Listen to the frog sound walk

Liz LoGiudice, Extension Educator at Agroforestry Resource Center, led an “Amphibian Adventure” WGXC fundraiser Friday night, giving a “frog walk” across the street at the Siuslaw Model Forest. We listened to peepers, tree frogs, pond frogs, and found tadpoles and snails. Click here to listen to an mp3 sound recording of the “Amphibian Adventure” or [...]

Audio recording of Lafarge DEC hearing last night in Ravena

WGXC’s Sam Sebren made it out to record the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application last night at 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium. Click here to listen to mp3 audio recording of the hearing, or [...]

30 speak, largely worried about mercury at Lafarge

From Brian Nearing in The Albany Times-Union: Several hundred people turned out for a hearing Tuesday on the proposed state air pollution permit for the Lafarge cement plant, and nearly all gave the same message — the state must do more to limit the amount of mercury and other toxins coming from the smokestack. “I [...]

NY Environmental Facilities and Cancer Map

New York’s Department of Health’s Environmental Facilities and Cancer Map shows the number of people diagnosed with cancer (cancer counts) for the years 2003-2007 in small geographic areas of New York State. Locations of certain environmental facilities can also be viewed.

GE says dredging causes more pollution

From Andrea Bernstein at WNYC: The General Electric Corporation is arguing that its clean-up of PCBs from the upper Hudson River is making the pollution worse. GE is telling a panel of scientists meeting today [through Thursday at Queensbury Hotel, Adirondack Room, 88 Ridge Street, Glens Falls] that phase one of the dredging stirred up [...]

Amphibian Adventure

Amphibian Adventure! A Fund-Raiser for WGXC Community Radio May 21, 2010: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Greene County Agroforestry Resource Center 6055 Route 23, Acra, NY 12405 518-622-9820 Support your local community radio station and listen to the sounds of our resident frogs – all in one, fun evening! This [...]

Final Lafarge public hearing May 11

Hilary Hawke in The Daily Mail reports: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced a legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application on May 11, 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium. All New York State contaminant-emitting facilities must have either a [...]

Hunter officials ask to keep park open

From Colin DeVries in Windham Journal: In an effort to save a key piece of the Mountaintop’s economic puzzle, county and local officials are rallying to keep the Devil’s Tombstone Campground open through 2010. A county resolution was unanimously approved Wednesday requesting that New York State reconsider closing the Devil’s Tombstone Campground in Hunter….The campground, [...]

DEP opens public lands

From Watershed Post: This just in from the DEP: The agency that polices New York City’s upstate watershed will open 12,000 acres of city-owned watershed land to recreation. A total of 71,000 DEP-owned acres in the New York City watershed are now open to the public, according to a press release from the agency. The [...]

Gordon to host Hudson River estuary forum Thursday

From The Columbia Paper: Assemblyman Tim Gordon (I-108th) will hold a public forum to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at the Castleton Boat Club, 92 Main Street to discuss ideas and future plans for the Hudson River estuary. Castleton is on Route 9J just north of the Columbia County line. Among the guests at “Our [...]

DEC issues de facto ban on gas drilling in NYC watershed

From Lissa Harris in Watershed Post: This just in: The DEC has declared that their draft regulations on natural-gas drilling don’t apply to New York City’s watershed. (Or, for that matter, Syracuse’s Skaneateles Lake watershed, also among a handful of water systems in the nation allowed by the EPA to operate without filtration.) From the [...]

DEC proposes new outdoor wood boiler regulations

The Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing to new rules for outdoor wood boilers, with emission limits, siting requirements (distance from neighbors), stack height, and operating requirements for both new and existing boilers. The DEC proposes phasing out existing boilers by August 31, 2020. Written comments are accepted through 5 p.m., July 2, 2010 and [...]

Shad on the rebound?

From The Watershed Post: American shad, once plentiful in the Hudson and the smaller rivers they return to each year to spawn, have suffered tremendous declines in recent years–so much so that the NY DEC declared them off-limits in the Hudson this year. Nevertheless, the guides at Cross Current Fly Fishing think this is going [...]

Stream management program funds awarded

Michael Ryan in the Windham Journal writes: Thousands of dollars were handed out when the Schoharie Watershed Advisory Council awarded its second round of Stream Management Program funds, last week, during a meeting at the Windham Country Club. SWAC members awarded $77,627 to seven entities in Greene and Delaware counties for projects aimed at preserving [...]

New DEP rules for NYC watershed

From The Daily Freeman: Updated regulations for the New York City reservoir system watershed took effect on Sunday. City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway said the new regulations amend existing regulations to align them with changes made in federal and state law over the past 10 years, and address issues that have been [...]

New York State trout season opens April 1

(The brook trout, left, and the rainbow trout, right, from DEC.) From DEC: “Trout season opens April 1 in New York State, and anglers can again look forward to a great year of fishing, thanks to the natural diversity of angling opportunities within New York and management of the state’s fisheries by DEC. Due to [...]

Hudson, Athens get boat launch funds

The New York Environmental Protection Fund’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program will provide $38,542 for the city of Hudson to construct a canoe/kayak launch at the southern end of Henry Hudson Riverfront Park with a secure storage rack for canoes/kayaks will be provided and $22,500 for the village of Athens to construct a dockage system for [...]

AG: New York settles with Lafarge over emissions

From Casey Seiler in Capitol Confidential: [A] multistate settlement, just announced by the office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, includes 11 other states and affects operations at 13 cement plants — including the Ravena facility that’s been the subject of controversy for years. According to the Attorney General’s press release, the settlement requires LaFarge to [...]

Ghent planning board to unveil plans for Price Chopper store

The public can view the plans for a proposed Price Chopper store on Rt. 66 in the Town of Ghent at the Ghent Planning Board’s next regular meeting on February 3 at 7 p.m., according to an article in ccScoop by Mike McCagg. The 43,000 square-foot store, on land adjoining the existing Price Chopper Plaza, [...]

Andy Turner speaks at Cairo Eco Faire

Click here to listen to or download mp3 of Andy Turner speaking at Eco Faire.Andy Turner, the Executive Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County, speaking Sun. Sept. 13 at the Cairo Eco Faire in Cairo Town Park, streamed live on WGXC Online Radio. Turner is also on WGXC’s Radio Council, the board overseeing [...]

Cairo Nature Center called ‘political football’

What sort of town does not want volunteers to create a park? Cairo, apparently. Susan Campriello in The Daily Mail reports on last Thursday’s Cairo Town workshop meeting, where the Cairo Nature Center Committee met with the Town Board. The Nature Center opened two years ago, and then the town closed it for a year [...]

Today’s local headlines

New Congressman Scott Murphy (D-NY20) voted for H.R.2454 (the American Clean Energy and Security Act) Friday, which passed the House 219 to 212. It was the first time Murphy’s vote mattered, as 44 Democrats voted against the measure that works to slow the pace of global warming. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also opposed [...]