Messing With a Masterpiece, Part II

A Pox on Pollution: Keeping the Hudson Valley Clean and Green

by Lorrie Klosterman and photographs by Roy Gumpel, March 18, 2009

As the Hudson Valley enjoys a wave of economic resurgence and a revitalization of neglected communities, a fleet of vigilant and skilled advocates for the environment are hard at work.

Adiversity of grassroots organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies are helping humanity mind its manners as our influence spreads and intensifies. They are busy protecting natural places and open spaces, midwifing environmentally wise development, converting polarized factions into productive collaborators, devising regional planning, mitigating environmental disasters and preventing new ones, educating citizens, and—equally important—keeping us hopeful that we can thrive in the region without destroying it.

The following briefly highlights some of what’s being done to keep our region clean and green. A take-home message: It’s up to each of us to get involved and help create the vision we want. More than ever, there is an opening for collaborative design in how the region grows and flourishes. As you review the examples below, see where your interests, talents, and creativity might contribute to the ultimate environmental organization: everyday citizens.

 

Booting out the Big Ones
There is no getting around the fact that humans are going to impact the natural landscape of the Hudson Valley. While room to grow is essential (unless we close the gates behind us, now that we’ve all been let in), we’ll need to decide what kind of growth is acceptable. A loud “no” is being voiced about two large projects in the region, the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park and a luxury housing development at Awosting Reserve along the Shawangunk Ridge, because of the magnitude of damage to watersheds, viewsheds, and ecosystems they would impose. These have been reported on extensively in the press and likely will continue to be for some years, because that’s how long it will take for the permit processes and legal hurdles to be cleared by developers—if that ever happens.