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Friends,
Over the past few weeks a fundamental shift has
taken place in Albany
regarding our efforts to preserve the sanctity and restore the
health of
the forests on DEC lands in our county.
The work you've done so far has had a positive
effect!
On the 10th of February 2004, State Senator Vincent
Leibell and
Assemblywoman Sandra Galef met with DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty
at the
Senator's Albany office and in a phone conversation this morning
the
Senator described the meeting as "productive" - which
is very positive for
our position.
From Assemblywoman Galef's note after that meeting:
"There appears to be no pressure to rush
to any decision."
The fact that DEC now sees no pressure to make
a quick decision on their
project is a major victory for the hundreds of individuals and
the
community organizations who have taken the time to come to meetings,
write
letters, make phone calls and speak out, for a united Kent Town
government,
for the County Legislature and for Mr. Leibell and Mrs. Galef
who have
worked closely on our behalf to ensure the agency hears our concerns
and
understands our positions.
There is misinformation however, perhaps intentional,
about our position on
these issues and I'd like to take a moment to clear them up -
yet once again.
The DEC and their proponents of logging public
lands and who endorse the
practice of 'even-aged stand management' (a term carefully chosen
to
describe the creation of a tree plantation where a forest once
stood)
assert we are asking for a 'hands off' management approach to
our forests
which is inherently and factually untrue and always has been.
Over the past 9 months we have consistently offered
the DEC viable
alternatives to their plans. Some examples;
<> We have repeatedly asked the DEC, in
face to face meetings, to work with
the community to remove invasive species they planted and allowed
on the
Nimham property. This will help the forest recover - naturally
- from past
human attempts at forest management, reforestation projects gone
awry and
the agricultural uses of several generations ago;
<> We have asked the DEC to use the base-line
research they have done for
their logging program to study what happens to eco-systems as
the forest
matures and regains its natural balance rather than what happens
to it when
they "thin" the forest of it's biodiversity and life;
<> This year, the 1994 Unit Management
Plan that lays out the altering of
Mount Nimham from a natural environment into a tree plantation
is open for
review. We have asked the DEC to tell us what process is involved
for
working with them so that we can arrive at a revised plan we can
all agree
with; and,
<> We have asked the DEC to help us propose
a 480-a style tax plan to put
private lands in preservation especially in the Croton watershed
where the
MOA clearly seeks a reduction in logging activities.
To each request the response has been the same
- absolute silence.
I've been told by reliable sources that DEC Region
3 feels we have not been
co-operative, but anyone who is even remotely involved knows that
to be
absolutely untrue. My hand has always been open to an agreement
on a
natural solution to ensure the health and permanent protection
of our
forests. There have been meetings, sure, but they did not produce
any
results for the agency had no desire to seek a solution that was
different
from their current plan.
You have all placed a great deal of trust and
faith in my ability to see
this through and I assure you I am not prepared to compromise
on any plan
that would harm the integrity of our forests. The DEC has refused
to
produce anything other than their current management plan and
so we were at
a standoff. Goliath facing David. But this David is surely not
alone for he
has all of you, a united community that will not be silenced.
Instead, in an attempt to divide us, some in
DEC have gone on a fishing
expedition to find someone more likely to agree with their plans
and hold
that person up as a model of co-operation. This would not be co-operation
however, but acquiescence, and our forests would be lost for the
sake of
accommodation. This cannot be.
One hopes this attempt at divisiveness will be
met with a swift and sure
rebuke from the public and from the elected officials who stand
solidly
behind us.
But things have apparently changed at the top
of the agency for in my
conversation this morning Senator Leibell reported that DEC Commissioner
Crotty was now interested in seeking an amicable solution and
had a desire
to work cooperatively with us.
Assemblywoman Galef summed up the February 10th
meeting by saying:
"As I indicated we had an excellent meeting
with Erin Crotty. My assessment
is that the project is on hold at this point."
This is all quite good news.
However, we still need to be prepared for a protracted
battle and to that
end there is ongoing planning to put "watchers" on the
mountain come spring
so that we can be quickly alerted to any untoward activity by
the State.
Volunteers will be needed for this and several have publicly and
repeatedly
expressed their willingness to face police arrest if the DEC moves
against
the community's wishes. A legal fund should be established, just
in case.
Volunteers are also needed for fun grunt work,
phone calls, research,
mailings and leafletting, and there is still much to do to solidify
our
position and continue the successful defense of our lands.
The saying, "the people united can never
be defeated" may often be true but
let's not be counting our chickens just yet. There is still much
work to do.
Thanks again to representatives Sandy Galef and
Vinnie Leibell for their
efforts on our behalf. It's apparent they make quite a team in
Albany for
those of us in western Putnam County.
Jeff Green
PlanPutnam
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