H i g h l o n d P o r k , / K i d g e w o o d K e s e r v o rA

r llronce

!ll,l,.- ,1385
77-1562"dStreet Glendole,
NY I 1718)456 - 2621

J un e 1 5 , 2 0 1 0

DearRidgewood ReservoirSupporter:
Recently therehasbeena positivedevelopment for the protectionof the importanthabitatat
the Ridgewood Reservoir. Earlierin the springthe NewYorkStateDepartment of Environmental
Conservation, NYSDEC, announced that theywouldbe reviewing the NewYorkCityParksDepartment
plansfor development of sportsfacilitieswithinthe basins.Theywill determineif the habitatin the
basinsqualifiesasa freshwater wetlandthat wouldwarrantprotection. Thishastemporarily stalled
Phasellof the city'splansfor the reservolr but thisbringsusto a veryimportantopportunityto express
ourconcerns andourdesire to seetheenvironment withinthebasins Drotected. lt hasbeen
communicated to usthat the morefeedback NYDEC receivesexpressingsupportfor the protectionof
the reservoir,
the clearerandstrongertheircasewill be against the NYCParksDepartment. TheDEC
needsto hearfromall thoseconcerned andletterfromyourorganization will addweightto theircase.

Lettersmaybe writtento the followinstwo administrators:

Mr.TonyMorenzi M r . J o h nF .C r y a n
SpecialAssistant RegionalPermitAdministrator
New York State DEC Region2 NewYorkStateDECRegion2
l Hu n t e r ' sP o i n tP l a z a l Hu n t e r ' sP o i n tP l a z a
47-40 21'5r Street 47-4021!tStreet
LonglslandCity,NY 11101 LonglslandCity,NY 11101

We are askingyou to pleasetake a few minutesand write a letter to help protectthls importantand
irreplaceabe
l en v i r o n m e n t .

Onthe backof thispageis a listof pointsthat maybe includedin yourletter.

Please me if youhaveanyquestions
contact or needadditional
information:
GaryComorau
l9L7)796-4362
gnchome@ kqsi.com

Manythanksandenjoya wonderful
summer.

Trulyyours,

GaryComorau
President
. Ridgewood Reservoiris the highestpoint in the JamaicaBay watershed.The
reservoir and its environmentallysignificant atfibutes shouldbe incorporatedinto
the ongoing planning for the JamaicaBay Watershedplan.

o Ridgewood Reservoiris the highestpoint in the Newtown Creek sewershedand

protectsNewtown Creek from CombinedSewageOverflow.

o The site's ponds and wetlandsare key storm water filters.

o The site's vegetationand wetlandshelp to mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect.

o New York City law 71 requiresprotectionof the city's wetlands

o The basinscontain diverseecologies:fresh water wetlands,mesic and wet forest

and successionalopen fields. Three-quartersof the acreageis wetland or ecotonal
habitat.

o The site is developinga mature canopyforest with somestrongnative plant

presence.Plant speciesinclude three with a ConservationStatusof either
Endangeredor Threatenedin New York State.

o Bog-like open areasand forest fringes areunique within New York City. Large
freshwaterwetlandsareuncommonin our region and provide critical habitat for
native birds, mammalsand amphibians.

. A stopoverfor migatory songbildsand seasonalshorebirds,it is also home to a

variety of non-migratoryand breedingbirds.

o To date 149 speciesofbirds havebeenrecorded.(Seethe Comell eBird website

at h@://tinyurl.com/24s51sc)

The specieslist includes7 birds with conservationstatusin New York Stateof

Endangered,Threatenedor SpecialConcern.

An additional 7 speciesof birds were observedthat are on the most recent

Audubon Watchlist. All sevenbirds were listed in the yeilow category,which
designatesspeciesthat are either declining or rare. Theseare typically speciesof
national conservationconoem.

o The habitat at the reservoir also providesimportantbreedinghabitat.

18 specieshavebeen confirmed to breedthere.
17 are probablenesters
3 additional speciespossiblynest at the reservoir.

o For additional informational including important links, specieslists, history, press

coverage,etc. pleaseseeridgewoodreservoir.blogspot.com.