It is with great sadness that we give you the news that Dr. Robert Raymond passed away on July 11. Survived by his wife of many years, Marion Raymond, Dr. Raymond will be missed by all. Save the Pine Bush extends its deepest sympathies to Mrs. Raymond. Printed in the August, September, 2001 Newsletter
Draft Environmental Impact Statement DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT for Avila House Independent Senior Campus Lead Agency: City of Albany Planning Board 21 Lodge Street, Albany, New York 12207 Contact: Nicholas Dilello (518) 434-2532 ext. 28 Project Sponsor: First Colun1bia, LLC 26 Century Hill Drive Latham, New York 12110-2128, (518) 213-1000 Report Contributors: Hershberg and Hershberg 40 Colvin Avenue Albany, New York 12206 Responsible for "Pine Bush" Contact: Daniel Hershherg (518) 459-3096 Transportation Concepts, LLP 152…
Albany County Tax records show that 253 acres of Pine Bush were forever lost to development between 2010 and 2020. Acres in Study Area Acres Developed with a Building * % Acres Preserved ** % Acres Undeveloped or Used for Highways / Landfill *** % 13,005 5,723 44.0% 3,317 25.5% 3,965 30.5% * Acres developed does not include highways or other developments that do not contain buildings. ** Albany Pine Bush Commission managed lands *** County tax parcels that do…
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2009 🦋 2008 🦋 2007 🦋 2006 🦋 2005 🦋 2004 🦋 2003 🦋 2002 🦋 2001 🦋 2000 2009 October/November 2009 – Download printable PDF version Bringing Back Sustainable Karner Blue Populations, October/November, 2009 September Biogas Talk, October/November, 2009 Buckmoth Monitoring, October/November, 2009 Neither a Borrower or a Lender Be, October/November, 2009 Pesticide Reductions Won at Albany Common Council – We can fight City Hall and Win!, October/November, 2009…
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: Todd Ommen and Robert O’Connor of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic (PELC) made a joint zoom presentation at the June 16th Save the Pine Bush dinner. Lynne Jackson hosted the event. Mr. Ommen led off. He is the PELC managing attorney and supervises interns. He began practicing environmental law in 2007, joined PELC in 2016, after prior corporate litigation and a stint with the NY Attorney General. He said there was little environmental law in…
CONCORD, N.H. – Two biologists crawled through a field thick with blueberry, black chokeberry, and scrub oak, searching for butterfly eggs the size of pinheads. Suddenly, one of them, Steve Fuller, thrust a hand into the air. “Found one!” he shouted. As his colleague, Heidi Holman, ran to his side, Fuller opened his hand to reveal a tiny white egg of the Karner blue butterfly, clinging to a twig. Eight years ago, it was impossible to find any sign in…
Reprinted from the Altamont Enterprisel Thursday, May 17, 2018 Before there were cars and trucks, before there were carriages and wagons, before there were wheels, people have always made pathways. The routes they traveled linked hunting grounds with dwelling places, became a means of trade and commerce, linked one community to another or allowed one to fight another. Few of us give much thought to ancient roads in our midst. We didn’t until we got a letter from Steven Rider,…
CONCORD, N.H. – Two biologists crawled through a field thick with blueberry, black chokeberry, and scrub oak, searching for butterfly eggs the size of pinheads. Suddenly, one of them, Steve Fuller, thrust a hand into the air. “Found one!” he shouted. As his colleague, Heidi Holman, ran to his side, Fuller opened his hand to reveal a tiny white egg of the Karner blue butterfly, clinging to a twig. Eight years ago, it was impossible to find any sign in…
In celebration of the centenary of Vladimir Nabokov’s birth, Kurt Johnson and Steve Coats wrote Nabokov’s Blues, about Nabokov’s passion for butterflies and scientific investigations into blue butterflies. Our own Karner Blue butterfly has its own chapter called “Dancing with Fire” in the book. Here is a brief excerpt which describes Nabokov’s feelings for the Karner Blue. “Nabokov developed a deep, lifelong affection for this [the Karner Blue Butterfly]. In 1975, when he found out that The New York Times…
Candidates Night at SPB Candidates Night at SPB Three Candidates for Common Council President Tell Us About Themselves by Lynne Jackson All three candidates for Common Council President spoke at our August dinner to an attentive audience. Rezsin Adams introduced the candidates in alphabetical order. Gregory Burch spoke first. A lifelong resident of Albany, Burch is a newcomer to politics. He got the political bug six months ago, feeling that things need to be changed. "We are off-course," he said,…
Albany Common Council Denies Dunes Residents Chance to be Heard Albany Common Council Denies Dunes Residents Chance to be Heard by Lynne Jackson July 1, 1996, Albany City Hall, was the place where the Common Council refused to listen to 25 or so angry Dunes residents who wanted the opportunity to speak. Charlie Touhey wants to build an office complex in their backyard, and no one wanted their opinion. A public hearing on this proposed office complex had been held…
Upscale Tammybrook, a newish Cresskill, NJ., neighborhood, offers a pleasing glimpse of modern suburban living: imposing million-dollar homes, designer landscaping, sweeping vistas across northern New Jersey. What it fails to offer resident John McCann is a sidewalk to anywhere. So instead of hoofing it, the Cresskill councilman drives the 1.1 miles to the post office. ThatÕs after he has dropped his laundry at a drive-through dry cleaner and motored across town to deliver his daughter to a play dateÑafter picking…
by Karina Franke As you know, last year, I started a campaign to get the Karner Blue named State Butterfly. The highlight of the project was being honored at your November 2007 Dinner and speaking to you about my project. That was such a special evening for my family and my teacher, and we’re so happy to be here tonight celebrating your 30th anniversary. Over 33,000 third, fourth, and fifth graders from all over our state participated in the State…
ALBANY: The State Employees Federal Credit Union (SEFCU) building and surrounding land, located in the center of the Pine Bush on Route 155, was traded for state-owned land at the Harrimon State Office Campus. In the late 1980s, Save the Pine Bush sued over the zoning approval given to SEFCU and won. Judge Robert Williams ruled in Save the Pine Bush’s favor citing the fact that the Generic Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the City of Albany failed to take…
A recent date to speak about Nabokov’s blues in Albany, New York — the state’s capital — afforded me a chance to visit what is left of old “Karner”, New York. Karner is the little hamlet that, in common parlance, has attached its name to Nabokov’s famous endangered species Lycaeides melissa samuelis, the “Karner Blue”. Karner got the nod for samuelis’s common name because Nabokov chose specimens of samuelis from Karner for his type series (the specimens he used…
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff Writer ALBANY – The city of Albany is among the state’s dozen worst polluters for its plans to expand the Rapp Road dump into the Pine Bush, according to a statewide environmental group’s annual listing released Tuesday. Citizens’ Environmental Coalition also cited the General Electric Co. for alleged foot-dragging over the cleanup of the Dewey Loeffel dump in Nassau, Rensselaer County; and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, under former Gov. George Pataki, for underfunding maverick…
Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis On September 12, 2000, The New York Times published an urgent warning by noted Monarch butterfly expert Dr. Lincoln P. Brower, and other scientists and conservationists, describing a crisis situation at the Monarch butterfly’s overwintering grounds in central Mexico (The New York Times, Science Times, p. 1). Ten days later, the New York City Parks Department hosted a “who’s who” of Monarch experts and conservationists in New York’s Central Park, to inform…
by John Wolcott Click on map to see larger image Now: you can see it at a glance. The top topo map displayed here, is of the Karner Dune Field, the Type Locality of the Karner Blue Butterfy, in the Pine Bush, as it was way before Rte. 155 appeared. A unified field, fully connected west to east. This dune field is a grouping of sand dunes within the much larger Schenectady-Albany “Dune Belt.” All. of the cultural information has,…
by Lynne Jackson OK, Crossgates has been in the news a lot recently. Actually, they made it into the international news. Save the Pine Bush has received emails from out raged people as far away as Sydney Australia, and California. People are mad. To recap: On Monday evening, March 3, Stephen Downs and his son Roger, were stopped by a security guard at Crossgates Maul. They were wearing T-shirts which they had just purchased at the mall. Stephen’s T-shirt said…
Pine Bush Plants – Vanish Loss of Wetlands Cited Pine Bush Plants Vanish Loss of Wetlands Cited June/July 1995 By Daniel Van Riper (Based on notes by Rezsin Adams) Janet Mattox is a graduate student at SUNY Albany, where she is preparing her Master’s thesis on Pine Bush flora. Reluctant to speak, she graciously agreed to share some of the results of her work with the May 23 dinner crowd at 1st Presbyterian Church in Albany. Apparently there was a…
“Study Shows Low Lyme Disease Risk” reads the headline in the Albany Times Union June 13, 2001. Comforting words. “Lyme disease is very difficult to catch, even from a deer tick in a Lyme-infested area, and it can easily be stopped in its tracks with two capsules of an antibiotic, a new study shows. Two other studies..conclude that prolonged and intensive use of antibiotics…does nothing for people with symptoms attributed to chronic Lyme disease. The findings are in keeping with…
Willow Street Again The Devil In Skaneateles Wealthy Developer Deplores Development By Daniel Van Riper There is an unconfirmed report that the Albany Pine Bush Devil has received approval from the planning board of the picturesque town of Skaneateles in western New York to build a ten million square foot shopping plaza, hotel, parking garage and casino. Skaneateles, which up until now has not allowed strip malls and fast food emporiums, is home to Robert Congel, owner and director…
by Tom Ellis Albany, NY: Kim Fraczek, Co-Director of the Sane Energy Project spoke on “Gas Infrastructure — The Big Picture” at the January 18 SPB dinner. She is very enthusiastic opinionated, and optimistic about blocking construction of many of the proposed natural gas pipelines in New York. She displayed an interactive, online map of all the gas infrastructure of New York created by Mary Finneran, and said it has now extended to include New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The map…
NEW SCOTLAND — A man of principle and passion, Peter Henner worked for causes he believed in with the same logic and commitment he used when playing chess. He tackled his legal work as he tackled mountains on climbs with his wife — with a sense of adventure. “He always told everything straight,” said Nancy Lawson, his wife. Mr. Henner died at his Clarksville home on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. He was 64. The pages of The…
By Sarah Roberts/For The Daily Gazette ALBANY — The Albany Pine Bush Preserve, a patchwork of 3,200 acres, has been designated a National Natural Landmark, after National Park Service officials determined it to be “an outstanding example of a globally rare ecosystem.” The preserve will join 596 other natural landmarks as prime examples of biological and geographical features. The Pine Bush is one of only 20 remaining ixnland pitch pine scrub oak barrens in the world. Special features Albany Pine…
by William Engleman CLIFTON PARK, NY: At the Wood Road “south” habitat site of the Karner blue butterfly in the Town of Clifton Park in 1978, there were thousands of Karner blues, according to a study done by researchers John Cryan and Robert Dirig, who discovered this site in 1975. In 1989, Dr. Dale Schweitzer estimated that these two sites plus another nearby site located south of Ushers Road which he discovered, contained about 600 Karner blues that year. He…
by Grace Nichols For the past several years, Save the Pine Bush has warned the Common Council that buying and spreading more glyphosate (the active ingredient of Roundup) in the Pine Bush, either in the Preserve or on the Restoration is hazardous for the rare spadefoot toads and other amphibians. We’ve asked them to question the herbicide line in the Preserve budget. This spring, the Department of Environmental Conservation Woodland Pool Conservation Program sent around an article describing some further alarming…
It has been said that environmental problems are often the result of bad government. That certainly is true in the case of the Pesticide Ordinance enacted by the City of Albany in 1998. One of the issues at hand at the time the ordinance was written was the use of pesticides in bodies of water within the City. That, apparently, was how the Water Department and its Commissioner, Robert Cross, got involved. The Ordinance was enacted by the Albany Common…
Pyramid is Back! Hoblock Makes A Deal Pyramid is Back! Hoblock Makes A Deal by Daniel W. Van Riper, July/Aug. 92 Pyramid Corporation, hiding behind an entity called Albany Commons Associates, wants to buy prime Pine Bush from Albany County and build strip malls. The acreage threatened with destruction, located along Washington Ave. Extension, is supposedly part of the 2000 acre Pine Bush Preserve that the State has ordered the city of Albany to set aside. In a sleazy backroom…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Dr. Gary Kleppel, professor of biology at the University of Albany, outlined the economic and environmental costs of sprawl at Save the Pine Bush’s June veggie lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany. Dr. Kleppel opened his presentation by challenging conservation groups with the most important mission, “curbing urban sprawl.” What makes urban sprawl particularly important now is the increase in the technology sector which will lead to a proliferation of development. One of…
Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Stanford Home Hearing Information Hearing Notes January 23 Hearing Canadians are Coming! Archeological Information Photos – Outdoor Photos – Indoor Bonding Editorial Preservation Donate Contact Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming! Well, one man is representing the Captain Richard Duncan Company. Background: In the 1777 and 1783, Captain Richard Duncan commanded a company in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, under Sir John Johnson. Richard…
by Tom Ellis, October 2020 Newsletter ALBANY: Save the Pine Bush President Rezsin Adams, who died August 13 at age 93, was lovingly honored and remembered at a September 16 virtual Save the Pine Bush meeting facilitated by Lynne Jackson. Carol Waterman said Rezsin had a wonder-ful sense of humor, could be hilarious, and once allowed herself to be all dolled up as part of a La-dies Against Women guerrilla group skit; Rezsin posed and preened like a fashion model….
Search Newsletter Archives: What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush? – By Lynne Jackson – June / July 2022 Newsletter A Tribute To Lew Oliver, our wonderful lawyer The Pine Bush’s Most Famous Resident – The Karner Blue Butterfly Save the Pine Bush Victories and Fights The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally, Dec 99/Jan 00Save the Pine Bush is 25!, Mar/Apr 03 Legislation regarding standing in court We Need the Environmental Access to Justice Act,…