By Ted Remsnyder | February 9, 2023 TROY — Ward Stone, who served as the state’s wildlife pathologist for over four decades, died Wednesday morning at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson after a long illness. Stone, who held his post with the Department of Environmental Conservation from 1969 until his retirement in 2010, left behind … Ward Stone, longtime DEC wildlife pathologist, dies at 84
Albany Area Coalition for Light Rail Christian Gunther: Albany Area Coalition for Light Rail by Rezsin Adams "Albany Area" means Capital District (Albany, Schenectady, Troy.) The Capital District Transportation Com-mittee has prepared 5-year and 20-year plans–the 5-year plan is "New Visions" but is hardly visionary: light rail maybe in 20 years! Light rail is … Albany Area Coalition for Light Rail
Driving Backwards – Transportation Committee Shuns The Future Driving Backwards Transportation Committee Shuns The Future By Daniel Van Riper Don’t expect to take a take a train to Saratoga anytime soon. Regional traffic planners appear to have little political will to provide taxpayers and citizens of the Capital District with alternatives to driving cars, such … Driving Backwards – Transportation Committee Shuns The Future
ALBANY — Garbage may keep piling up into the next decade at the Rapp Road landfill in the environmentally sensitive Pine Bush Preserve under an expansion plan by the administration of Mayor Jerry Jennings. Jennings wants the state Department of Environmental Conservation to approve doubling the remaining life of the massive dump by adding another … Albany Pine Bush Nature Cache: Participation Encourages Public Land Stewardship
Over $25,000 in grants support public education and outreach and Federal and private funding allows dramatic increase in habitat restoration. Contractors removed invasive black locust trees from 25 acres and 21 acres were planted with native grasses and wildflowers including wild blue lupine. The project was assisted by the Commission’s new John Deere tractor and … Ward Stone Speaks about the Most Important Environmental Problems of Our Time
By Oily Bakken and Rude Crude In recent months, the media has carried stories about huge quantities of crude oil being brought into the Port of Albany from the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota by CP Rail, where it is stored and transloaded onto barges or tanker ships to be moved on to distant … The Crude Oil Threat to New York State: The Capital Region as the Focus of Oil-by-RailThe Crude Oil Threat to New York State: The Capital Region as the Focus of Oil-by-RailThe Crude Oil Threat to New York State: The Capital Region as the Focus of Oil-by-Rail
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: “This book is about regulatory capture by a large corporate interest,” said Bruce Campbell. He discussed the 2013 runaway train explosion in the Quebec town of the Lac- Mégantic at the March 20 SPB dinner. Mr. Campbell is the author of The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied, published … The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied
After my planned Pine Bush hike got rained out in May, it looked as if Mother Nature, combined with the “Hughie” curse, was going to throw me another bone for my June Hike. However, as it turned out, the rain held off just long enough to allow we five hikers to complete our 3.5 mile … Our June 23rd Hike in the Pine Bush
By Tim Truscott The following is an interesting, though brief, article by Alan Woods of the Toronto Star on the findings of a study done by a Quebec provincial agency regarding fish in the Chaudiere River at Lac-Megantic following the disastrous oil train fire of July 6, 2013. The impression given to the public … Are Cuomo’s Oil Spill Trailers a Fix for Spilled Oil?
by Tim Truscott As most people in the Capital Region know, Albany became a hub for crude oil shipments by rail when the Bakken crude oil began flowing from North Dakota. It was perhaps the third largest Bakken crude oil hub in North America and was dubbed by some as “Houston on the Hudson”. … Bakken Crude Oil Rail Shipments in Decline, But Surplus Tank Cars a Problem
by Tom Ellis ALBANY: Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission Conservation Director Neil A. Gifford was the featured speaker at the March 22 SPB dinner. Reszin Adams introduced him. Mr. Gifford said he is a conservation scientist by training. He said the Pine Bush Commission now has 27 staff, is an authority, the preserve contains 3200 acres, including at … Neil Gifford of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission Speaks
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 … 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 Diane H Peapus UPDATE: Diane Peapus has put up the Nature Cache site. Check it out here. Save the Pine Bush is a shining example of the power of public participation in conservation. We can only imagine how our landscapes would look if a larger portion of the public had the sense of land … Albany Pine Bush Nature Cache: Participation Encourages Public Land Stewardship
by DINA CAPPIELLO, Staff writer A 26-year-old Fulton County man was arrested Monday for allegedly shooting 159 crows in a restricted area of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation officials. Burton Frasier of Mayfield allegedly killed the crows with a shotgun in a part of the Pine Bush north … Man charged in bird-killing Albany
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 … Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject
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 VERIFIED PETITION … Verified Petition, Januar 17, 2006
by Tom Ellis Since the prior SPB News last year, much has occurred locally and regionally. Despite many enviro-activists working separately, climate activists are increasingly well organized and effective in their lobbying the state legislature. Nevertheless, a widely supported Renewable Capitol Act has not been enacted as of Earth Day. The RCA would invest $50 … Environmental News
ALBANY — The city wants to expand its rapidly filling dump onto 10 acres it had already dedicated to the Pine Bush Preserve. "We hope that people would be reasonable and know what we are up against," Mayor Jerry Jennings told the Times Union editorial board on Wednesday. "I know some people are going to … No dump in the Pine Bush!
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, … Memorandum of Law, January 17, 2006
Everybody Wants One -Preservation Plan Makes Waves – Feb/Mar 94 Sprawl Raises Taxes – The Myth Of The Expanding Tax Base, Feb/Mar 1999 485B – Promoting Destruction of the Pine Bush through Tax Deductions! Feb/Mar 1999 The Portland Plan – A Better Way To Grow -July/Aug 1999 Well, How About Here? Can We Plan … Save the Pine Bush Sprawl Index
Garbage in the Pine Bush Garbage in the Pine Bush If you had to pick the ideal place to put a landfill, would you choose sand dunes over an aquifer on the site of the breeding ground of an endangered species? I don’t think you would, but the that’s where the City of Albany choose­p;the … Garbage in the Pine Bush
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by Tom Ellis RENSSELAER, NY: Efforts to close the Waste Connections Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill in Rensselaer continue despite little news coverage of the ongoing public health crisis. The dump is located on a hilltop at the end of Partition Street, borders the Rensselaer public school campus, a cemetery, and in between Rensselaer … Efforts to Close the Dunn Dump Continue: All Trucks Enroute to the Dump Violate Traffic Laws
ALBANY, NY: Mark Plaat was one of the founders of Save the Pine Bush in February, 1978. He led many hikes, cleanups, and organized a cross-country ski race. Here is his obituary. On May 13th, Mark Plaat, loving husband and father of two boys passed away at the age of 72. Mark was born on … Save the Pine Bush Lost Good Friends – Mark Plaat, One of the Founders of Save the Pine Bush
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY, NY: Recently, a number of people have asked me why developers can build in the Pine Bush — isn’t the Pine Bush protected? This question has got me thinking about how confusing all of the terms used in this fight to save the Pine Bush can be. And, it does not … What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush?
by John Wolcott Join us on a visit to a forgotten locale at the crossing of Old Karner Road with the AMTRAK tracks. This was bypassed when New Karner Road was built and then after a while the crossing was closed. This place was the location of the railroad stop half way between Albany and … Center, NY/Karner, NY Old Development Never Finished in the Pine Bush
On Wednesday, April 20, 2022, Tina Lieberman and Bill Reinhardt of the Capital District Community Energy delivered the following presentation, via Zoom to the Save the Pine Bush Virtual Meeting. Links and accessible text are available below. Down To Earth: Practical Steps You Can Take to Reduce Carbon Emissions & Save Our Climate Tina Lieberman, … Save the Pine Bush Presentation – Down to Earth, 4/20/22
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2019 🦋 2018 🦋 2017 🦋 2016 🦋 2015 🦋 2014 🦋 2013 🦋 2012 🦋 2011 🦋 2010 2019 Newsletter 🦋 December/January 2019-20 Newsletter Download printable PDF version Listen to the Podcasts Merton Simpson — Fighting Environmental Racial Injustice, December/January 2019 Air Pollution in … SPB Newsletters Listed by Date – 2010s
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 1999 🦋 1998 🦋 1997 🦋 1996 🦋 1995 🦋 1994 1999 December 1999, January 2000 Garbage in the Pine Bush – City Proposes Landfill Expansion SPB Files Most Unpopular Suit Yet – Sues the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission The Thruway Authority Comes Across … SPB Newsletters Listed by Date – 1990s
by Tom Ellis RENSSELAER, NY: David Carpenter, a renowned local physician who studies the human health impacts of toxic materials, spoke at a December 2nd East Greenbush Town Board (EGTB) forum on the Dunn dump. He was the first presenter on a five-person panel. The Dunn construction and demolition debris dump, owned by Waste Connections, … The Damaging Health Effects of the Dunn Dump
Do you ever walk the Karner Barrens Yellow Trail from the Discovery Center, past the large vernal wetlands and the recently restored area that was a former trailer park? You might soon be joined by the rumble and toxic smoke of school buses, should South Colonie School District build their bus garage next to one … Proposed School Bus Garage at 100 Broderick
by Tom Ellis RENSSELAER, NY: The Rensselaer Environmental Coalition continues its four-year-campaign to immediately close the construction and demolition debris dump in Rensselaer while dealing with an unresponsive state government. Residents of Rensselaer and East Greenbush (R&EG) remain disgusted with how the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) takes odor and other complaints about the … What Really Happens to the Dunn Dump Complaints?
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 … Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic Defends the Pine Bush
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 … Research
Walk to Save the Pine Bush! – Saturday October 21st – 10K Walk to Save the Pine Bush! Saturday October 21st – 10K It’s time to put on those walkin’ shoes folks, enjoy the fresh autumn air, and help Save the Pine Bush’s efforts to halt the destruction of the Albany Pine Bush. The 2nd … 9
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 … Development in Albany Pine Bush – 2010 to 2020
by Steve Rider On its website it states that the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission “assure(s) the protection, restoration and management of the natural and cultural resources of the Albany Pine Bush.” However, in reality preservation of cultural resources is given little priority compared to the ecological goals. Original, unspoiled remnants of four historic roads … Destroying History at The Pine Bush Preserve
by Christine Kielb Tom Ellis and Christine Kielb of Stop Trucks Assaulting Rensselaer (STAR), a group of Rensselaer residents and their allies, are continuing their work fighting the tractor trailer truck traffic passing through city neighborhoods to and from the Dunn Construction and Demolition (C&D) landfill. This landfill operation, larger than the Colonie and Albany … Truck Traffic in Rensselaer: Update
by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: Scott Kellogg and Justina Thompson spoke at the September 19th SPB dinner. Scott is the executive director of the Radix Center at 153 Grand Street in the South End of Albany. Justina is a 19-year-old student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute majoring in sustainability studies. Both are highly enthusiastic about their … The Islands of Radix Center
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 … Ecology and history can walk side-by-side on Pine Bush roads
Dear Mr. Wemple and members of the Guilderland Conservation Advisory Council, Thank you very much for allowing Karen White and I to attend the site visit for 10 New Karner Road on April 17, 2021. Save the Pine Bush re-iterates that we oppose any construction on the site. Though the proposed building site has been clear-cut, … Dumping on 10 New Karner Road
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 … Draft Open Space Conservation Plan Available for Public Review
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 … Save the Pine Bush
Divided Highways Divided Highways by Rezsin Adams The Interstate and Defense Highway System – – the "divided highways" – – was initiated by President Eisenhower in the early 1950’s to connect cities in the U.S. (in the case of enemy bombing, rail lines are more vulnerable than highways). Eisenhower wanted a highway system like the … Divided Highways
From Andy Arthur, our hike leader: Save the Pine Bush Hike Canceled That said, you are more then welcomed — and encouraged to take your own hikes at the Albany Pine Bush. Unlike other public lands in the area, the area is snow and ice free. Additionally, based on my recent walks in the preserve, … Walk in 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. … Dan McCoy Speaks at Save the Pine Bush
1st Annual Pine Bush Walk-a-Thon a Sucess! 1st Annual Pine Bush Walk-a-Thon a Sucess! Save the Pine Bush’s First Annual Walk-A-Thon was a wild success! The weather was perfect for a 10K stroll through the Pine Bush, cool, not too hot, with sunshine. Many hikers could not believe that hike organizer Tim Kostoroski found 10K … 1st Annual Pine Bush Walk-a-Thon a Sucess!
Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush The Pine Bush is a beautiful place to walk. The soft, rolling sand dunes are a walker’s dream. You can take a bus to the Pine Bush from downtown Albany. The Pine Bush is the perfect spot for outdoor activities. Save … Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush
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 … Furry Pine Bush Residents
Michael Breslin Speaks Michael Breslin Speaks by Ehren Evans Albany County Executive Breslin spoke at August’s lasagna dinner. It was an exciting opportunity for members of Save the Pine Bush to learn more about county government and the county executive. Mr. Breslin said his stint as county executive is the best job he ever … Michael Breslin Speaks