The Federal Department of Energy has made recommendations to build a major electrical transmission line in the Catskills. This line could be routed through formerly protected wilderness areas. Two provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 could influence these plans. This poorly worded Act could have a dangerous impact on our landscape. Section 1221 gives the secretary of energy authority to identify major pathways across public and private lands as "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors." The Eastern area includes New York state south to Virginia. The power industry and political appointees are trying to push through plans without local comment. Section 368 designates routes be found across public lands out west without exemptions for wildlife refuges or national forest roadless areas.

Please contact your congressional representatives to support a repeal of Sections 368 and 1221 that are being sponsored by Congressman Hinchey(D-NY), Grijlva (D-AZ) and Wolf (R-VA). Public input and special consideration of wilderness areas need to be addressed before building new power corridors.

A resolution is being drawn up which would allow for open space designation for areas of 1 acre or less to be designated for canoe access. It recommends that projects that use money from the general fund go towards multiple user access instead of only fishing access. Please contact me if you know of a canoe access area that would benefit from funds to improve paddler access. Funds could go towards hardening the trail to the put in area, enlarging the put in area, etc.

ADK, the Adirondack Council and several other groups have sued to prevent the widening of snowmobile trails to accommodate tracked groomers. This would widen trails to 16 feet in the Adirondack’s to permit bigger and heavier snowmobiles. This would permanently transform the feel of a hiking trail to that of a road and potentially invite the use of ATVs on hiking trails. The DEC would like to settle out of court. The outcome will be decided this summer and could set an important precedence for trails.

The geologist for Frontier Stone is said to be just about ready to submit his draft Environmental Impact Statement, a requirement under the state’s SEQRA law. Afterwards will come a sixty-day public review period. While answering all questions with well prepared answers at a recent project presentation, it is hard to believe that a quarry pit located less then two football fields from a federally protected wetlands sight and important birding area will not cause harm. The claim is that they expect no problems with dust, gas, noise, or vibrations from explosions. All this in an area known for its wonderful animal habitat.

They state that the underlying foundation is not porous, and will not drain any water from the wetlands that are only a tenth of a mile away. They promise to dispose of any water that does collect in the pit into Oak Orchard Creek, following the permitted standards. When the two to three year project of evacuation that encompasses 174 acres of a 269-acre site is over, the pits are to be left as two very deep pools.

Of course, this project will bring some benefits to the town, but at what at cost? The refuge is a quiet place that fosters the homes for countless different species of wildlife. Whatever your opinion, you can let it be known to the DEC.

*From the US Fish and Wildlife website* "The National Wildlife Refuge System is one of America’s greatest conservation success stories. Wildlife Refuges have helped save many species from extinction and have protected a myriad of other wild species, including fish, migratory birds, and many other plants and animals and the habitats that support them"

Barack Obama has come out in firm opposition to any form of strip mining and mountaintop removal. There are still three states in the east that are proficient at this deviant act of manure. West Virginia, Kentucky (whose strip mined Black Mountain, the state’s high point I visited recently), and Virginia all still partake in this practice. Half of this country’s electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, excavating 50 tons a second, 70% from strip mines. West Virginia alone is endowed with 4% of all coal worldwide, and has three quarters of their rivers and streams polluted by mining/industry. The USA contains 21% of coal worldwide. We yield 22.3% of coal emissions while boasting only 5% of the population. 52% of our energy is derived from coal, so this problem is not going away easy.

In Appalachia alone, it is estimated that 1000 miles of streams have been buried due to mountaintop strip mining, and 300,000 acres of trees have been destroyed. One company in Missouri alone supplies 6% of USA energy, producing over $1.5 billion in revenues.

After the high court of this land threw the ill-decided decision concerning the refurbishment of coal-fired plants back to the lower courts, telling them their original justification was unfounded, it took little time for that ruling body to reconsider and change their initial ruling against Duke energy. This should be a major step in dealing with all kinds of emissions, and may also cost that flagrant company many, many dollars in fines and penalties.

When the Niagara Chapter hosts this years Fallfest, I hope that some of you will consider participating in the September shoreline cleanup sponsored by the Riverkeepers. We need to concentrate on the trails that we will be putting on showcase to all of our out of town guests whom will be joining us. Next month I will try to include the areas that overlap the cleanup and the Fallfest.

Mayor Bloomberg has called for New York City taxicabs, all 13,000 of them, to be replaced by hybrids by 2012. There are currently 375 of the these emission-reducing vehicles in the city’s fleet. Bloomberg’s overall goal call for a reduction of all NYC emissions by 30% before 2030.

With all the goings on about turning coal into ethanol, let some of these facts sink in. Corn yields a 1.7:1 energy output. In Brazil, where they have their fuel problem flowing swimmingly (they now have no imports of foreign oil), sugar cane yields an 8:1 energy output. A new challenger has come upon the scene. The shrubby willow, with its 14:1 energy output, can be grown on marginal land to produce high yields in almost any temperate climate. A New Zealand company is in the midst of a project named BioJoule. This project brings much promise. The process is a bit more complicated then most, since they need to extract a substance called unsulphonated lignim first. The upside is that this substance is like tree glue, and a natural polymer, creating a ‘green plastic’. Biofuels hold much promise in our energy gluttonous culture. Let’s hope we move down this road with much alacrity.