January 2006

2nd Edition

The Red Spring Woods are 10 acres of pristine, untouched old-growth forest located on Red Spring Lane and Valley Road in Glen Cove, New York, 11542. The land is across from the new "Legend" development. The owner/builder will soon be submitting his development plans to the Glen Cove Planning Board. Please help us to preserve the Red Spring Woods by volunteering your time and/or contacting your local City Councilperson, City Hall, the Planning Board, or your local politicians to voice your opposition to the project. To see the location & satellite photo of the Red Spring Woods, cut/paste this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Red+Spring+ Ln,+Glen+Cove,+NY+11542&ll=40.873521, -73.647516&spn=0.003538,0.010192&t=k&hl=en Or, view the site on The Red Spring Woods Coalition's New Website: http://savetheredspringwoods.50webs.com/

Newsletter Contents:

• Updates regarding the Glen Cove Red Spring Woods Conservation Effort:
• First Meeting of the Coalition To Save The Red Spring Woods
• Details of the meeting
• Participants
• Goals and objectives
• Wildlife report on the Red Spring Woods
• Highlights of a Biologist's report on the Red Spring Woods
• The Red Spring Woods Owner/Developer Information
• The New Red Spring Woods Coalition Website
• Upcoming Visitors to The Red Spring Woods
• Additional important information
• Background Information Regarding The County's Attempt to Purchase and Preserve the Red Spring Woods

Residents and politicians had their first meeting as the newly-formed "Coalition to Save the Red Spring Woods" on Sunday, January 15th. The meeting was held at a member's Glen Cove home that borders the Woods. Their goal is to alert local environmental organizations and politicians of the effort to conserve the pristine 10 acres of old-growth forest, located on Red Spring Lane and Valley Road, from destruction by homebuilders.

Attendees

• About 50 concerned residents
• Mayor Ralph Suozzi
• Assemblyman Chuck Lavine
• City Councilman Tim Tenke
• Former City Councilman Steve Gonzalez
• County Legislator Diane Yatauro was unable to attend, but sent a message of support.

Meeting Topics Discussed

 A BREAKDOWN OF FOUR (4) WAYS TO PRESERVE THE RED SPRING WOODS:

1. Environmental

• North Shore Land Alliance
• Nature Conservancy
• Local Organizations (Save Hempstead Harbor, Save the Sound, etc.)
• Local Scientists (Biologists, Arborists, Ecologists, Hydrologists)
• Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
• Department of Environmental Protection (EPA)

2. Political

• Local Politicians
• Nassau County Open Space Initiative ($50 Million Bond Act)

3. Public Relations

• Local Newspapers
• Regional Newspapers
• Editorials/Letters to the editor
• Neighborhood Meetings
• Civic Organizations
• Literature Distribution Door-to-Door

4. Red Spring Woods Coalition Members

• Members' Strengths
• Educational/Professional credentials that would relate to effort
• Determine Important Connections (Political/Environmental/Press/etc.)

CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, PAST & PRESENT/ SUCCESSFUL & UNSUCCESSFUL:

• Underhill property
• Loew's Estate (Legend)
• Pine Barrens
• East End Farmlands

ASSIGNMENT DISTRIBUTIONS TO COALITION MEMBERS

The Red Spring Woods property has always been a sanctuary to wildlife. As per a participant in the official National Audubon Society Annual Bird Count, the Red Spring Woods is home to many species including:

• Red Tail Hawks
• Screech Owls
• Saw-Whit Owls
• Tufted Titmouse
• Yellow-Shafted Northern Flicker
• Ruby Crowned Kinglets
• White-Breasted Nut Hatch
• Downey Woodpeckers
• Chickadees
• Cardinals, etc.

Also, other wildlife have been sighted there:

• Red Fox
• Possums
• The Southern Flying Squirrel
• Raccoons, etc.

The wildlife that frequent the Red Spring Woods are all part of Long Island's fragile ecosystem.

 An official Biologist's report suggests that the Red Spring Woods:

Are considered by the New York Natural Heritage Program's (NHP) rating system a rare cluster of trees types called an "Oak-Tulip Tree Forest."

The woods consist of the following tree types: Tulip Red Oak American Beech Black Oak Red Maple Black Birch, etc.

Many of these trees--particularly the Tulip Trees and the Red Oaks--are of large diameter and are evidently quite old. Many of these old and enormous trees heights reach over 130 feet.

The Red Spring Woods are located in a deep valley terrain that provides groundwater runoff for the natural "Red Spring" from which this area was named.

The Red Spring's stream surfaces along Valley Road and flows into fragile salt and freshwater wetlands and eventually into the Long Island Sound.

Stereotypical wetland plants have been found in the Red Spring Wood's valley.

Page 2

Important note: To ensure that visitors do not trespass on private property while viewing the Red Spring Woods, visitors will be walking on other property owner's adjacent land and/or public roads.

Background Information Regarding The County's Attempt to Purchase and Preserve the Red Spring Woods*

The County's $50 Million Dollar Open Space Bond Act was passed by voters to enable the County to purchase and preserve some of the last few open tracts of land available in Nassau County.

Supposedly, the County formed a Committee that consulted with representatives from local environmental organizations, appropriate professionals and other County employees, to identify properties that should/could be purchased throughout the County.

The County's Open Space Bond Act Committee researched/targeted many properties over many months and a list of at least 250 properties was recorded.

Supposedly, the list of properties has been researched, sorted/categorized and finally whittled-down to less than 20 properties that can be purchased. The properties were sorted by various criteria including their size, environmental sensitivity, location, price, etc.

IMPORTANT: The Red Spring Woods land was supposedly identified and targeted by the Open Space Committee and was rated "very high" in its importance as a tract of land that should be purchased/preserved.

Supposedly, when Committee Representatives approached the Hendrickson family's estate executors (it was said to have been part of an estate sale) with an offer to buy the land, the estate decided to sell the Red Spring Woods to a developer instead of to the County…..or…another version of the story (many contributed to this part of the Newsletter) is that the County was too late in hearing about the land being available and it was already sold at that point to the current owner/developer…..(not sure which is the right version of the story). Another (!) version of the story is that the County had an environmental organization that it was working with approach the owner/developer twice, to purchase the land, to no avail.

Supposedly, the owner/developer has stated to both the County and environmental organizations that he wants to develop the property, not preserve it. A good guess is that, as usual, profit motives won out over good intentions of preservation.

The Committee will report their findings and recommendations to the County Legislature who will then vote on the findings and have the final authority. Supposedly the Committee is in their final phase of developing the property list of recommendations.

Calls and letters to your Legislator, as well as other County/environmental staff, should be done as soon as possible before this list goes before the entire Legislature.

*Researched through hearsay and multiple interviews/conversations.

 

Page 3

New Red Spring Woods Coalition Website

The Coalition's official website is being developed by Dave N. as well as Victoria C. (Dave's web expertise is invaluable and Victoria is gathering talent from area schools).

The website can be found at http://savetheredspringwoods.50webs.com/ . It will contain informational updates, photos of the woods, the Biologist's report, Ms. Crosby's poem, future meeting announcements and dates/times of future events.

If you would like to join forces with the Coalition To Save The Red Spring Woods, and/or would like to offer your time and talent for the effort, please email savetheredspringwoods@yahoo.com or call
516-676-6270.

Thank you!

The RSW Coalition

Official Red Spring Woods Poem

Glen Cove Poet Victoria Crosby read a poem at the coalition's meeting that she had written for the occasion:

Ten acres of virgin land

that's never known a builder's hand

the tree's green leaves help purify the air

animals and birds seek refuge there,

and the red spring waters from the ground

flow freely to the Long Island Sound.

 

This lovely place of meditation,

which should merit conservation,

is threatened by a builder's desire

for more Mcmansions, which has raised the ire

of the surrounding community

who say that they all agree

that this is Glen Cove's last green space,

a peaceful, special hidden place,

a groundwater recharge zone,

a site that should be left alone.

 

So join our conservation drive

to keep the Red Spring Woods alive.

With your help and dedication

we will preserve this land for the next generation.

 

© Copyright 2006 Victoria R. Crosby All Rights Reserved

HOME PAGE