History of RCCA

P.O. Box 213 - Pomona, NY 10970
Non-Profit Organization - Founded 1930

History of RCCA

Founded in 1930, Rockland County Conservation Association is one of the oldest environmental groups in the Hudson Valley and one of the first of such organized in the State of New York. Our mission is to conserve our earth's resources by promoting sound land use, clean water and air, proper drainage, safe energy and preserve our earth's natural beauty.

Our Beginnings:

Mrs. Henry von L. Meyer, chairperson of the Suffern Woman's Club, saw the need to broaden its organization's focus to include county wide conservation concerns. In 1930 she became the founder of the County Conservation Association. The by-laws of yesteryear remain much the same as today. The organization is composed of a board of directors with officers and representatives for each of the five towns. The townships are Clarkstown, Orangetown, Stony Point, Haverstraw, and Ramapo. Quarterly meetings were established for the membership.

Project in the '30s and '40s:

	Sponsoring picnic sites
	Regulation of billboards
	Model gas station contests
	Roadside planting of bulbs and trees
	Card parties to finance a community forest of 100 acres of marginal land at Summit Park
	Making Rockland a "dogwood" county
	Mailbox improvement contest
	Cleaning up the Hackensack River

In 1948 under the leadership of Mrs. Samuel Dodge as president, the Association changed its emphasis by becoming more greatly involved in political matters. RCCA initiated a series of conferences which attracted the business community, experts in planning and the county's elected officials. These programs included:

Metropolitan Expansion and Long Range Planning

Sewage Disposal Problems

Good Water Forever

Blueprint of Tomorrow - Existing and Future Industries

Marshes and Their Role in the Stabilization of the Water Table

In the 1960's Ruth Hardy, secretary of RCCA, initiated a dialog between herself and the legislature in the preservation of land for state and federal programs. As a result, this relationship between the legislature and RCCA continues to present day.