Just a reminder: tonight is the Department of Environmental Conservation’s public information session on its draft plan for managing the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.
The session starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the Springwater Fire Hall, 8145 South Main Street, Springwater. DEC representatives will give a presentation at 7 p.m. and a comment session will follow.
The plan outlines how the DEC would balance recreational use of the park with ecological preservation and restoration. The plan recommends a carry-in, carry-out policy for garbage, continued monitoring of the site’s nesting bald eagles, and to continue timber harvesting to encourage plant diversity.
But the most controversial part of the plan deals with gas drilling. The plan doesn’t contain specific language about whether the DEC will allow drilling on the forest lands. But it does say that the ecological sensitivity of much of the land, as well as intense recreational use, will probably lead to a recommendation against allowing surface drilling.
A state DEC spokesperson has also said that “the state has no intention of allowing any sort of drilling in the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.”
Hemlock and Canadice Lakes are the drinking water sources for much of the City of Rochester and some towns in the region.
This article appears in Mar 13-19, 2013.
Flashback to 2010. Then Mayor Robert Duffy completes a deal that puts the land surrounding Hemlock and Canadice Lakes into the hands of the state to be protected forever. Read the press release: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/mobilesite/…
Since the state gained control of this land, they need to develop a UMP–unit management plan–for this state forest. The proposed UMP has been released and it allows for the possibility for commercial logging and gas/oil drilling.
YOU need to speak up and prevent these devastating possibilities from happening. It is clear from the city press release that we were told the lakes and land would be “protected” forever. This is a promise the state must keep.
Below is the link to the DEC’s public comment website for the Hemlock-Canadice Lakes State Forest Unit Management Plan. Please submit your comment before April 15, 2013. Please tell the state you want the UMP to state clearly and absolutely that NO OIL OR GAS DRILLING WILL BE ALLOWED. Also tell the state that commercial logging must also be prohibited.
I learned by attending the public hearing that the designation as a State Forest is insufficient for the absolute protection needed for Hemlock-Canadice. So also tell the state to change the designation from State Forest to State Nature and Historic Preserve.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/68822.html
While you’re offering your comments to the DEC, why not contact Lt. Gov Robert Duffy to tell him to weigh in on this topic because he is the one who started it.