Letters to Save the Pine Bush 
Letters to Save the Pine Bush
Here is a sampling of letters written to Save the Pine Bush and some responses written by Lynne Jackson:
From: rngeorge@gw.dec.state.ny.us (Richard Georgeson) To: pinebush@aol.com To Lynne Jackson: Lynne – In your history of Save the Pine Bush section of your web page, you incorrectly state, “In September of 1978, there were no environmental laws in effect in New York State.” However, in 1978 there were a number of environmental laws in effect, including (but not limited to): 1972 – Air Pollution Control Act: Chapter 664, Article 19 Title 3 ECL; 1975 – Freshwater Wetlands: Chapter 614, New Article 24 ECL; 1970 – Endangered Species: Chapter 1047, Section 11-0535; 1972- Environmental Quality Bond Act 1973 – State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES): Chapter 801, Article 17 ECL; Please correct your web page to reflect this information. Thank You. Rick Georgeson, NYS DEC Region 4, 1150 N. Westcott Rd., Schenectady, NY 12306. rngeorge@gw.dec.state.ny.us ______________________________________________________Note on the previous letter. Mr. Georgeson is referring to this page of our website:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/MoreArt/summary.html
I changed the text to reflect that the State Envrionmental Quality Review Act was not yet in effect when Save the Pine Bush started in 1978. This is the law that we use when we sue municipalities over illegal approvals of developments in the Pine Bush
– – – – – Lynne Jackson
______________________________________________________
Dated November 9, 1998
Greetings, I am contacting to inform you that your site, http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html, has won the Environment Site of The Week Award. Each week I comb the Internet for the best environmental sites web sites that help the public learn about environmental issues and use the special powers of the web to act. In judging these web sites, I do not judge them according to how they look, how fast they load, how many or few gadgets the site has, how well it’s linked, or how warm it makes me feel. I, an ordinary person looking for a environmental information on the Internet, judge them according to how useful the web site is to the general public. I ask myself these questions:
1. Is there a lot of material on this web page?
2. Does it help me understand a specific area of our environment better than if I just picked up a book?
3. Does it have features special to the Internet that allow me to help in some way?
4. Is this site unique in some way?
A good environmental site is more than just telling the world how nice you think Nature is. A good web site understands that the Internet has potentials yet to be realized, because it is a multimedia medium accessible to all whom have access to a computer.
I’ve posted a message that you have won this weeks Environmental Site of the Week Awards in all the environmental newsgroups, and on this page: http://www.frontiernet.net/~astrox/NatureProjects.shtml#cat4. On the same page, I will keep a record of your site’s award and it will stay on this page to be seen by all who visit this page.
If you would like, this page also has the Environmental Site of the Week logo, which you may download, paste on your web page and link to the above listing. If you would like me to sent you an .gig or .jpg version of this award.logo, please contact me. The advantage of this is that your site will always be listed here as a former winner.
Frank J. Regan
Visit Green Solitaire: Environmentalism made easy on the Internet.
http://www.frontiernet.net/~astrox/index.shtml
Do you have an environmental home page? –If so, why not sign up for the Environmental Home Page Association– http://www.frontiernet.net/~astrox/EnviroHomePage.shtml — which is a mailing list and a resource center for environmental home page creators who want to help each other get noticed by the general public on the Internet.
Date: September 13, 1998
To: pinebush@aol.com
My fifth grade class at Porter Lakes Elementary School is studying the Karner Blue Butterly. We are approximately 1/2 hour from the Indiana Sand Dunes.
Would you please send me any information you can on this butterly and your organization?
Thank you.
Zachary
– – – – – –
Dear Zachary,
You have choosen a great topic to study!
I visited the Indiana Sand Dunes once; it is very similar to our Albany Pine Bush. The main difference between your Dunes and our Pine Bush is that there is no lake or large body of water near our Pine Bush.
We have a great deal of information about the Karner Blue butterfly (including beautiful photographs) on our web site. Our home page is:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Information on the butterfly can be found on
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/KB/KB_Index.html
If, after looking at our web site, you need more information, or you have specific questions, please feel free to email me back.
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson
Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
You Can Fight City Hall and Win!!!
Visit the Save the Pine Bush web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Email pinebush@ aol.com
Date: 5/25/98 10:15 AM
To: pinebush@aol.com
Perhaps you can help…
I live in a very residential area on a street that “dead-ends” at a cornfield. My neighbors and I have recently found out that the cornfield is about to become a townhouse/condo/single family home community containing 600 dwellings.
We believe traffic will increase by approximately 2000 trips per day on roads that are already choking with traffic.
As long as the developer complies with traffic “type of service” laws, the planning commission has not choice but to approve.
The developer has hired a firm to conduct analysis which, we believe, significantly underreports the impact the site will have on local traffic.
We don’t want to fight the building of homes, but 600 of them is way too many for this area. We would gladly settle for single family homes numbering 100-200.
Please reply with any info you may be able to offer on the subject of conducting our own studies and presenting the data to the township and the developer.
thanks….JD
– – – – – – – – –
Dear J D,
Do you live in New York? If so, contact the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation and get a copy of the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
In my experience, the only way to stop developments is on environmental grounds. In New York, depending on the size of the development, the developer needs to fill out an Environmental Assessment Form, and possibly an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Review these documents, and present written and oral comments on them at the Planning/and/or Zoning Board meetings.
Get a good lawyer. Our lawyer is Lewis B. Oliver. He is an excellent lawyer and is worth every penny. He has won many cases for us.
My personal feeling is that way too many woods and forrests have been torn down for suburban development. It is the suburbanization of America that is destroying our country-side, not the urbanization. I believe that no developments should be built on land that is not currently develped. Our downtowns are suffering, while suburban development is destroying our wild places. The only way you may win your arguement is not to compromise, my recommendation is you ask for forever wild, not to agree to 100-200 houses.
Save the Pine Bush never compromises – – that is why there is Pine Bush left today.
Good luck in your fight!
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson
Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
You Can Fight City Hall and Win!!!
Visit the Save the Pine Bush web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Email pinebush@ aol.com
5/4/98
hello… my name is ajay. i am a tenth grade student from guilderlandhighschool and was assigned to write a pursuasive piece about our community. i chose to write about the pinebush, i would like to know, in your opinion, why should we save the pinebush?
——-
Dear Ajay,
Why should we save the Pine Bush? There are many reasons:
The Pine Bush is the largest inland pine barrens in the United States The Pine Bush is an extremely unique ecosystem. Not only does it have a pine barrens ecosystem, composed of sand dunes with pitch pine an scrub oak, it has a tremendous diviersity of plants and animals. More than 1200 species of plant live in the Pine Bush, about a third of the total number of species in New York.
The Pine Bush is beautiful.
The Pine Bush is partly located within the boundaries of the City of Albany, the capital of New York State. Albany is the only major city in the country (that I know of) that has a unique ecosystem within its boundaries.
What right do we have to destroy these plants and anmimals? The Pine Bush is 10,000 years old, it deserves to live.
The Pine Bush once covered at least 58,000 acres. Now there are only 5,800 acres left. It seems to me that we can preserve this last 10% of the Pine Bush.
People need open space and green space. The Pine Bush provides a beautiful place for people to walk and hike and commune with nature.
There are LOTS of places to build houses and offices and shopping mauls in the capital district, especially in downtown Albany. People should be building downtown, not in the suburbs.
There are lots more reasons to save the Pine Bush. Visit our web site at
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.htm
(SPB must be capitalized)
to find out more about the Pine Bush and the struggle to preserve it.
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson
Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
You Can Fight City Hall and Win!!!
Visit the Save the Pine Bush web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Email pinebush@ aol.com
4/29/98
I am a student who is doing an in depth research project on the Pine Bush in Albany,NY. I have obtained some info off the internet, however, anyadditional info which you could provide me with, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
– – – – – – – –
Dear Student,
We have put on our web site hundreds of pages about the Pine Bush. In addition, I have 20 years of newspaper clippings on the Pine Bush, a room filled with copies of our court cases, and a file cabinet of other information.
You are welcome to come to my office to review and research the documents I have regarding the Pine Bush. Save the Pine Bush has volunteer night most Thursday evenings, which would be a good time. Or you could call me to arrange a time.
If you have specific questions about the Pine Bush, I would be very glad to answer them for you.
You have picked a great topic to research! Please email me at pinebush@aol,com, if I can be of any more assistance.
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson
Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
You Can Fight City Hall and Win!!!
Visit the Save the Pine Bush web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Email pinebush@ aol.com
5/27/98
I am doing a paper on the Karner Blue Butterfly for my conservation biology class, and would like for you to send me some information. Here is a brief list of things I need.
Taxonomic position (info. on the genus and family, and problems at the species level)
–Distribution and population size, past and present
— cause for its endangered status, Is it state, national,and internat’l
–genetic issues, if any
— Value of species
— conservation measures/policies
— prospects for recovery of species
——–
Dear Kurt:
I believe that your questions can be answered by the following:
>-Distribution and population size, past and present
I have files at my office with some of this information. You would be welcome to drop by (preferably on a Thursday evening which is our Save the Pine Bush volunteer night or make an appointment for another time) to review the files.
>– cause for its endangered status, Is it state, national,and internat’l
The Karner Blue is a federally endangered species, listed in 1992. New York State listing was in 1978. I have files on this also.
>– Value of species
I think the value of a species in incalcuable. Once it is gone, it is gone forever; nothing will bring a species back.
>–genetic issues, if any
>– conservation measures/policies
>– prospects for recovery of species
I would suggest calling the Albany Pine Bush Management Commission for this information (785-1800)or, check out our list of links on our Save the Pine Bush Web Page
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/Current/Links.html
There is also more information on the Karner Blue on our web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/KB/KB_Index.html
Good luck on your project!
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson
Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
You Can Fight City Hall and Win!!!
Visit the Save the Pine Bush web site at:
http://www.wizvax.net/lynjax/SPB.html
Email pinebush@ aol.com
1/29/98
Hello,
I hope everyone at Save the Pine Bush is well and that you have enjoyed the new year. I have recently discovered your home page and would like to congratulate on its layout and ease of use. I worked as a member of the fire crew for the prescribed burns 2 years ago and am pleased that I can still get information about how things are going. I’m even more pleased to hear that Save the Pine Bush has not dropped it’s guard against development. I gather that you are trying to raise funds for a new appeal, I’m sorry that I can’t add any financial support as I am working voluntarily for a U.K environmental charity back home in England, however I offer my best wishes and hope everything goes well. I admire the victories that you have alreadyachieved, so please keep up the good work. I would appreciate it if youcould send me any information on the success of last years burn season and any sightings of the Karner blues.
All the best, hope to hear from you soon,
Ian (friend and keen follower of Save the Pine Bush)
November 13, 1997
Hi. My name is Rebecca. I am a member of Student Government at Guilderland Central High School. Currently, we are sending letters >encouraging the construction of a YMCA. However, I do not understand. If the YMCA is built, will the Pine Bush be destroyed? And is there a way to save the Pine Bush while still building the YMCA? Please write to me as >soon as possible. Thank you.
———-
Dear Rebecca,
Thank you so much for writing. Construction of the YMCA, as currently proposed, would destroy about 5 acres of Pine Bush that has been purchased by the State of New York to be kept as forever wild. This 5 acres of Pine Bush would be destroyed so that the road could be built.
Building the road in this location is convenient for the developers of the YMCA. I think it all has to do with who is going to make the most money. In cases like this, I always say, follow the money. Instead of buying the land directly across the street from the school driveway, the developers want the State to give them forever wild Pine Bush. Looking at the maps, this just doesn’t make sence to me.
The Zoning Board, who is the lead agency and who held the public hearing last week, has no authority to give away Pine Bush land owned by the State of New York. Because of the significance of the land, it will take the State Legislature two successive years to approve removing land from the Pine Bush Preserve, which the Legislature may or may not do.
As far as I can see, the only way that a YMCA will be built in Guilderland, is if another location is found. The woman who spoke at the hearing mentioned some empty buildings, they sound great to renovate into a YMCA.
I would encourage your group to pursuade the YMCA to find another location for the Y. Its not people like Save the Pine Bush who are holding up this project. We cannot change the law about forever wild land in the State of New York. It is the developers of the YMCA who want to make as much money as possible and refuse to look at the facts. They can’t just take land from the Pine Bush, because the land belongs to all of the people of the State of New York.
I would be glad to speak to you more about this issue, and about this international treasure we are fortunate to have in our back yard, the Pine Bush.
Sincerely,
Lynne Jackson Volunteer, Save the Pine Bush
Last updated 9/12/98
