Hi Guys ...
As you know ELIAS has been very active trying to get information & access
to EPCAL. Here's an interesting article from our July/August newsletter. I
was with Sally that day, it was amazing all the people, cars, tents, etc on the
runway. Guess it's all about who they do & don't want there. Please keep us
informed if you make any progress, it's an amazing place !
Suzi Stewart.
Sent from Suzi's iPhone
> On Aug 9, 2016, at 12:24 PM, leorm...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> Michael,
>
> Thanks for raising the issue again. I had hoped to make progress, but sadly
> Sean Walters won re-election and continues his absurd (and silly) stance.
>
> The good news is, from what I understand, Supervisor Walters and Councilwoman
> Giglio are getting along well lately and Councilwoman Giglio can be an asset
> to our "plight". I have spoken to her many times about EPCAL and bird
> watching, she understands that people really enjoy it and she drives through
> there very often.
>
> The last communications I had were essentially "going in the runway is
> trespassing, we have no official policy, it's the only way to prevent drag
> racing etc etc".
>
> Obviously, that is all BS. There are many ideas I raised that received no
> response. They apparently issued a one day access to ELIAS for their CBC and
> would "consider" granting special access on an extremely limited basis.
>
> At this point, I think the best course of action is to get one (or several)
> organizations to go in on a joint letter, electronically signed by everyone
> from this list who is willing, and submit it to the Board at a public
> hearing. We should ask for access, for clarification on the rules, for the
> reasons these rules exist, etc.
>
> I know Group for the East End is supportive of public access, as is ELIAS and
> I bet many more organizations.
>
> It's easy for the Supervisor to ignore a handful of people here and there.
> But a concerted effort would be difficult to brush aside - especially if
> combined with Newsday / News 12 articles and stories. They hate any bad press
> about their beloved EPCAL.
>
>
>
>> On Aug 9, 2016, at 12:08 PM, Michael Schrimpf <michael.schri...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Has anyone heard anything recently from the Town of Riverhead about access
>> to the abandoned runway at EPCAL?
>>
>> I regularly see drag-races on the runway, while I have been good about not
>> going past the end. Birders apparently continue to be stopped when they
>> wander out onto the runway - my friend and I were only a hundred meters or
>> so past the end when we were approached by an officer this morning.
>>
>> We were courteous to the officer, obeyed his instructions to leave, and
>> didn't ask any questions, though his tone was rather condescending from the
>> very start. He also threatened us with jail-time for trespassing, just as
>> has happened to others in the past. Based on how briefly we were out there
>> before he showed up, we think there must be some sort of automatic
>> monitoring system that alerts authorities, so they must see everyone that
>> uses it for anything.
>>
>> I would really like to see some documentation from the Town about is and is
>> not allowed. If there is a double-standard when it comes to looking the
>> other way on the part of law enforcement, I feel that is something that must
>> be addressed.
>>
>> If, on the other hand, there is a legitimate process for getting permits to
>> do some things (like flying model planes and drag-racing), I would like to
>> have the ability to apply for access to go birding. At the very least, I
>> feel that the "no trespassing" signs should look a bit more modern than big
>> concrete blocks that look like they've been there since Northrup-Grumman
>> operated the place. It should also be made clear whether birders can cross
>> the southwest end of that runway to access the paths that go up towards
>> Veterans Memorial Park (at the moment, you need to walk past the barriers to
>> get there - and I have never before been stopped for doing that).
>>
>> I will probably send a letter to the Town, much like Luke Ormand did a while
>> back, but I am wondering what others in the community have heard before I
>> take any action. I worry that without more regular "feedback" from birders,
>> our concerns about use of the area might be easy to ignore.
>>
>> Michael Schrimpf
>> Suffolk County
>> --
>> NYSbirds-L List Info:
>> Welcome and Basics
>> Rules and Information
>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
>> Archives:
>> The Mail Archive
>> Surfbirds
>> BirdingOnThe.Net
>> Please submit your observations to eBird!
>> --
> --
> NYSbirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics
> Rules and Information
> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave
> Archives:
> The Mail Archive
> Surfbirds
> BirdingOnThe.Net
> Please submit your observations to eBird!
> --
--
NYSbirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
