July 12, 2012

Deer Management Focus Area in central Tompkins County

Update: Thanks to Kris Altucher in comments, it's clear that "central Tompkins County" includes the Town of Dryden roughly south and west of the Ringwood Road intersection with Route 13. It looks like there's an extra January season "for taking...

Posted by simon at 10:03 PM

May 24, 2012

It doesn't have to be old growth to be interesting

A few month ago I overheard a conversation about how nothing much in Dryden was really natural area worth preserving because the forest that previously covered most of the town had been cut down, and what we had left was...

Posted by simon at 3:43 PM

May 4, 2012

Bird walk Sunday

You can find the birds in Dryden's southern hills this Sunday... Join the Finger Lakes Land Trust on Sunday, May 6 at 8:00 AM for Birds Everywhere!, a bird walk especially for families and children. Join Mark Chao at the...

Posted by simon at 11:50 AM

April 13, 2012

Dryden Lake Nature Study tomorrow

Well, tomorrow and May 5th. Town of Dryden Recreation DepartmentDryden Lake Nature Study Join Cornell naturalist, Charlie Smith, to see and study the birds, wildflowers, and other natural history subjects around Dryden Lake this Spring. Who: Ages 16 and over...

Posted by simon at 12:34 PM

Exploring Parke-Dabes Natural Area

I dropped our car off at Varna Auto Service for inspection this morning, and set out on a walk home by a different route. I walked up Route 366 to the driveway across from 1176 Dryden Road, and then turned...

Posted by simon at 11:13 AM

April 4, 2012

How's Fall Creek doing?

I'm glad someone's watching our creeks carefully. The watersheds for Fall Creek and Virgil Creek together probably include about two-thirds of the Town of Dryden. Fall and Virgil Creeks - What's in the Water? Volunteer stream monitors from the Fall...

Posted by simon at 12:09 PM

November 22, 2011

Finger Lakes Land Trust receives Fall Creek parcel

12 acres with 2000 feet of frontage on Fall Creek just took a step toward remaining natural this week, as the Finger Lakes Land Trust reports: The Land Trust announced today that it has accepted the donation of a 12-acre...

Posted by simon at 12:11 PM

April 22, 2011

More on Dryden, hydrofracking

Today's Ithaca Journal reports on Wednesday night's presentation of 1594 signatures on a petition to ban hydrofracking. There's also a piece on Dryden events discussing details of leasing and termination to be held April 28th and May 12th. Several of...

Posted by simon at 12:12 PM

November 23, 2010

Ancient water line problem grows

An 1890s water line runs from the Village of Dryden along North Road to the TC3 Head Start building, and its slow collapse is causing problems. Because it's outside of the village, the village can't repair it; because there's no...

Posted by simon at 5:54 AM

September 21, 2010

Catching up with the Journal

Travel and work have put me behind, so here's a quick catching up with the last few days of the Ithaca Journal. Little of it is specific to Dryden, but it's all relevant. Dryden schools got dinged by the state,...

Posted by simon at 12:23 PM

September 7, 2010

Campbell Meadow

I'd heard about Campbell Meadow for a while, but didn't get to visit it until this morning, when it really sparkled. The Town acquired this property at the corner of Lower Creek and Pinckney roads years ago. There were some...

Posted by simon at 12:35 PM

July 6, 2010

Preserving land along Six Mile Creek

The Finger Lakes Land Trust is working on purchasing 170 acres off Irish Settlement Road that includes more than a mile of Six Mile Creek frontage. If all goes well, they plan to add a "parking area, signs, and footbridges"....

Posted by simon at 7:01 AM

May 19, 2010

Fall Creek Watershed meeting tonight in Varna

David Weinstein sent along the following announcement: Fall Creek Watershed Committee and Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization will hold four public information meetings on the development of a Fall Creek Watershed Management Plan. At the meetings noted below, residents will...

Posted by simon at 8:51 AM

April 21, 2010

Dryden's newest preserve

David Weinstein writes to let folks know of a wonderful new spot he visited during the weekend creek clean-up: I had the good fortune to help pick up trash at the Campbell preserve on Lower Creek Road this past Saturday....

Posted by simon at 4:01 PM

April 16, 2010

Creek cleanups tomorrow

I'm delighted to see this happening, and hopefully some readers here will join the fun. Cleanup of three Fall Creek watershed preserves, 9 am - noon, sponsored by DRAC (Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition), with the cooperation of the Fall Creek...

Posted by simon at 10:30 AM

February 8, 2010

State Forest futures

This Thursday, February 11th, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be having a meeting on the futures of the Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn State Forests in the Forum room at Tompkins-Cortland Community College. The room will...

Posted by simon at 5:21 PM

November 10, 2009

Finger Lakes Land Trust expands Ellis Hollow preserve

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Finger Lakes Land Trust has added to its preserve in Ellis Hollow with a purchase of 39 more acres and a conservation easement: The Land Trust had made protecting the land a priority...

Posted by simon at 8:12 AM

October 26, 2009

Trees and Forestry

Code Enforcement Officer Henry Slater used to remind the Planning Board about another category of farmer: tree farmers. There are Christmas tree farms, but also a lot of logging operations. Some of the logging is for firewood, some for lumber,...

Posted by simon at 9:25 AM

October 24, 2009

Upcoming Marcellus Shale gas drilling events

Cornell Cooperative Extension reports a number of events about Marcellus Shale gas drilling coming up, two of them next week: Introduction to Marcellus Shale Issues Tuesday, October 27, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Unitarian Church of Ithaca, 306 N. Aurora Street, Ithaca, NY...

Posted by simon at 8:58 AM

October 9, 2009

Town preserves land, encourages start-ups

Yesterday's Ithaca Journal had more of the kind of news I like to hear about Dryden. First, the Town is accepting a 12-acre land donation at the corner of Pinckney and Lower Creek Roads. It's not great land for building,...

Posted by simon at 12:24 PM

September 10, 2008

Freeville Harvest Festival Saturday

Today's Ithaca Journal is fairly busy. As always, Cathy Wakeman has a lot on Dryden: The Freeville Harvest Festival will be this Saturday, September 13th, from 8:30am to 3:00pm. It's always a lot of fun, especially for food. The Dryden...

Posted by simon at 7:52 AM

February 27, 2008

Dryden present, too

There's also a lot of news about current happenings in Dryden today in the Journal. Cathy Wakeman reports on three Dryden residents who bicycled from Dryden to San Diego this fall, leaving Dryden on September 18th and arriving in San...

Posted by simon at 12:31 PM

December 13, 2006

Dryden's jewels on Emerald Necklace

This morning's Ithaca Journal highlighted the Yellow Barn State Forest and Hammond Hill State Forest in an article on conservation efforts along the Finger Lakes Trail, as the County Legislature brings in a planner to help protect public land from...

Posted by simon at 5:17 PM

September 13, 2006

Save Sapsucker Woods meeting tonight

Thanks to the Ithaca Community News, I just noticed a new group, Save Sapsucker Woods. It seems to have formed in opposition to Rocco Lucente's plans to build more houses near Sapsucker Woods Road, on the Town of Ithaca side...

Posted by simon at 9:40 AM

Alternative energy ordinance; hiking trails

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the alternative energy ordinance will be introduced at tomorrow's Town Board meeting, hopefully eventually freeing Dryden residents to take further steps to generate power for their own homes. I'm happy to see that the...

Posted by simon at 7:55 AM

August 14, 2006

Bears, virus threaten Dryden

Last week, bears and the West Nile Virus held a joint press conference announcing their intentions to take Tompkins County for themselves. Hold it - it's a little less exciting, though still important. Saturday's Journal had an article on bears...

Posted by simon at 7:16 AM

May 25, 2006

County presents on Natural Features Focus Areas

On Tuesday night, the Tompkins County Planning Department gave a presentation on their Natural Features Focus Areas project at the McLean Fire Hall. I'd guess thirty people were there. The session examined eight of the fifteen focus areas, mostly wetlands...

Posted by simon at 6:48 AM

May 22, 2006

More on the Six Mile Creek invasion

This morning's Ithaca Journal visits the Six Mile Creek Wildflower Appreciation Walk, which this year was mainly about problems with invasive species taking over large areas and blocking out other plants. There's also an announcement for tonight's presentation on the...

Posted by simon at 7:40 AM

May 20, 2006

Paving along the northern edge; alien invaders

This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a look at summer road construction, and it looks like Dryden gets off fairly easily. The state will be resurfacing Route 34B from Caswell Road to Route 38, and for drivers headed to McLean or...

Posted by simon at 10:22 PM

May 1, 2006

Natural features, transportation meetings

With all the gardening, I'm a little behind on posting here. Saturday's Journal had an article on forums to discuss the future of natural features focus areas in Tompkins County. The Town of Dryden includes pieces of 8 of the...

Posted by simon at 6:27 PM

April 5, 2006

Salamanders south of Dryden

They're slimy, and crawling along the roads, moving at night. They're on the section of Thomas Road in Caroline, not the Dryden portion, but apparently they're also in Dryden along Ringwood Road. IC Professor John Confer is working to make...

Posted by simon at 8:17 AM

February 15, 2006

Nature preserve in winter

The last time I posted photos of the O.D. von Engeln Nature Preserve, it was September. It looked rather different Saturday, under a few inches of snow. A spring-filled stream through the snow-covered swamp. Bog in winter. If you'd like...

Posted by simon at 8:41 AM

December 12, 2005

From Thanksgiving feasts to Santa

Somehow I've fallen behind on covering the Dryden Courier again, and I'd like to at least cover last week's issue while it's still available on newsstands. The November 30th issue of the Courier visited the Freeville Thanksgiving Dinner held at...

Posted by simon at 10:27 PM

December 1, 2005

52 acres protected in Freeville

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that 52 acres of northwest Freeville will become a wildlife preserve, as Millie Sherwood donated it to the Finger Lakes Land Trust, which then donated it to the Village of Freeville with a conservation easement...

Posted by simon at 12:09 PM

November 23, 2005

Wetlands; Victorian Winter Festival

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that complications involving wetlands at the proposed Town Hall site are likely to delay construction. The town has already worked around the largest wetland, but other patches in the property are causing problems. Environmental Planner...

Posted by simon at 12:39 PM

September 15, 2005

The O.D. von Engeln Preserve

The Town of Dryden has a small but beautiful nature preserve, one that so far as I can tell relatively few people have discovered. The O.D. von Engeln Nature Preserve, owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy, includes 1.75 miles...

Posted by simon at 12:19 PM

May 4, 2005

Play; Saltonstall building; ATVs

Normally, even when there's lots of Dryden news, I can come up with a single clear headline. Today, there's just too much on too many different subjects. There's a profile of TC3 adjunct professor Paul McCabe, whose play "Get Off"...

Posted by simon at 7:51 AM

April 16, 2005

Cornell Plantations to hold Arbor Day event

Just on the western side of the Town of Dryden line, Cornell Plantations will be holding an Arbor Day event on April 30th: Tree lovers of all ages are invited to celebrate Arbor Day with Cornell Plantations. “Discovering Trees,” a...

Posted by simon at 8:32 AM

April 13, 2005

Furry neighbors across the street

While I don't love having Route 366 in front of my house, it's been nice to know that the forested property on the other side of 366 is Cornell Plantations nature preserve. Between that and the massive amounts of fill...

Posted by simon at 8:45 AM

March 27, 2005

March Town Board minutes

Minutes are available for both the March 2nd hearing on the possible annexation of the Dryden Mutual Property to the Village of Dryden and the Town Board's regular meeting on March 10th, which I missed. The March 2nd minutes are...

Posted by simon at 9:00 AM

October 3, 2004

Monkey Run, nature preserve

I went for a hike today with friends down the south side of the old Monkey Run Road (coming off Route 366 above Varna) and then west along a trail above Fall Creek that went through the nature preserve to...

Posted by simon at 5:53 PM

August 21, 2004

Hammond Hill block party

Wow. Ann Leonard knows how to throw a great party. Start with a few hours of shoveling mud in the rain, then head back to a camp area where barbecued chicken is waiting, people are playing music (including bagpipes), orienteering...

Posted by simon at 4:50 PM

August 12, 2004

No Dryden headlines, much Dryden news

There aren't any headlines that mention Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there's lots of news relating to Dryden. There's an article on state aid to local schools that cites Dryden Central School Board President Rachel Dickinson: "Dryden's tax rate...

Posted by simon at 8:39 AM

July 18, 2004

Six Mile Creek Monitoring training

Yesterday morning I enjoyed a workshop for volunteers preparing to monitor Six Mile Creek. They've had several previous sessions and meetings. This one was about "Sample Collection, Chemical Analysis, and Flow." It started at the Bethel Grove Community Center (actually...

Posted by simon at 1:06 PM

July 12, 2004

Environmental issues at July Town Board meeting

The Environmental Planner's report examined the need to revise the Town Hazard Mitigation Plan and a kiosk on the Jim Schug Trail. Debbie Gross reported in a letter (247KB PDF) that while "Dryden chose not to participate in [the county...

Posted by simon at 7:30 PM

July 7, 2004

Nature preserve, Supplies for Success

This week's Our Towns section in the Ithaca Journal takes a look at the creation of the O.D. von Engeln Preserve in Malloryville, which hosts pitcher plants, carnivorous sundews, and native orchids. Its two miles of trails are attracting a...

Posted by simon at 8:44 AM