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Summary
- Abstract:
- Records of Save the Pine Bush, Inc., a non profit organization concerned with protecting the rare inland pine barrens sand dunes of the Capital District, known as the Albany Pine Bush, which are home to the Karner Blue Butterfly.
- Extent:
- 8.87 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Save the Pine Bush, Inc. Records, 1977-2001. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Save the Pine Bush, Inc. Records).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This collection documents the activities of Save the Pine Bush, Inc., a non profit organization concerned with protecting the rare inland pine barrens sand dunes of the Capital District, known as the Albany Pine Bush. The Pine Bush is the largest ecosystem of its kind and home to the Karner Blue Butterfly, which was placed on the Federal Endangered Species List in 1992.
Included in the collection are the records of three organizations concerned with environmental issues in the 1970s; the University at Albany's Protect Your Environment (PYE) student organization (1973-1975), People for the Pine Bush (1973-1975), and Citizen's For the Environment (CPE), based in Schenectady, New York (1974-1979). Lynne Jackson, one of Save the Pine Bush's founding members and the donor of the collection, was involved in all three of the organizations. The records of PYE and People of the Pine Bush are scarce, consisting mostly of the academic papers by Lynne Jackson, meeting minutes and notes. CPE records consist of meeting minutes, budgets, papers concerning the CPE recycling program, and environmental newsletters CPE and CPE president Linda Hitchcock subscribed to.
The Save the Pine Bush collection includes meeting minutes, agendas, grant proposals, fliers, and other materials from the years 1978-1980. The remainder and bulk of collection consists of litigation papers, Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS), Final Environmental Impact Statements (FEIS), correspondence, Save the Pine Bush newsletters and activities announcements, maps, and Freedom of Information Act requested materials concerning various proposed development sites from the years 1978-2001. Earlier papers and lawsuits have the title of Friends of the Pine Bush, the name of the organization prior to incorporation.
A strength of the collection is the Save the Pine Bush Newsletters from 1978-1980 and 1989-2001,even though there is a significant gap of nine years. The collection is also strong in regards to litigation papers, including Notice of Petitions, Briefs, Affidavits, Memorandums of Law, and Appeals. Finally, the collection contains over 35 oversize maps and blueprints of proposed development sites.
The collection is weak in the day to day running of Save the Pine Bush after 1981, and excludes any financial papers discussing funding and expenses. Correspondence consist mostly of material collected through Freedom of Information Act requests rather then specific Save the Pine Bush correspondence.
- Biographical / Historical:
Save the Pine Bush Inc. (SPB), incorporated in 1978, is a non profit, volunteer organization dedicated to preserving the Albany Pine Bush. The Pine Bush is a rare ecosystem in New York State and the largest inland pine barrens sand dunes in the United States. The area is known to contain over 1,500 species of plants, over 300 species of vertebrate animals, and over 10,000 species of insects and other invertebrate animals [Save the Pine Bush Introduction to Save the Pine Bush, 2002. http://www.savethepinebush.org/Intro/Intro.html (18 July 2002)]. The rarest of these inhabitants is the Karner Blue Butterfly, listed on the New York State Endangered Species list in 1978 and the Federal Endangered Species list in 1992 [Save the Pine Bush Introduction to Save the Pine Bush, 2002. http://www.savethepinebush.org/Intro/Intro.html (18 July 2002)]. The Pine Bush is located in the heart of the Capital District, concentrated mostly between the cities of Albany and Schenectady. Office buildings and residential developments have played a role in reducing the once 25,600 acre area into 3,000 acres. Concerned with preserving the Pine Bush habitat, the organization, Save the Pine Bush formed to prevent development in the Pine Bush area by suing government agencies and developers, forcing these groups to follow state environmental preservation laws [Save the Pine Bush . Welcome to Save the Pine Bush, June 2002. http://www.savethepinebush.org (18 July 2002). How does Save the Pine Bush stop developers? May 2002. http://www.savethepinebush.org/Intro/How_does.html (18 July 2002)].
The group of advocates joined together in 1978 under the name "Friends of the Pine Bush" to protest the approval for four developments in the Pine Bush: the Dunes, Pinehurst, Pine Circle, and a development proposed by Charles Touhey impacts [Lynne Jackson. Save the Pine Bush Brief History and Summary, July 1996. http://www.savethepinebush.org/MoreArt/summary.html (18 July 2002)]. The approvals occurred after a public hearing that was poorly attended due to a snowstorm. Friends of the Pine Bush won its first court case in 1978 under the guidance of the lawyer Victor A. Lord by suing the City of Albany over the approval of the four developments. The court ruled in favor of the Pine Bush advocates, stating that the City's approval of these developments was invalid and that the City had to hold another public hearing before they could make a decision on whether to approve the construction of the developments. Another public hearing occurred and the developments in question were again approved. After the approval, the organization officially incorporated, taking the name "Save the Pine Bush" due to the fact that there was already a group registered under the name "Friends of the Pine Bush" Under the guidance of lawyer Dennis Kaufman, Save the Pine Bush was able to postpone the development construction by suing the Planning Board for not posting a bond to insure that improvements in the area such as streets and sewers, were completed as required by law impacts [Lynne Jackson. Save the Pine Bush Brief History and Summary, July 1996. http://www.savethepinebush.org/MoreArt/summary.html (18 July 2002)].
From 1979 to the present, Save the Pine Bush has been involved in a number of lawsuits, led by lawyer Lawrence B. Oliver, Jr. Many of the lawsuits involved violations of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) a law that requires municipalities to review housing developments, office complexes and other developments for their environmental impacts [Lynne Jackson. Save the Pine Bush Brief History and Summary, July 1996. http://www.savethepinebush.org/MoreArt/summary.html (18 July 2002)]. Lawsuits filed include the Madison Avenue Office Park Project, Willow Street, Karner Meadows, Karner Dunes Adventure Park, the Albany Interim Landfill, and the Pine Haven Estates [Series 5: Lawsuits and Challenges, Sub-series 1: Lawsuits. Boxes 1-19]. Several defendants listed in the lawsuits include the City of Albany, Town of Guilderland, developer Charles Touhey, and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. Active members of Save the Pine Bush have included Lynne Jackson, Rezsin Adams, John Wolcott, Gregory Bell, and Russell Ziemba.
- Acquisition information:
- All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Lynne Jackson in 2001.
- Processing information:
Processed in 2002 July by Beth Sheffer.
- Arrangement:
The collection is organized into five series.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
- Subjects:
- Conservation and the Environment
Albany, New York
Environmental policy.
Environmental protection.
Environmental law -- United States -- Cases.
Environmental impact statements -- New York (State) -- Albany County.
Environmental impact statements -- New York (State) -- Schenectady County.
Ecology -- Pine Barrens (N.Y.)
Pine Barrens (N.Y.) - Names:
- Corporate Save the Pine Bush, Inc.
Protect Your Environment.
People for the Pine Bush.
Citizen's Protecting the Environment.
Friends of the Pine Bush.
Adams, Rezsin.
Wolcott, John.
Hitchcock, Linda.
Bell, Gregory.
Ziemba, Russell.
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, Save the Pine Bush, Inc. Records, 1977-2001. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the Save the Pine Bush, Inc. Records).