[nysbirds-l] Liberty Lane north of Wallkill River NWR/Oil City Road in Orange County, NY is OFF LIMITS TO BIRDERS
Hi all. Liberty Lane is the dirt lane which goes northeast off Oil City Road opposite the entrance to the parking lot and platform of the Wallkill River NWR, NY. There have recently been unpleasant confrontations between the farmers who own Liberty Lane and birders, where a farmer has threatened to call 911 for birders trespassing. We don’t know the reason for the change in heart, as we’ve been birding there for years. What follows below was posted in the Mearns Bird Club Yahoo listserv by Karen Miller the club president who asked me to post it on New York Birds for the information for birders from outside Orange County who visit this hotspot. Ajit I Antony After so many confrontations with the farmer on Liberty Lane (Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, Pine Island, NY), I decided to talk to someone this morning at the refuge headquarters to confirm that we can no longer bird on this dirt road that bisects part of the refuge across the road from the Oil City Road platform. I also made a trip to the Town of Warwick Town Hall to verify that this is a private road. It was confirmed that Liberty Lane is owned by the farmer and that the right-of-way is intended for Refuge staff only, in order to access the Refuge property across from Liberty Loop. The Refuge staff has no say about birders using that road. Even though we've been birding there for several years, the farmer no longer wants us there, and he is less than pleasant when he sees us on the road. I encountered him several weeks ago as I was walking back from the pond by myself and he was extremely insulting to all birders. It is disappointing that this section of the Refuge is off limits for us, but this road is private property. Of course, the Liberty Loop is open to us for birding, as is the Winding Waters Trail that starts next to the river. Feel free to contact me if you need further clarification. Karen C Miller - President E.A.Mearns Bird Club -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Liberty Lane north of Wallkill River NWR/Oil City Road in Orange County, NY is OFF LIMITS TO BIRDERS
Hi all. Liberty Lane is the dirt lane which goes northeast off Oil City Road opposite the entrance to the parking lot and platform of the Wallkill River NWR, NY. There have recently been unpleasant confrontations between the farmers who own Liberty Lane and birders, where a farmer has threatened to call 911 for birders trespassing. We don’t know the reason for the change in heart, as we’ve been birding there for years. What follows below was posted in the Mearns Bird Club Yahoo listserv by Karen Miller the club president who asked me to post it on New York Birds for the information for birders from outside Orange County who visit this hotspot. Ajit I Antony After so many confrontations with the farmer on Liberty Lane (Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, Pine Island, NY), I decided to talk to someone this morning at the refuge headquarters to confirm that we can no longer bird on this dirt road that bisects part of the refuge across the road from the Oil City Road platform. I also made a trip to the Town of Warwick Town Hall to verify that this is a private road. It was confirmed that Liberty Lane is owned by the farmer and that the right-of-way is intended for Refuge staff only, in order to access the Refuge property across from Liberty Loop. The Refuge staff has no say about birders using that road. Even though we've been birding there for several years, the farmer no longer wants us there, and he is less than pleasant when he sees us on the road. I encountered him several weeks ago as I was walking back from the pond by myself and he was extremely insulting to all birders. It is disappointing that this section of the Refuge is off limits for us, but this road is private property. Of course, the Liberty Loop is open to us for birding, as is the Winding Waters Trail that starts next to the river. Feel free to contact me if you need further clarification. Karen C Miller - President E.A.Mearns Bird Club -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm 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://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
