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PLACE: Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site - 10:30 A.M. Meeting at Museum
1:15 A.M. Program: The Future without Lots of Money Carol Ash, Executive Director All are welcome. Please bring a picnic lunch....
Leatrice Lifshitz (d. 3/03)
Tappan Zee High School's Graduating SeniorGREGORY SOYK SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry will welcome Gregory A. Soyk in September. Mr. Soyk has mastered the basic laboratory steps of highly informative tree-ring analysis at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory under the tutelage of the Tree Ring Lab's Nell Pedersen. Mr. Pedersen's tribute to his volunteer assistant includes - ... there are well known Ph.D.'s with many years of experience that have not learned this technique." Dendrochronology tells scientists about the eco-history through which the tree has lived and provides a valuable tool for understanding past events and for scientific speculation about the earth's climatological future. Mr. Soyk's environmental interests are not confined to the tab. He has upheld his own high anti-litter standards, picking up trash and keeping streets and school grounds clean, while attempting to educate his friends by example. He is concerned with fossil fuel consumption and its pollution: "(The Soyks) chose cars that release low emissions and also have very good miles-to-gallons ratio." Recommendations for improving Rockland's environment include Mr. Soyk's observation that many more public waste receptacles are needed along hiking paths and trails where litter is prevalent. He also believes in raising the incentive from 2 cents to 10 or 20 cents for re-use of paper/plastic shopping bags in grocery stores. The Eleanor Burlingham Award for excellence in environmental conservation was established in 1991. The annual $500 award to a graduating Rockland high school senior is in memory of Mrs. Burlingham who chaired RCCA for more than twenty years, sponsoring and furthering many of the environmentally protective agencies and measures we have today. Current RCCA President Betty Hedges speaks of Mrs. Burlingham's continuing legacy as - the heart and soul of environmental conservation in Rockland County." Jeanne Nelson, RCCA Board of Directors
Down to the Hudson: The Sparkill CreekOrangetown has several natural waterways: the Hackensack River. the Pascack Brook, the Nauraushaun Creek and the Sparkill Creek. Only the Sparkill Creek begins and ends in Orangetown. It beams its eight-mile Journey on the Clausland Mountain, travels into New Jersey and turns back into Orangetown. ending in the Hudson River. Mary Cardenas (Orangetown Town Historian) and Julie Trumpler (Curator) have put together an excellent exhibit of what the Sparkill was. what it has become and how we can protect what remains. Barbara Porta Hutchinson, former Executive Director of the Rockland County Environmental Management Council, will be the guest speaker at the Orangetown Museum on September 9. 2003. She will discuss tile successful campaign of the Sparkill Creek Watershed Preservation Association to stop the channelization of tile creek by the Army Corps of Engineers. Under her leadership, this grass roots organization was able to protect the Sparkill's natural and meandering flow. The museum, located at 2 13 Blue Hill Road, north of the Blue Hill Golf Course in Pearl River, is open Sunday's 1-4 P.M., Tuesdays 9 A.M. - 2 P.M. and by appointment. Phone: (845) 735-0429. Catherine Dodge, RCCA Board of Directors
Nakoma Brook FoamSince April, Sloatsburg residents along the Eagle Valley Road have noticed a flow of surface foam in the Nakoma Brook. The Nakoma is a major tributary to the Ramapo River. While surface foam can be a natural occurrence, consistent foaming over a protracted period of time can be an indicator of pollution. I recently moved to Eagle Valley Road, and have made the Nakoma Foam the subject of an Environmental Science course I am teaching for Empire State College. Joined by fellow RCCA board member Geoff Welch, my undergraduate students are taking water samples, running chemical analysis tests and bushwhacking through the old Eagle Valley terrain in search of the source of the foam. Silting from an Orange County construction site was discovered and reported to the Town of Tuxedo and the DEC. As for the foam, thus far dissolved oxygen levels have tested normal, watershed wildlife seems undisturbed, and there is no sign of eutrophication. But still the foam persists! The "hands-on" class work has produced more questions than answers. Stay tuned for more reporting on the Nakoma Foam. Chuck Stead, RCCA Board of Directors
Sterling Forest - The Park That Is Not Quite WholeAlthough many people look at Sterling Forest State Park and believe that all of the land once owned by Sterling Forest Corporation is saved, this is still not true. Sterling Forest LLC still owns approximately 600 acres of land in Tuxedo and Warwick on which they plan to build the Sterling Forge is Estates. This development would consist of an 18 hole public golf Course and 108 Luxury homes on this rocky land, the site of old historic iron ore mines. Since fall 2001, when Sterling Forest Corporation submitted a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the Town of Tuxedo, which is lead agency in the environmental review process, has been assessing the development plan. As recently as June 10, 2003), Sterling Forest LLC submitted a new Environmental Impact Statement which may prove to be the Final Statement. Sterling Forest Partnership, an organization of Orange -v residents has been Rockland and Bergen Count I observing the planning process and raising questions about the quality of reports from the applicant since the first application. The group is an outgrowth of Sterling Forest Resources, an organization actively involved in organizing grass roots Support and action to encourage the state and federal governments, and private groups to purchase the land and turn it into a park. This present plan raises many concerns and has potentially severe implications for the surrounding State Park, the lakes and river into which water from the area drain, the maintenance of the wetlands and several New York State threatened bird and reptile species. To date, approximately $85 million dollars of states, federal and private moneys have gone towards purchases of Sterling Forest State Park. Who would not be concerned about a nearby development that would negatively impact this investment? It will not be easy to turn the rugged steep slopes, exposed bedrock and thin soil into a rolling golf Course. To do so would require blasting and land moving involving threats to the trees, and wetlands. The amount of material to be moved would require 11,025 truck loads. Since the groundwater system is contained within bedrock cracks and fissures and the iron mines, there is concern that blasting may affect this system and potentially change the quantity and direction of the water flow. The golf course will be irrigated with water from the iron ore mines. Concerns exist as to the quality of the water. The maintenance of the extensive wetlands is dependent upon the present overflow of water from the mines. With no overflow, the wetlands would be deprived of their primary Source of water. Pesticides used for golf Course management will affect the brook, the Ramapo River. Sterling Lake and Tuxedo Lake, all of which are used for drinking, water in Tuxedo, Rockland and Bergen Counties. This land presently ties in-the largest parcel of unfragmented forest in the NY-NJ Highlands. The proposed development will eliminate habitat. This site and the surrounding area have the richest herpetology biodiversity quotient and are the habitat for 24% of all Timber Rattlesnakes in New York State. It is the only area in which the golden wing warbler is not decreasing. There are more than 30 rare state plants found in the general area. You may help in the effort to protect this land in two ways. The Tuxedo Town Board should be encouraged to consider the most recent EIS as a supplemental report rather than a final report. Under the SEQRA guidelines only a supplemental report has built in guidelines for further public review of the report to assure that aspects of the impact are considered. In addition, local and state politicians need to be made aware of the threats to the land, water, flora and fauna, and seek methods for potential purchase. Sue Scher. Co-Chair. Sterling Forest Partnership
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Last Updated: September 09, 2003 |
Welcome
- Julia Warger, Site Manager - Stony Point Battlefield Historic Site