Residents approach their local boards to question chicken laws
To animal husbandry, or not to animal husbandry? That is the $64 question right now as residents from various municipalities ranging from urban to rural are clucking at their zoning boards wondering whether keeping chickens is kosher, and how they can have their hand in the proverbial egg basket. Last month, Kingston zoning code enforcement...
116 years of Mohonk weather records show strong warming trend
Folks on both sides of the global warming debate have been known to accuse one another of “junk science” — of crunching some numbers in ways that support their arguments while ignoring others. But here in the mid-Hudson, we are privileged to have as a neighbor an entity that collects climate data in a manner...
Climate change at Mohonk Preserve topic for SUNY Ulster John Burroughs Natural Science Lecture
The local story of climate change will be explored during a lecture by Mohonk Preserve’s Shanan Smiley as part of the John Burroughs Natural Science Lecture at SUNY Ulster. Smiley will speak on “Climate Change at Mohonk: Weather and Species” at the event on April 26, 7:30 p.m., at the College Lounge, Vanderlyn Hall. Smiley,...
New Paltz aims to be “zero waste” leader
New Paltz will have a lot to prove on its road toward becoming a “zero waste” community, but doing so successfully will make the college town a leader both locally and nationally, said Judith A. Enck, the Region 2 administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Enck’s comments came as she addressed a crowd during SUNY...
First controlled burns slated for Minnewaska State Park
The Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership (SRBP) has announced its plans for conducting controlled burns on the Shawangunk Ridge for the 2012 season which extends from mid-March to mid-December. Burns are planned to take place at several Mohonk Preserve locations, Minnewaska State Park Preserve and Sam’s Point Preserve. This is the first season that controlled burns...
Spring’s heralds, in the air and on the ground
Even after a mild winter, the calls of spring stir something in the blood of all who hear them. In marshes, the redwing blackbird chortles his raucous “ooka-lee” to announce that he has returned to his breeding territory. Male redwings arrive in late February or early March (I heard them first on Feb. 26 this...
This bud’s for you
In some ways winter is the best season to look at trees. Without the dense foliage that obscures them in summer, their sculptural forms show boldly against the sky. A sugar maple growing in a field can be identified from a distance by its distinctive egg-shaped crown. The elegant vase-like shape of an elm is...
Plans for Mohonk Preserve foothills begin a long process to determine land uses
The 850 acres of the Mohonk Preserve foothills includes wetlands, woodlands, cattle pastures, and ridgeland plus the Testimonial Gatehouse (where visitors entered The Mohonk Mountain House and Resort by horse and carriage), two working farms and six historic structures. The Smiley family sold the land to the Open Space Institute (OSI), with the understanding that...
Migration training
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program will offer a training session for volunteers of its “Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings” project next Thursday, March 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at NYSDEC’s office at 21 South Putt Corners Road in New Paltz. Since 2009, more than 150 volunteers...
The new kids in town
New Paltz Defense Against Fracking is the new environmental kid in town. We are a citizens-initiated group of concerned New Yorkers who are asking the New Paltz Town Council to pass a Community Rights Ordinance (CRO) to prohibit fracking and all related activities. We thank all who could come out to the Feb. 6 informational...
Groups host sustainability screenings and talks countywide
On Groundhog Day this past Thursday, five Ulster County activist groups were not looking for their shadows; they were looking at how to be prepared to respond to economic upheaval, energy instability and climate change, with the focus on strengthening local resources. Transition groups active in New Paltz, Woodstock, Marbletown, Saugerties and Kingston simultaneously launched...
Free public lecture series focuses on connectivity programs
Many diverse species of plants and animals found on the Shawangunk Ridge require large blocks of intact habitat to flourish. Through a free public lecture series titled “Making the Conservation Connection,” the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership (SRBP) will provide information on the environmental importance of creating large-scale protected and connected landscapes. “For many people in...