‘Starting to smell fishy'

To the editor: A recent article in one of area’s “larger” daily newspapers cited a report, commissioned by the Orange County DPW, regarding the presence of NYS-listed endangered Northern Cricket Frogs at a site on the north shore of Glenmere Lake where the county hopes to demolish some derelict buildings so that another town park can be built there. It’s disheartening to see our tax dollars being spent to pay a private landscape architecture firm, which generates field studies of this kind for developers, to submit results which contradict what NYS DEC biologists (also on our tax dollar) and many competent naturalists and credentialed biologists have listed as fact: The area immediately surrounding these structures is habitat to these frogs. period. In fact, the photograph of a Cricket Frog, which ran with the story, was shot by the reporter, within a few feet of the structures. Of course, the “study” conducted by the private firm was done in April before Cricket Frogs return from the higher ground back to the water. They would not have observed any then, regardless. I find it unthinkable that the surveyors ignored NYS DEC data which list the north shore of Glenmere as teeming with the frogs; in fact, the NYS DEC Natural Heritage database lists Glenmere’s entire shoreline (upon which the buildings sit) as known habitat. According to N.Y.S. DEC biologists, Glenmere is habitat to New York State’s largest population of this frog. Given that fact that residents of the Village Of Florida depend on Glenmere for their water, we should demand better of our county government in this regard. There is no reason for Orange County to spend tax dollars to pay a private firm to contradict (erroneously) state studies. It’s starting to smell fishy. Visit the Web site www.glenmere.us for more information. Jay Westerveld Sugar Loaf