Good evening all, I am sharing this information on behalf of Audubon New York. It is critical that if we all want to continue enjoying wetlands around the state including the 50,000 acre Montezuma Wetlands Complex, the tidal wetlands including along the Long Island shores and from the Troy Dam on the Hudson down to the southern tip of Staten Island, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Huckleberry Swamp, Zurich Bog, Thousand Acre Swamp, and many others, we need to act.
Please considering telling New York State to pass historic wetlands reform: NYS Pass Wetlands Reform<https://act.audubon.org/a/nys-pass-wetlands-reform>. World Wetlands Day<https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/> - celebrated on February 2, 2022 - raises awareness about wetlands as critically important ecosystems that contribute to freshwater availability, biodiversity, climate mitigation, economies and more. This day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on Wetlands, which was adopted as an international treaty in 1971. Governor Hochul has proposed comprehensive freshwater wetlands reforms as part of her Executive Budget proposal. These reforms will bring an additional one million acres of wetlands under the protection of the NYSDEC by eliminating outdated regulatory maps and arbitrary thresholds for permits issued by the NYSDEC’s Freshwater Wetlands Regulatory Program. We now ask the Assembly and Senate to lend their support to this historic legislation and ensure it is enacted into law. Why do we need this proposal? * Wetlands provide many critical ecosystem services that benefit everyone, and which we can use at no cost. If lost, replacing the ecological functions of these wetlands is expensive and resource-intensive - something we can't afford amid the increasing threats of climate change. * 50% of the 160 species ID'd as endangered or threatened by the NYSDEC are wetland-dependent. The Pied-billed Grebe, Black Tern, Northern Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Black Rail, and Roseate Tern all rely on wetlands with an even mixture of emergent vegetation & open water - also known as hemi-marsh. * NYS’s wetlands maps have not been updated in over 20 years – leaving more than 1 million acres of wetlands without protection. New York State's outdated wetlands laws and regulations have allowed the filling, dredging, and draining of wetlands at an alarming rate. More than 60% of New York State’s historic wetlands have been lost. * DEC commissioner Basil Seggos estimates that there may be more than 1 million acres of wetlands or wetland complexes larger than 12.4 acres that are not currently on the state’s regulatory maps and do not receive the state’s protection. * In NYS, we have only one Wetland of International Importance as defined by Ramsar, which is the Niagara River Corridor<https://www.law.buffalo.edu/beyond/clinics/environmental-law/niagara-river-corridor.html>. For more information about the Save NYS Wetlands coalition: https://save-nys-wetlands-audubon.hub.arcgis.com/ “Wetlands Action for People and Nature” is the theme in 2022. This public campaign is an appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for humans and planetary health. -- Alyssa Johnson Environmental Educator (m) 315.576.5754 (w) 315.365.3588 Montezuma Audubon Center PO Box 187 2295 State Route 89 Savannah, NY 13146 Montezuma.audubon.org Pronouns: She, Her, Hers -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
