Search Results for: 500 Park Ave

Save the Pine Bush Appeals Decision Approving Illegal Landfill in the Pine Bush

For Immediate Release: June 25, 2001 ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush filed an appeal to the State of New York Appellate Division, Third Department over the Albany County Supreme Court’s ruling to approve the expansion of the Albany Landfill in the Pine Bush. Save the Pine Bush is appealing on the grounds that the permit approval was illegal because the Department of Environmental Conservation’s authority to grant a variance expired on Dec 31, 1995. Lewis B. Oliver, Jr. filed…

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Practical Steps We Can Take to Save Our Climate

by Tom Ellis Ed. Note: Here is the PowerPoint for the lecture. We are working on getting the audio from the lecture online in the coming weeks. ALBANY, NY: Tina Lieberman and Bill Reinhardt spoke remotely at an Earth Day April 20 SPB meeting about practical steps we can take to reduce carbon emissions and save our climate. Lynne introduced the program and Carole Waterman the speakers. Tina spoke first, then Bill, each then took turns, with finally a discussion…

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Save the Pine Bush Update and the War on Terror

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: Lynne Jackson spoke about current developments in the Pine Bush and Steve Downs about The War on Terror – Twenty Years Later, at the February 23 Save the Pine Bush virtual meeting. After thanking SPB members for their financial contributions to assist one of SPB’s dinner chefs, Adam Baldwin, with his sudden medical bills, Lynne thanked Andy Arthur for creating an on-line “event sweeper” that quickly identifies proposed projects in the pine barrens sections of…

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Dan McCoy Speaks at Save the Pine Bush

by Tom Ellis   ALBANY, NY: At the March 16 SPB dinner, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy spoke about Environmental Accomplishments and the Agenda for the Future.   Mr. McCoy began with, “There is so much we’ve done” and “You’re organization — Save the Pine Bush — has been the rock of our community.”  Mr. McCoy grew up in Albany and still lives in the city.   He said his love of nature and being out in it resulted in…

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Save the Pine Bush

Download a PDF of this letter Richard Nicholson, Planner City of Albany, Dept. of Economic Development & Neighborhood Planning 21 Lodge Street Albany, NY 12207 Re: Supplemental ~Draft-Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) Tharaidson Development Company Proposed Residence Inn project City of Albany, Albany County Dear Mr. Nicholson: Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff reviewed the SDEIS for this project which was accepted by the SEQR Lead Agency on June 16, 2008 and we have the following comments pertaining to that document….

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Save the Pine Bush

For Immediate Release: December 10, 2002 For Further Information: Contact Lynne Jackson at 434-1954 or 366-7324 ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush volunteers demonstrated today over the destruction of the Pine Bush for the building of Avila House. Avila House is proposed to be built in the rare Pine Bush ecosystem. The Pine Bush is home to the Karner Blue butterfly, a federally-listed endangered species. The Federal Government has stated that the decline in the population of Karner Blues is…

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Save the Pine Bush

Save the Pine Bush has a traveling exhibit. We bring it to fairs, schools, and especially every year to the Albany Tulipfest, held on Saturaday and Sunday of Mother’s Day weekend in May. If you don’t have a chance to visit our exhibit in person, we have put the pictures and captions in our exhibit on the web for your enjoyment. The photographs linked to this page are spectacular, and, are quite large (between 60K and 140K). Click on the…

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Save the Pine Bush

by Grace Nichols, July 26, 2009   The survival of the Federally Protected Karner Blue Butterfly in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve is in doubt here in Albany – its numbers have been critically low for at least ten years. This butterfly was first named by Vladimir Nabokov, the famous writer, and became one of the best known insect species on the East Coast. It is a beautiful brilliant blue color when it spreads its wings, while the undersides of…

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Habitat Restoration and Mitigation Project: How it Fits in to the Preserve Goals for Restoration” Neil Gifford Gives Save the Pine Bush Dinner Talk in March, 2011

by Grace Nichols ALBANY, NY – Neil Gifford, Conservation Director at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, has been working in the Pine Bush since the early 1990s. He describes the mission of the Albany Pine Bush Commission, a body representing the many different governmental interests in the Pine Bush land, as “to preserve the pitch pine/scrub oak barrens” as authorized by Environmental Conservation Law Article 46 (1988) in which the legislature declared it is in the public interest to protect…

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Save the Pine Bush Virtual Meeting – Wednesday, February 22, 2023 6:30 PM

Save the Pine Bush Zoom Meeting February 22, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Alÿcia Bacon Moms Out Front and Save the Pine Bush Volunteer, will speak about … How to Get Our Government to Protect the Remaining Pine Bush Organizing a Lobbying Campaign Alÿcia Bacon will give a presentation on creating an effecting lobbying campaign. The battle for Pine Bush preservation started 45 years ago this month. Up until now, Save the Pine Bush has mostly used litigation to stop development…

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Memorandum of Law, January 17, 2006

STATE OF NEW YORK   COUNTY OF ALBANY                   SUPREME COURT _________________________________________________ In the Matter of the Application of                                                SAVE THE PINE BUSH, INC., REZSIN ADAMS, SANDRA CAMP, SHARON CASTERLIN, LUCY CLARK, LYNNE JACKSON, MARTHA MASTERS JOHN WOLCOTT, PETER VAN NOSTRAND and RUSSELL ZIEMBA,                                                                               Case No. 1                                                             Petitioners,                                                                                                                         Index No.                            for judgment pursuant to Article 78 of the CPLR                                         RJI No.                        -against-                                                                                                                                                         …

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Ward Stone was employed by the state but he worked for the people, animals, and environment

Published in the Altamont Enterprise, 3/2/23 To the Editor: I greatly appreciate your full-page commentary in the Feb. 16 issue about Ward Stone [“From the editor: A scientist who strove to make a healthier Earth”]. I knew Ward for 40 years. Ward was a rare public servant: competent, articulate, hardworking, fearless. He insisted he had a right and duty to inform and warn the public about environmental health threats. He was employed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation but…

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A Wild Idea: How the Environmental Movement Tamed the Adirondacks

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: Long time SPB member Tom Ellis spoke at the June 22 SPB virtual meeting. He reviewed the book, “A Wild Idea: How the Environmental Movement Tamed the Adirondacks” by Brad Edmondson, published last year. Tom discussed the same book at an in-person review on May 24 for the Friends of the Albany Public Library. Tom said the title of the book (A Wild Idea) came from what, in the late 1960s, was a utopian belief:…

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Research

Here are some helpful tools to help you research development and land use changes in Albany Pine Bush. Properties on the Planning Board Agendas See our Planning Board Agenda Tracker. Search a Property You can search a property here, however it must be in a very specific format to match the tax record, like this describing the property: 20 New Karner Rd, Town of Guilderland. If you don’t have that level of detail or nothing is returned, you should use…

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Town of Guilderland Wants to Build Soccer Fields

At the same Town Board meeting where the Board passed a zoning amendment prohibiting commercial soccer fields in residentially zoned areas, the Town Board heard a presentation by its director of parks about the townÕs own proposed soccer fields in the Pine Bush. The zoning amendment passed by the Town Board specifically prohibits commercial soccer fields, but allows town facilities in residentially zoned areas. The town proposes to build 10 outdoor soccer fields on the 100-acre site which the town…

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Returning to flight Efforts of New England biologists help usher in rebirth of the endangered Karner blue butterfly

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…

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Returning to flight

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…

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Draft Open Space Conservation Plan Available for Public Review

Open Space Public Hearing Wednesday, November 14. 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — Workshop 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. — Public Hearing 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. — Public Hearing Public Assembly Room (129A & B) NYSDEC Central Office 625 Broadway Albany, NY ALBANY: A draft update of New York’s Open Space Conservation Plan for public review and commen in October. The Open Space Conservation Plan guides the State’s land acquisition and conservation program. When finalized, the plan will guide…

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Residents foil meeting on Crossgates expansion

Residents foil meeting on Crossgates expansion   Residents foil meeting on Crossgates expansion Guilderland — Scores gather to keep a zoning board from advancing the project KIMBERLY MARTINEAU, Staff writer published on September 1, 1998 in the Times Union Nearly 200 residents refused to let the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals conduct a meeting Monday that some say would have advanced the proposed $100 million expansion of Crossgates Mall beyond the point of no return. The meeting had been called…

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New York to Buy Pineland Tract From L.I. Scouts

New York to Buy Pineland Tract From L.I. Scouts The following is part of an articlle printed in the New York Times. We are pleased that more land is being added to the Long Island pine barrens preserve. New York to Buy Pineland Tract From L.I. Scouts by The New York Times RlVERHEAD, L.I., Dec. 17 When the Nassau County Council of Boy Scouts announced plans last summer to sell 147 acres in the Pine Barrens preserve to a golf…

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The Deer Crisis – No Easy Answers

The Deer Crisis – No Easy Answers   The Deer Crisis No Easy Answers By Daniel Van Riper The Pine Bush ecosystem is in great danger from many enemies, particularly greedy developers and ignorant politicians. Invasive plant species, pesticides, runoff from the dump and highways, fire suppression and general abuse by humans have all hurt the Pine Bush. There is one more enemy, white-tailed deer, which may in the end completely destroy the Pine Bush and make all of our…

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Furry Pine Bush Residents

Furry Pine Bush Residents Furry Pine Bush Residents The butterfly is not the only resident of the Pine Bush. Little furry animals also reside in the Pine Bush. I had no idea how many different types of moles, voles, mice and other tiny creatures there are-or how important they are to the ecosystem of a forest. Rezsin and I saw an article about voles in the Pine Bush in the paper, and just had to find out about these small…

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Draft Environmental Impact Statement

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…

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Clean Air Update

By Tom Ellis ALBANY COUNTY: The Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena-Coeyamns held a community forum on February 9 about its continuing efforts to block the Lafarge cement company from burning tires near the Hudson River in Ravena, and directly across Route 9W from the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk (RCS) Middle and High Schools. Christine Primomo, a retired nurse and Coeymans resident, began the forum asking Why are large corporations so determined to burn hazardous wastes in our communities? and Where are our…

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How fares the Karner Blue?

by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Neil Gifford, Conservation Director of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission shared hopeful news with Save the Pine Bush at the October veggie/vegan lasagna dinner. The Karner Blue butterfly feeds on wild blue lupine. There are two broods a year, the first brood comes out in late May/early June, and the second in July. The butterflies come out, lay eggs. Those eggs become butterflies which come out in July, at which point, the cycle starts all…

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Town of Guilderland Wants to Build Soccer Fields

At the same Town Board meeting where the Board passed a zoning amendment prohibiting commercial soccer fields in residentially zoned areas, the Town Board heard a presentation by its director of parks about the town’s own proposed soccer fields in the Pine Bush. The zoning amendment passed by the Town Board specifically prohibits commercial soccer fields, but allows town facilities in residentially zoned areas. The town proposes to build 10 outdoor soccer fields on the 100-acre site which the town…

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A Journey to Nabokov’s Karner, New York – a Conservation Dilemma

  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…

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16-09 Sept-Oct Newsletter

16-09 Sept-Oct Newsletter Sept/Oct 16 No. 132 • 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY 12210 • email pinebush@mac.com • phone 518-462-0891 • web http://www.savethepinebush.org • Circ. 600 Vegetarian/Vegan Dinner Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 6:00 p.m. Climate Crisis and Practical Solutions Conor Bambrick Air & Energy Director, Environmental Advocates of NY will speak about NY Renews and practical solutions for transition to clean energy Mark Schaeffer who works with 350.org will speak about Overview of climate crisis and need for a political…

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Clty to fund study of pine barrens. Goal is Saving Woodlawn area

Ten months after city officials shocked local conservationists by reversing course and saying that they wanted to protect the Woodlawn Preserve, they are putting money toward that goal. They are now planning a $31,500 yearlong environmental study that would determine the best way to protect the crumbling pine barrens in the overgrown preserve. The 145-acre wetlands area has been called the Woodlawn Preserve for decades, but it has not actually been set aside as a preserve. The study is the…

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Monarch Butterfly Conservation Crisis

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…

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People of Albany United for Safe Energy — PAUSE Year in Review

2016 was a fairly busy year for the environment and for PAUSE. We began by joining with the Break Free Coalition in January to plan the nationally covered Break Free From Fossil Fuels march and rally here in Albany in May. More than 2500 people gathered in Lincoln Park from as far away as Wyoming to urge our elected representatives to stop investing in fossil fuels and to highlight the social injustice low income communities are forced to endure because…

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Peter Henner

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…

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Judith Enck Meets with Ezra Prentice Residents

by Tom Ellis   ALBANY, NY: When we learned that US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional administrator Judith Enck would be speaking in Albany the same evening Save the Pine Bush as the scheduled August dinner, SPB decided to cancel the dinner and hear Ms. Enck speak. On August 17, Ms. Enck, formerly of Albany, participated in a forum with the new NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner and residents of the Ezra Prentice Homes (EPH) on South Pearl…

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Chris Hawver of the Commission Speaks

by Tom Ellis   ALBANY: Albany Pine Bush Management Commission (APBMC or the Commission) Executive Director Chris Hawver was the October 15 SPB dinner speaker.  Lynne Jackson and I introduced him saying that Save the Pine Bush is very pleased that the Commission exists and is protecting the Pine Bush.  Lynne said the work of SPB has become institutionalized with the APBMC. Chris said he has worked for the Commission since 1993, first as fire management coordinator, later as conservation director, and, beginning…

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History Uncovered

Reprinted from Metroland —by Ann Morrow on September 18, 2014 · “The most important thing now is to excavate it,” said John Wolcott, pointing to a map projected on the wall behind him. The longtime historical researcher, archeologist, and cartographer was referring to Fort Nassau, the 1614 fur trading post built by Dutch mariners near today’s Port of Albany. The fort was one of the earliest European outposts in North America. The success of the fort, which was used by…

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Oral Argument in Hotel Case Heard in Appellate Division

Go directly to Common Council Members Download a PDF of this announcement ALBANY: Tharaldson Development Company of North Dakota, wants to construct a Residence Inn Mariott hotel on Washington Avenue Extension, adjacent to a known Karner Blue butterfly site and a site that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service recognizes as occupied by Karner Blues. Sound familiar? Save the Pine Bush has been fighting this development since the hotel project was first proposed in 2003. We won in NYS Supreme…

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COUNTING FORESTS’ SENIOR CITIZENS

by DINA CAPPIELLO, Staff writer They are the trees that have survived it all — the bouts of disease, the axes of loggers, the lightning storms that uproot a forest like a gardener’s hand pulls weeds. Most would be older than your great-great-great-great grandfather, if he were still alive. But until this Saturday, there was no systematic search under way for eastern New York’s stands of old-growth forest. Most were discovered during the course of other research, or by chance…

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Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission Proposes a New Plan – Mark October 18 to Attend Hearing

ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush filed suit in New York State Supreme Court over the Albany City Planning BoardÕs approval of the Roman Catholic Diocese senior housing project in the Pine Bush. The Planning Board violated the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in approving this project on an essential Karner Blue Butterfly migration corridor. Lewis B. Oliver, Jr. filed the suit on behalf of Save the Pine Bush. “The population of Karner Blue butterflies has dropped drastically in…

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Yes, the King’s Royal Yorkers are Coming!

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…

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November SPB Dinner Speakers

Now We’ve Got A Bond Act: Jeff Jones of Environmental Advocates By Daniel Van Riper Jeff Jones, of Environmental Advocates, speaking at the November lasagna dinner at !st Presbyterian Church in Albany, had an interesting story about the origins of the Bond Act, which, of course, is now in effect. Earlier this year, Environmental Advocates (EA), along with several other groups, issued a well documented “report card” on Governor Pataki’s environmental record. As in most areas of his failed administration,…

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Letter-Writing Made a Difference Your Letters Needed to Help the Karner Blue Butterfly

by Lynne Jackson, Mar./Apr. 92 The Karner Blue has been proposed to be listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the butterfly is listed as an endangered species with a designated critical habitat, any developments proposed within the habitat would need to have a federal permit in order to be built. Obtaining a federal permit is a much more rigorous and difficult process to go through than the zoning changes or Planning Board approvals-and…

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Links and Resources

Karner Blue Butterfly Links Eastern-Tailed Blue – Marietta College, looks like a Karner Blue, but its notThe Karner Blue – a summary of the naming of the Karner Blue by NabokovFamily Lycaenidaes – Michigan UniversityThe Karner Blue – Center for Private ConservationThe Karner Blue – Endangered Species Facts, US Fish and WildlifeThe Karner Blue – Little Missouri National ParkThe Karner Blue – The Nature Conservancy is boasting of its tiny preserve in Wilton, NYWisconsin Statewide Karner Blue Butterfly Habitat Conservation…

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Virtual Exhibit

What is the Pine Bush? The Pine Bush is the only sizable inland pine barrens sand dunes in the United States, and is recognized world&endash;wide as a unique pine barrens ecosystem. It contains over 300 species of vertebrate animals, over 1,500 species of plants, and over 10,000 species of insects and other invertebrate animals. Many of them are rare and restricted to the Pine Bush habitat. Its most famous occupant, the Karner Blue Butterfly, is on the Federal and State’s…

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