The Nature Conservancy - NNY Spring/Summer 2007: ENY News

Subscribe to Nature New York Magazine

Nature New York magazine can't be found on newsstands! You can receive this exclusive member benefit with a donation of $50 or more to The Nature Conservancy of New York.

Ten acres of rolling dunes, pitch pine, and scrub oak — “classic” pine bush habitat — were added to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, a major conservation priority for the past several decades.

Go Deeper

The Eastern New York Chapter
Working with businesses, communities and people like, we are balancing growth with protection of our beautiful and wild places—places that improve our quality of life by providing us with clean water and air, open space, recreation opportunities, and sanctuary.

Eastern New York News
Eastern New York’s Executive Director Katie Dolan presenting Clay Hiles of the Hudson River Foundation with the chapter’s Oak Leaf Award in recognition of the Foundation’s support and encouragement for the chapter’s new Hudson River Estuary Landscape Project.

Making Progress

A high mountain peak, a freshwater tidal marsh, a federally endangered butterfly, and a newly discovered population of Blanding’s turtles... What do all they all have in common? They are each unique elements of the Hudson Valley’s ecology and each will benefit from the Eastern New York Chapter’s recent land protection deals.

In its first land transaction in the Catskill Mountains, the chapter will soon complete the acquisition of three parcels totaling 590 acres that provide permanent protection to Balsam Mountain, one of the last unprotected Catskills peaks over 3,500 feet. Surrounded by old growth hemlock and red maple forests, the property also contains the unobstructed source of the Esopus Creek, a high quality trout stream that flows into the Ashokan Reservoir and ultimately feeds New York City’s drinking water supply.
In partnership with Scenic Hudson, the chapter negotiated a permanent conservation easement on 168 acres of woodlands and pasture land in the Mill Creek watershed. This acquisition adds to the protection of the Conservancy-owned 95-acre Lewis A. Swyer Preserve in Stuyvesant, which contains a rare freshwater tidal swamp on the Hudson River.
The wetlands near the Saratoga Sandplains support a population of federally and state-threatened Blanding’s turtles. The purchase of two properties (totaling 133 acres) in Wilton and Northumberland creates an 800-acre wetlands corridor.
Ten acres of rolling dunes, pitch pine, and scrub oak — “classic” pine bush habitat — were added to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, a major conservation priority for the past several decades. The land contains one of the largest populations of the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly.

History on the Half Shell

This spring, the Eastern New York Chapter and The Nature Conservancy on Long Island hosted a discussion with Mark Kurlansky, author of The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. Kurlansky’s book tells the story of the bivalve’s vibrant role in the ecological, economic, and culinary history of New York City.

According to the author, oysters once thrived in the lower Hudson River, especially around New York harbor. They were once the city’s most celebrated export, a diet staple for wealthy, poor, and tourists alike, and the primary defense against the growing pollution of the city’s congested waterways. But oysters virtually disappeared from the Hudson in the last century, most likely victims of a combination of pollution, dredging, and overharvesting.

Decades after disappearing from the lower Hudson River, the shellfish may be poised for a comeback. The recent discovery of native oyster beds just north of Manhattan signals the river’s recovering health. The evening ended with Eastern New York’s Executive Director Katie Dolan presenting Clay Hiles of the Hudson River Foundation with the chapter’s Oak Leaf Award in recognition of the Foundation’s support and encouragement for the chapter’s new Hudson River Estuary Landscape Project.

<< Back to Nature New York Spring/Summer 2007