Animal and plant habitat could be forever degraded, groundwater depleted and
archaeological sites destroyed.
In short, the controversial Awosting Reserve development proposal poses a
significant threat to the Shaw-angunk Ridge environment based on current
scientific knowledge, but a host of new studies are needed to fully
comprehend the impact.
That was the essence of a 46-page study released last week by the Shawangunk
Ridge Biodiversity Partnership, a 10-member group that once included the
Awosting Reserve.
It also includes four state agencies and the Palisades Interstate Park
Commission.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation, a partnership member
that is the lead agency for the environmental review of the project under
the State Environmental Quality Review Act, did not have a role in producing
the report.
The report has been submitted to the DEC for consideration as it prepares a
draft environmental impact statement for the project.
The Awosting Reserve is 2,660 acres of land on the slopes that approach the
ridge's white cliffs, mostly in the Town of Gardiner. Owner John Atwater
Bradley wants to subdivide the parcel into more than 300 lots for a private
"Adirondack-style'' community complete with village center and golf course.
Protected areas
Chris Chaffin, a project manager for developer Chaffin/Light Associates,
said the Awosting Reserve had not yet reviewed the partnership's report so
it ''would be inappropriate to comment.''
Some 30,000 acres are protected on the ridge, including the Mohonk Preserve,
the Minnewaska State Park Preserve and the Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge
Preserve, all partnership members.
The report referenced scientific studies and panel discussions in detailing
potential impacts from the Awosting Reserve development that could damage
the ridge, which has been designated one of the world's ''Last Great
Places'' by the Nature Conservancy, a partnership member, and a ''priority
resource area'' by New York state.
The report calls for 64 additional studies needed to fully assess the
environmental impact, a series that could presumably take several years to
complete.
The Biodiversity Partnership has not taken a formal position for or against
the development proposal, but the study expresses a clear concern about its
impact.
''We really never considered that, given that the organizations within the
partnership all have differing points of view and differing interests. We
have made a big investment in understanding the ecology of the ridge, and we
felt that it was important to bring that information forward,'' said Cara
Lee, director of the Nature Conservancy's Shawangunk Ridge Program.
''There isn't much point in having expertise if you don't share it,'' she
said.
Relevan Web line: To read the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership
report, visit the Mohonk Preserve's Web site at www.mohonkpreserve.org
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/saturday/localnews/stories/lo071203s1.shtml
