preservation efforts within the Highlands for many years. Going back to the 1940's, RCCA took a leadership role in an aggressive grassroots effort to preserve High Tor from development, by purchasing the land and donating it to the Palisades Intestate Park Commission. The local area of the Highlands is within the Ramapo River Watershed known as the Ramapo Mountains. This area is integral for its source of quality drinking water, wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, productive forest, recreational uses, and cultural and historical values. RCCA recognizes the importance that each of these plays in the balance to achieve preservation of quality of all life. The USDA Forest Service Report of 1992 and the Draft New York and New Jersey Highlands Regional Study of March 2002, affirm the significance of this region. We believe that continued preservation and conservation efforts must be promoted in order that quality of all life is not compromised. Ongoing initiatives by RCCA have recognized the critical need to protect the valuable watershed and land from inappropriate development; The following is a brief review that highlights some of these recent initiatives: 1975 - Along with the Environmental Management Council (EMC), RCCA worked for ten years to secure a Recreational River designation for a portion of the Ramapo River, under the NYS Wild, Scenic and Recreational River Program. This designation was granted by an act of the NYS Legislature. 1981 - Actively worked toward the closure of the Ramapo Landfill, which qualified within the first of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites list. 1984 - Worked toward the closure of the Ramapo Landfill, which resulted in a decision of the NYS Supreme Court to cease operation. 1985 - Granted party status in the permit hearing held by the NYS Department of Conservation (DEC), to review the environmental impacts of a leachate discharge from the Ramapo Landfill into the Ramapo River. 1987 - Helped close the notorious construction and demolition debris dump along the banks of the Ramapo River in Tuxedo, NY. 1988 - The start of the long effort to save Sterling Forest. This is a 20,000-acre tract of land of mostly contiguous forest. Approximately 2,000 acres is in Passaic County, NJ, and a small section is in Rockland County (Sloatsburg). This cooperative effort resulted in the preservation of a significant contiguous Highlands forest. Successfully opposed the siting of a second landfill in Tome Valley. 1992 - Ramapo River Committee (RRC), EMC and RCCA supported the efforts of the Passaic River Coalition (PRC) on behalf of the Township of Mahwah, NJ, in successfully petitioning the EPA for sole source aquifer designation of the entire Ramapo River Watershed. 1993 - Requested along with the RRC that a study of Brook Trout m Tome Brook be conducted by the NYSDEC. This resulted in the status of Trout Spawning (TS) standard, which mandates increased regulatory protection. Participated in the review of the Remedial Action Plan that outlined the plan for the closing of the Ramapo Landfill. 1995- The Save Torne Mountain Campaign was begun by RRC. The RCCA was the first of several environmental organizations to rally for focused preservation of Torne Mountain. 1997 - RCCA formed the Committee to Save Tome Valley in opposing the proposed Braen Stone Quarry on five hundred mountainside acres in Torne Valley. This would extend for over two miles along Harriman State Park. The committee continues its efforts by opposing two power plant proposals, under NYS Public Law Article X. Not able to meet many obstacles, one of the applications (Sithe Energy) has been withdrawn. The effort remains steadfast in opposition to the American National Power application, as an active intervenor. Although not in Torne Valley, RCCA also participated as an active intervenor in the Mirant-Bowline 3 application, in Haverstraw, NY. 2000 - Participation in the Highlands Preservation Summit conducted by U.S. Congressman Benjamin Gilman. 2001 - Invited by U.S. Congressman Benjamin Gilman to be a member of his Highlands Preservation Working Group. Nominated Torne Mountain for National Natural Landmark List with the Department of the Interior. Compiled by: Geoff Welch and Dorice Madronero
INDIAN POINT Twenty Eight Years ago at RCCA The Rockland County Conservation Association joined with the Westchester-based Citizens' Committee for the Protection of the Environment in petitioning the Atomic Energy Commission to show cause why Construction Authority for Indian Point 3 and Operating Authority for Indian Point I and 2 should not be revoked. The U.S. Geological Survey of the Ramapo Fault was one of many safety issues involved. - From RCCA Files, 1974
Over the years, environmental: and community groups continued to express serious concern about the safe operation of Indian Point. Indian Point reactors 2 and 3 are operating, while Indian Point I is permanently shut down. There are 103 nuclear reactors in the country. Indian Point 2 has the worst safety record of all, and it is located in the most densely populated area. An estimated twenty million people live within a 50-mile radius of Indian Point. After September 11, the threat to this population was underscored. It is clear to all that the facility is vulnerable to terrorist attacks as well. There is now a great swell of opposition to the plants by residents and officials. RCCA is part of a coalition working to CLOSE INDIAN POINT.
WATER WOES Rockland's serious drought continues. Our potable water supply is limited. The water table has lowered due to lack of rainfall, demands of population growth, loss of permeable soil as a result of development, and most sewage being carried to the Hudson River. The Ramapo River supplies one-third of Rockland's drinking water, and millions of New Jersey residents use water from the Ramapo. But the Ramapo has been stressed by development and drought. "You keep adding more development during a bad drought, and the Ramapo River could run dry," said Fred Spitz, who is studying the Ramapo and Mahwah River system for the U.S. Geological Survey. For years, Geoff Welch, Chair of the Ramapo River Committee and RCCA Ramapo Director, has been calling for a watershed management plan. "In this drought crisis we should have a moratorium on development until we have a strong watershed management plan in place." he said. CONSERVE 'WATER
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Last Updated: September 09, 2003 |
