An Introduction to Croton's Forgotten Wildlife...

Most Croton Residents have some special tie to our local wildlife... and at this time of year, when we think about what we are thankful for, all the ways that they enrich our lives throughout the year is somewhere on that list.  These days, unfortunately, we also need to think about how they will be impacted by an important decision looming at Village Hall...

Here are just some of our very special wildlife friends who come to visit Croton residents frequently near the homes and properties adjacent or very close to Hudson National Golf Club.  The white tail deer, bobcats, foxes, Great Blue Heron, chipmunks, turtles, groundhogs, squirrels, eagles, hawks and garter snakes are often seen, and have become welcome guests.

In addition, we often receive visits from different types of owls and hawks, wild turkeys, swans, frogs, opossum, coyote, turkey vultures, all sorts of birds from robins, cardinals, blue jays, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, mourning doves, sparrows, crows and others … and, yes, even many types of butterflies and bunnies!   

Although these wildlife friends visit often, most do not permanently live on the residential properties adjacent to HNGC.  In fact, they generally live in and around the wooded areas (including, one would logically assume) on the hundreds of wooded and forested acres of the Hudson National Golf Club.  

Most of those acres have long ago been designated “No Disturbance” land as a condition of issuance of HNGC’s original Special Permits, and are intended solely to "mature as forest." As such, those acres were to be allowed to "progress and remain unaffected, and develop and evolve unassisted and unimpeded as habitats” to Croton's wildlife, as they are a "living resource" that our laws require our Village to protect. The protected land area includes the wooded steep slope acres that have been identified by HNGC and Matrix as the proposed site of their pending Industrial Solar Farm project which are adjacent or are very close to many of the neighboring properties. 

What is at stake here is the clearcutting of approx. 600 trees on 7 acres of those wooded steep slopes that will result in the displacement of numerous diverse animals and birds and destruction of their habitat and the invaluable and irreplaceable biodiversity currently existing on that land. 

How Many Wildlife Didn't Even Make "the List" ... (aka How Great Blue Heron Got "Greenwashed" into Not Even Being Counted!!)

In connection with the NY State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) vetting process, and attempting to obtain approval for their ill-advised solar farm project, Hudson National arranged for an "expert" to conduct a “Biodiversity and Wildlife and Habitat Assessment Study.”  Given the importance of such a study in these circumstances, it was understood by many that this would have, and should have, been a comprehensive study.

But at some point, the disappointing and confusing clarification was received that a “detailed wildlife survey and vegetation inventory” were not conducted for this site.  Even more concerning was the fact that it appeared that HNGC did not even seem to intend for them to be conducted at any point going forward!   

It was also curious why such as study and report would have been conducted in October and November. It was also concerning that it was made clear that the study that was done involved the ecologist making just two brief site visits to the designated acres of the proposed solar farm site. Those visits were done while at HNGC doing other work for the golf course. He then made a list of wildlife species that were “either observed or considered likely to utilize the habitat available based on these observations.”  

Some of those very necessary “observations” relating to the proposed solar farm site, curiously were allegedly made during walks on other parts of the HNGC property while doing other work for the club. It is not clear whether those other parts of the club were even the wooded No Disturbance areas.  In other words, on a number of fronts, this ecologist was admittedly guessing which wildlife might live in this area based on his alleged “extensive experience.” But, according to this ecologist, at no time, was any extensive or really detailed inquiry ever made to ascertain this very vital information about the specific "No Disturbance" wooded area where the Solar Farm was to be sited.

The reason for giving you this whole explanation here is that, not surprisingly, the resulting list of wildlife from those efforts is woefully incomplete and inadequate. It seems to have little to do with the actual wildlife that residents on neighboring properties see all the time … and have done so for years!  

This ecologist and wetland scientist with all his alleged longtime experience in this field, came up with a list of wildlife that makes absolutely no mention of some of the very important animals and birds who are our frequent guests, most of which are shown here in the photo or mentioned in the additional long list of wildlife above that is known to live in this area and to regularly visit adjacent properties. 

In addition to his short list of wildlife that he surmised might likely be around the Croton area and might utilize the habitat, he made no mention of other significant wildlife we know are actually here because we see them, and photograph them, such as the bobcats, foxes, eagles, osprey, owls, Great Blue Heron, wild turkeys, swans, frogs, garter snakes, butterflies or bunnies, and birds too numerous to mention that actually are known to inhabit this part of Croton.

The “so-called” experts for HNGC and Matrix have spent much time attempting to downplay the value of those woodlands, stating that it is ok to clearcut them because it is a "secondary forest"… which is not a valid reason and doesn’t appear to be supported by most reputable scientists who are not invested in renewables or in some way related to HNGC.  

And they fail to even mention that most forests in the Northeast U.S. are secondary forests.  Are they advocating that all those forests should likewise be eligible for clearcutting?!  

They also appeared to have arranged their wildlife study in a way so as not to find and identify all of the most relevant wildlife!  All these efforts not to know information appears to be in order to justify destroying the woodlands and habitat, not for any worthy environmental purpose.  It appears to advance their own self-serving project and financial gain, and to minimize any “mitigations” and remunerations they might need to make.  

Despite ample actual photographic evidence presented by neighboring Croton residents, Mike Doud, the Matrix Representative, has accused Croton Residents of “making multiple unsupported and misleading statements” and “exaggerating the quality of the wildlife and habitat.”  He says that he is relying on reports from HNGC’s experts which he inaccurately refers to as having provided "extensive habitat assessments to the contrary” “detailing” very relevant information.  

However, Mike Doud’s own expert, the ecologist and wetland scientist who did the Wildlife Assessment, explicitly stated and admitted that his study did not even seek or produce information on that level of depth and detail!   And, as you now know from that ecologist’s list (contained in his letters dated 12/1/20 and resubmitted on 11/22/21, see Project Page link in Petition) and from our photos here, he obviously didn't!

Mr. Doud, who has acquired quite a reputation for putting forth much "Greenwashing" throughout the past 2 years that this HNGC/Matrix Solar Project has been pending, also seems not to have done his homework on the Great Blue Heron.  He has called residents’ use of photos of the Great Blue Heron "chicanery", because he inaccurately claims they do not live or visit here.  

Perhaps, if Matrix did its homework, and HNGC engaged its ecologist to do a proper wildlife study, they would know what we know… that diverse wildlife, including the Great Blue Heron, inhabit these parts and visit often.  

Shame on HNGC and Matrix for not caring enough to find out the full extent of wildlife before trying to get approval, with their aggressive tactics, from the Croton Village Board of Trustees to displace that wildlife, destroy their habitats and detrimentally affect their lives… and adversely affect ours!  And, frankly, one would think that our Village Board, comprised of longtime Croton residents and Village Officials, would have deeper knowledge of, and concern for, Croton's wildlife for which they are mandated by our laws to be stewards. 

For Wildlife, Trees Are Not Just Trees, They Are Home... but if HNGC and Matrix Get Their Way, Eviction May Be on the Horizon!

On this Thanksgiving, we are very grateful and feel most privileged to be able to share our lives here in Croton-on-Hudson with the diverse wildlife who call this their home. The woodlands, steep slopes, adjoining downhill wetlands (which HNGC’s Engineer misrepresented as not even existing) and all of the flora and fauna existing there are part of a whole eco and biosystem. 

As our new Petition Title Page Photo shows, Croton's wildlife, whose wooded, natural habitat HNGC had promised in a valid restrictive covenant to protect, may now be evicted from the protection of their forested homes which will be turned into seas of photovoltaic panels.  They will also be forced to sacrifice their protective safety for additional inherent risks that come with Solar Farms... but that our wildlife knows nothing about.  

By law, our Village Board is mandated to protect the living resource that is our wildlife... and they have not done so.   In fact, they've been selling the animals and birds short because we have heard very little, if any, concern for Croton's wildlife from our Village Board.  As a result, the vulnerable animals and birds will have much more to contend with than just the enormous loss of their protective and supportive habitat.

In Addition to Losing Their Homes, Animals and Birds Face New Unknown Dangers in Those Solar Fields ... Serious Injuries and Fatalities Are Common!

They have no knowledge of the new and life-threatening risks they will be facing and, unfortunately, it will wind up being their sole burden to bear.  They will be dealing with the detrimental fragmentation of their forests causing interruption and alteration of their migration corridors.  Then there are the risks of injuries and fatalities from the heat, intense at times, that the photovoltaic panels give off resulting in being singed or burned. Insects, so crucial to the biosystem, and birds are routinely ignited or incinerated, sometimes in midair.  

The "Lake Effect" of the solar panels tricks migratory water fowl into thinking that the solar panels are bodies of water, causing them to collide with the panels resulting in injuries and death. Then they’ll be contending with the higher risks of fires, even around the periphery, from the frequent sparks that occur and start quickly spreading fires with the dry grass below.     

So, as HNGC aggressively seeks, for its own financial gain, to breach its agreement to maintain those "No Disturbance" areas that had been protecting this wildlife, we need to remember, that destroying all that is there and throwing some grass seed on it for the miraculous meadow we keep hearing about, and to “attract” the bunnies and butterflies who already live here, is absurd considering all the damage that could follow.   

Thanks for Your Support to Stop the Destructive HNGC Solar Project ... Croton Deserves Better ... Our Wildlife Deserves Better ...

We are also very thankful, as we are sure all of Croton's wildlife are, for your support in helping us in our efforts to stop this environmentally devastating Industrial Solar Farm Project.  

When you gather with your friends and families on this holiday, please remember to ask them to join with you in signing our Petition.  All of your support means so much!  Thanks to you, to date, we have over 625 signers supporting this Petition and we would really like to "bat a thousand" to ensure that our important messages are heard and appropriate action is taken.   

It has been clear for a long time that all the very significant environmental  damage and destruction, risk to property and safety, and legal issues with Hudson National’s proposed Industrial Solar Project on this inappropriate site, not to mention all the false misrepresentations that have been part of its Application, are definite reasons our Village Board must deny this project.  But we also need to be sure to get the message across to Croton’s Mayor, Village Board, HNGC and Matrix that Croton's precious wildlife count, too.   Together we can make Change happen! 

Thank You and Happy Thanksgiving from All of Us …including this Curious Croton Turkey and the rest of our Village’s Wildlife Residents!

Croton Wild Turkey Stops By to Say "Hello" Around Thanksgiving!