on this ongoing issue at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens Co. (N.Y. City)
Please correct if incorrect, but there is a relatively recent agreement with the City of New York's Parks Dept., that does not appear to transfer any management/decision-making back to the city** These issues likely need to be addressed most to, & by, the top administrators at Gateway National Recreation Area (Ms. Jennifer Nersesian is the head administrator there) and possibly on up the chain to the Washington DC offices of the National Parks Service. The city of New York once owned and managed Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and (I believe) the laws that were applicable to its management were different from those that apply now. For what it may be worth, and it is important to understand to those who do not see a difference, the management of the Jamaica Bay "Refuge" is under the purvey of a National Recreation Area, with an emphasis on the word: "Recreation"... hardly my preference nor that of anyone I know in the naturalist community who have visited Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, it has had a lot of consequences to how things are managed there, particularly in recent times. I would emphasize that as of now, the people Andrew Baksh has suggested we contact, as well as the ideas put forth by John Askildsen, be considered in earnest. It will only happen if enough of us make our voices heard to those who administrate and who are meant to serve the public, we the people... As already noted by Andrew Baksh - > I posted the contact information for Dave Taft and Jennifer Nersesian in another post, those are the people you need to get in touch with. Dave Taft: 718-338-3625 or Jennifer Nersesian: 718-354-4665 < Again, Ms. Nersesian is the head administrator of Gateway National Recreation Area. I would also tend to agree with at least most if not all of what John Askildsen posted, in part in response to Susan Herbst's prior post, in that there will be more action taken in favor of bird &/or habitat protection when pressure is applied and in part, in addition to actual letters to elected representative (a physical, paper & ink letter, sent in the old USPS system, is considered to have the most impact of all ways of contacting a representative or an official, or for that matter anyone in a public position even in our age of mobile media. A phone call is also good, and an email is also good. Adding one's name to a petition can be useful but individual, personal input to one's elected officials and other public servants are likely to make a stronger impression overall.) Another thought is that writers / editors for local newspapers and magazines, producers & others with TV & radio programs, & web site managers might be contacted along with your local or regional birding or environmental group. (If a negatively-inclined piece appeared in, let's say, the NY Times, you can be sure that folks behind desks at the National Parks Service will quickly be made aware of that, and they will also be aware if they receive praise in public for work well-done, when such takes place, that is!) Also, being respectful and informed is a given with feedback to any public official for there to be a chance for a positive response. Some of the additional ideas on volunteerism are of interest and could potentially be of worth, but an issue that must be dealt with are those in charge of management at the Refuge (or any other public lands locations & issues). The area in discussion must be seen as in need of work, & that work is in need of being done prior to now. We won't get a volunteer effort going (on the projects at issue here) without the approval of top management; their opinion & decisions can be affected in part by our input. sincerely, Tom Fiore, Manhattan (one of many long-time Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge visitors & former volunteer for NPS Piping Plover protection effort), New York City. ** those who wish to may read at least some of the transfer agreements via NYC.gov web pages, they can take a bit of navigating to reach the legalities involved therein. _____________ On Jul 13, 2015, at 5:28 PM, Christina Wilkinson wrote: > The Refuge is already being overseen by NYC Parks as well as NPS. > Any complaints about maintenance should also be directed at the City > of New York: > http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/jamaica-bay-and-the-rockaways > > You can contact the commissioner via this form: > http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildpr.html > There's also a Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy: http://www.jbrpc.org/ > > Christina Wilkinson > Queens, NY > _________ > On July 13, 2015 5:17 PM, John Askildsen wrote: > [nysbirds-l] JBWR East Pond Water Levels > > a good thought on your part. unless andrew baksh can say otherwise > with his knowledge of the inner workings of the national park > service, in my view the problem is that in this day and age, the > issues of liabilities and lawsuits would very likely prevent any > volunteer from working on levees and release valves, not to mention > federal union rules about workforce mgmt concerns. > > unfortunately, from my past experience, the only way to solve the > problem is through organized public pressure. the biggest "achilles > heal" for public officials is public opinion. if the public is mad > enough to raise enough commotion with congressional representatives > in both sides of the house, things will change. until then, birders > concerns fall on deaf ears. the jamaica bay coalition should not > disband after the west pond issue is resolved, but strengthen and > follow through to make sure that the JBWR is funded, managed and > staffed to meet the needs of the refuge ecosystem, wildlife and its > usership. > > until we take that approach, we will be standing up to our knees in > east pond 'gook'. in recent years, i have been in favor of > transferring JBWR to the NWR system, and taking out of the hands of > the NPS, who seem to care not for managing for wildlife, but only > for skateboard parks, bicycle paths and ballfields. i don't think > that top management in NPS Gateway really cares about JBWR, birds or > birders. in my opinion, They care about active recreation where > there is probably big grant money available, which offers more job > security for NPS/Gateway staff. I would imagine that there is little > job security in making shorebirds happy. > > John Askildsen > Millbrook, New York -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
