Re response to this boy scout proposal for the Union Spring Mill pond:
I have much experience with "activism" & letter writing to small town/non-Ithaca town boards (Lansing is not at all like Ithaca, with regard to its governance and with the values of many of its citizens). I chaired the huge effort last year to produce almost 200 paper letters to the Lans. Town Board to ask them to approve acquisition of the Bell Station undeveloped lakeshore land, by the NYSDEC for a State Forest (instead of housing developments as some on the board wished). We also generated a large number of environmentally-friendly people attending town bd meetings for a while). Fritzie, please provide the names of Village board members and the proper US Mail address for letters to this board. Yes, we should all write BRIEF -, one page only, to the point, paper letters (not emails) that address why the pond should stay as it is now, and its bushy surrounds should not be disturbed or cut down for a path & benches, why the birds need the bushes and ducks to be undisturbed by human walkers around the pond. However, local town boards will ignore letters from "outsiders" 1) unless we provide "good authority" for what we write (we need some Lab of O employees to write letters), and 2) unless we show how we birders benefit the local economy. (or other benefits you may think of). Eg., I am going to write that I buy pizza nearby at the NY Pizzaria and do grocery shopping at the Shur Save Grocery store, as well as buy food from other restaurants in U Spring, when I am there bird watching. (all true). This point is very important to remember. "Outsiders" may be ignored, unless we show why we, too, benefit Union Springs. Another possible point: The Mill Pond area as it exists right now, with its street-side mowed part and cute gazebo, already provides a nice spot for humans; leaving the bushy part for animals and birds provides something for all species - and all the birds and animals help "entertain" humans who stop there. Put in a path, cut all the bushes and a lot of the "entertaining critters" will go away. I am going to suggest that we, with Fritzie's help, identify another location where energetic Boy Scouts could do a helpful badge-earning project, and try to get them focused away from the Mill pond. We can remind the Board at U Spring that they already have a large, mowed-lawn park right nearby at the lakeshore, so there is no compelling need to turn the small southern space by the Mill pond into yet another human-based" improvement", especially when doing so will cause great disturbance of many sorts to birds and other wildlife. Take time to write a paper letter to the Union Springs Village Board about this important issue. Donna Scott Lansing From: bounce-118568168-15001...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-118568168-15001...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of John and Fritzie Blizzard Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2014 11:29 PM To: Jay McGowan; Cayugabirds-L Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Jay's report (+ a proposal for Mill Pond) Your update is MUCH appreciated, Jay. I've missed the reports. I was invited 2 wks. ago to the village hall to listen to, & comment about, a proposal by a young lad who wants to "clean up around Mill Pond" .... clean up litter & cut brush & put a path along the south side of the pond, along with several benches. He wants to do this to earn his Eagle Scout status. That's how the "roofless, benchless" but nice gazebo at the east end of the pond came to be. Another Eagle scout built that. Some on the village board were "gung-ho" about his idea & wanted to approve it right away. After I spoke one member persuaded the board to put the idea on hold until more input could be obtained, esp. from birders. I found that the lad & his mother actually know next to nothing about what birds are there, only that birds come to the pond & that people stop to look at them. Indeed, they had a picture of an eared grebe labeled as a red neck duck. Nothing was said about how wide the path would be or how close to the pond. My feeling is that benches are only needed at the east end of the pond. Less litter. Prisoners from the county jail come & mow the grass & cut brush at the east end & also at Factory St. pond. One board member said that it wouldn't matter if walkers along the pond edge scared the ducks to the other side of the pond! No one was aware that wood ducks or mallards (they're all just ducks) have nested in the brushy safety of the south edge of the pond or that the brush serves as nesting habitat for many kinds of small birds. It's true that LOTS of litter is in the brush but now that the Shurfine owner has had the trashy house at the entrance demolished & the lot cleaned & grassed over I believe the local youth who carried litter to & left it in the woods will no longer find it a place in which to congregate, especially if no benches are iin the woods. (I hope). Unfortunately, clearing the lot also did away with a lot of bird habitat. The pond is now property of the village but the property line is at the base of the bank on the west edge & maybe about 30 ft. (not sure) towards Shurfine to the south which to me, leaves no real room for a path. Here is a situation where the mayor & the board need to be commended for wanting to see the pond area look neater for visitors, tourists & birders coming to the area but at the same time, they need to understand it is prime habitat for birds & as such, it needs to be cared for for them as much as for the public. At this point, with winter hard on us, things are on hold but I need help in explaining to the mayor & the board, as well as to the lad what, why, how & when to go about this project. I told the board & the lad that a kiosk or a glass covered sign telling what birds could be seen would be appreciated. His mother already had an idea for a sign for near the road. It was suggested that the Lab of O might help with erecting a kiosk. I explained that people from long distances come to check out the ponds. Look at how many came to see Screechie! A sign indicating that the lake & Frontenac Park is just around the corner where even more waterfowl can be seen could also be included. At this point, I have been encouraged to have birders send me their thoughts about the lad's proposal & their reasons for wanting the pond environment protected & how to go about it. I'll be glad to make copies to present to the mayor & the board. Thank you, Fritzie Blizzard Union Springs -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
