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| LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN TO SAVE CALVERTON GRASSLANDS! (click here for google map of area) |
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YOU CAN HELP & Compromise is possible!! What is the Proposal to Save these Lands? How can YOU help? Read on and find out! ******************** Notes from Dianne Why be concerned about this piece of property? -For me it's simple: because it's important to the birds; our birds! -It's the last substantial area of native grasslands left on all of Long Island! -It's provides nesting habitat for fairly large numbers of three of the five birds of special concern in New York: Eastern Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, Field Sparrow. Also, of special concern is the Northern Harrier which is found here. -It is populated by a large variety of birds during the year. Some examples are (only a small example): American Kestrel, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Tree & Barn Swallows, Mockingbirds, Prairie Warbler, Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Osprey, Eastern Kingbird, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird Also! -Eight notable species on this site: Eastern Tiger Salamander, Marbles Salamander, Eastern Spadefoot, Spotted Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, Eastern Hognose Snake, Coastal Barrens Buckmoth, Slender Pinweed, and Rose Coreopsis, all protected species or "of special concern". AND LET'S NOT FORGET OUR OWN QUALITY OF LIFE!! Traffic congestion Road Construction! Crowds during peak summer season! Think about it! Where will all the traffic go? -This open area contains a significant reservoir of groundwater, helping to feed the pure water system of the pine barrens. A group, Calverton Grasslands Coalition, has been formed consisting of Eastern Long Island Audubon, North Fork Audubon, Nature Conservancy, Group for the East End. And many other organizations and individuals. Get our organization to join us also! WE NEED YOUR HELP TOO!!! ************************* HOW YOU CAN HELP IS EASY! Major groups like Audubon (national and local), the Nature Conservancy, the Peconic Land Trust need to be pushed to intercede on behalf of the grasslands. The Pine Barrens Society is already in the battle but I'm sure they could use all the support they can get. An organization that should be pressured to get involved is the Open Space Preservation Committee of Riverhead headed by Eva Kaplan. The following Riverhead Town officials should be contacted: -Timothy Buckley -Barbara Blass -John Dunleavy -James Watson Riverhead Town Hall number is 727-3200 You can also send letters to the News-Review; they are generally good about publishing letters to the editor. They are on Main Road in Mattituck and their e-mail address is <mail@timesreview.com>. Their phone number is 298-3200. Aslo, send letters to the Southampton Press, Newsday and Suffolk Life! The main points to be emphasized are the following: 1) grasslands are native to Long Island 2) there are many species of plants and animals that can survive only in grasslands 3) they are an integral part of the Pine Barrens 4) they help feed the pure water system of the pine barrens 5) the ex-Grumman grasslands (or, preferably, Calverton Grasslands) are the only extensive grasslands left 6) It is a beautiful natural area and the ultimate in open space Please TAKE ACTION....write a letter, make a call!! Also please contact me if you have any information that might be of assistance to us. Or if you have any contact information for civic groups, or other groups that might be interested in helping us with this issue. You can contact me at libirding@yahoo.com . Just put "Grumman" in subject line. Thanks much!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!! EMAIL DIANNE IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTONS OR KNOW OF A GROUP THAT WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THIS COALITION email dianne at libirding@yahoo.com and put "Calverton" in the subject line |
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| ACTION ALERT!!! It is critical to start writing letters in support of DEC - The governor's office is getting intense pressure from Riverhead and other interested parties against DEC asserting jurisdiction. This is a critical juncture in this fight - Urge the DEC to Take the Lead in Regional Conservation Issues A variety of enormous development proposals are being submitted for the Enterprise Park at Calverton (EPCAL) parcel in Riverhead Town. As we have mentioned in previous action alerts, the EPCAL parcel is located within the protected Long Island Pine Barrens, the Peconic Estuary and Long Island Sound watersheds, a NY State Special Groundwater Protection Area, and a NY State Scenic and Recreational River boundary. It also contains rare freshwater wetland and grassland habitats that support a number of NY State protected species. Due to these precious natural resources and the size of the proposed projects, it makes sense that a NY State regional conservation agency would be the most appropriate lead agency for the environmental review of all development projects at the site. Therefore, we are urging the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to take this leadership role. If the DEC does not request lead agency status, the Town of Riverhead is likely to claim it. We feel that there is a clear conflict of interest for Riverhead Town to lead the environmental review, as they are the sellers of the property, and stand to gain monetarily if it is built as proposed. The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process is an essential step in assessing the possible impacts of proposed development on the local environment and community, addressing and mitigating many issues before they arise. This process should certainly be led by an agency that has regional protection as a top priority and is not personally invested in the project. Please reach out to the DEC and ask them to request lead agency status in SEQRA proceedings for all EPCAL development projects. The 30-day window for an involved agency to request lead agency status may have already begun on one of the major development projects at EPCAL. What the DEC decides to do now will set a precedent on the actions they will take for all development review on this parcel. There is not much time left. Please contact the DEC today and encourage them to assert lead agency status on this, and all, development applications at this sensitive location. If you would like to use Group for the East End’s online messenger to send an e-mail to the DEC, please see our “Take Action” section. |
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| NEW CALVERTON GRASSLANDS WEBSITE (CLICK HERE) ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION & YOU CAN DONATE! |
| Some recent Coalition updates - 12/19/08 Jennifer Skilbred Environmental Advocate Group for the East End Matthew Atkinson and Enrico Nardone, recently sent out an excellent letter to the DEC stressing the importance of expediently developing appropriate Habitat Conservation Plans for the endangered species found at EPCAL, on behalf of the entire Coalition for Open Space at EPCAL. Riverhead Resorts has not yet filed their application, and Rechler Industries has not yet filed their final scoping document. We will keep you posted on these topics. The recent League of Women Voters EPCAL forum was a success, thank you to those of you who made this event possible and those who took the time to attend as well. We are also in the process of planning an outreach event with the LI Sierra Club for sometime in February. The Calverton Grasslands website is up an running at: www.CalvertonGrasslands.org, with an effective online donation tool as well. Please feel free to share this site with anyone who may be interested. We still have another $40,000 to go in the matching grant, so all donations raised up to that point will be matched! This is a great fundraising tool! We did a great job of starting off the campaign to protect the Calverton Grasslands, other unique natural resources on the EPCAL site, and our regional quality of life, this year. However, we still have a tough battle ahead of us. So thank you all, and keep up the good work!! |