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Summary
- Abstract:
- Records of association dedicated to the protection, appreciation, and enhancement of natural resources in and around Otsego County. The group is concerned about numerous issues including the preservation of the Otsego Lake watershed, solid waste management, land-use planning, and water quality.
- Extent:
- 6.4 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) Records, 1967-2001. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the OCCA Records).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection covers OCCA's administration from its founding in 1968 through 2001. Activities of the Board of Directors are well-documented through meeting agendas, minutes, and correspondence. There are detailed reports on the activities of the OCCA Coordinator and the Biological Field Station's Environmental Administrator. Monthly treasurer's reports provide evidence of OCCA's financial affairs. Evidence of committee activity is limited. However, there are files for the Scientific Advisory Committee, the Otsego Lake Committee, the Financial Committee, and the Executive Committee.
The collection also contains a great deal of information on OCCA's environmental initiatives within Otsego County, particularly during the 1990s. Best-documented are OCCA's activities related to Otsego Lake and to solid waste management. The Otsego Lake files include a great deal of material on OCCA's opposition to a motor boat launch in Glimmerglass State Park, proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Other Otsego Lake issues covered by this collection include commercial and residential development along the shore of the lake, fish and fishery management, lake management, and watershed management. The solid waste files focus on controversy related to the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority (MOSA), a three-county solid waste consortium that proved extremely costly to Otsego County in the mid to late 1990s.
There are also files related to other environmental projects and issues. These include files on the Cherry Valley Sewer Initiative, the Wal-Mart distribution center in Sharon Springs, and Otsego 2000s lawsuit against the County Planning Board, as well as subject files on general issues of environmental concern such as agriculture and water pollution.
Other OCCA activities are not as well-documented. OCCA offers annual fellowships and assistantships to researchers at the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, and sponsors several students each year at the Department of Environmental Conservation's summer camp for children and teens. However, information on these activities is limited. There is also not much information on membership involvement in the organization, apart from minutes and agendas from the annual membership meeting.
- Biographical / Historical:
The Otsego County Conservation Association (usually abbreviated OCCA) was founded in 1968 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of natural resources within Otsego County ["History", http://www.occainfo.org/pages/history.html, 13 August 2004]. Founder Frederick H. V. Mecklenberg, known as "Mecky" to friends, remained an active force and an inspirational figure in OCCA from its earliest days until his death in 1991.
The primary goals of OCCA are to support and promote the conservation of Otsego County's natural resources; to support and publicize conservation-related educational programs; to cooperate with similar organizations and with all levels of government to "promote maximum benefit from privately owned rural land"; and to enhance appreciation for rural living ["Bylaws of the Otsego County Conservation Association, Incorporated", 13 September 1990, Series 1, Box 1, Folder 18].
OCCA is governed by an elected board of volunteer directors. Officers include a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The Board of Directors meets monthly. Full membership meetings are held annually, usually in October. Committees, which form to address specific issues, include the Otsego Lake Committee, the Land Use Committee, the Conservation Education Committee, and the Scientific Advisory Committee ["Mission Statement", May 1991, Series 1, Box 3, Folder 3].
In 1994, OCCA hired its first full-time employee. Teresa Winchester was originally hired as Coordinator, but her title was later changed to Executive Director.
OCCA has long enjoyed a close relationship with the State University of New York College at Oneonta's Biological Field Station, a research facility located along the shore of Otsego Lake. The Field Station's longtime director, Willard Harman, has served as OCCA president, and from 1991-1993 OCCA provided funding for an Environmental Administrator at the Field Station, J. Joseph Homberger. OCCA has also collaborated with other local and regional environmental organizations on issues of mutual concern; most notably with Otsego 2000 on issues such as the Glimmerglass State Park proposed motor boat launch in the 1990s.
Presidents of OCCA in the years covered by this collection were:
Frederick H. V. Mecklenberg, 1968-1973
John Olsen, 1973-1975
Willard Harman, 1975-1978
Bill Powers, 1978-1979
Willard Harman, 1979-1981
Irene Mozolewski, 1981-1989
Lewis Hamilton, 1989-1992
James Austin, 1992-1994
Bonnie Canning Hoffman, 1994-1997
Edna Holowachuk, 1997-2000
James Bernegger, 2000-
- Acquisition information:
- All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Teresa Winchester, Executive Director of Otsego County Conservation Association, in April 2003 and March 2004.
- Processing information:
Processed in 2004 by Aimee Morgan.
- Arrangement:
Divided into 4 topical file series.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
- Subjects:
- Environmental health -- Political aspects -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Social ecology -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Environmental policy -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Environmental health -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Environmental management -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Environmental protection -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Refuse and refuse disposal -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Water -- Pollution -- New York (State) -- Otsego County.
Agriculture
Conservation and the Environment
Neighborhood and Community Associations
Social Activists and Public Advocates
Minutes.
Correspondence.
Agendas.
Budgets.
Bylaws.
Clippings.
Newsletters.
Reports. - Names:
- Otsego 2000.
Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority.
New York (State). Department of Environmental Conservation.
Mecklenberg, Frederick H.V.
Olsen, John.
Harman, Willard N.
Powers, Bill.
Mozolewski, Irene.
Hamilton, Lewis.
Austin, James.
Canning Hoffman, Bonnie.
Holowachuk, Edna.
Bernegger, James.
Homberger, J. Joseph.
Holowachuk, Edna.
Winchester, Teresa.
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this record group is unrestricted.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) Records, 1967-2001. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the OCCA Records).