Conservation Advisory Council

Note: During this ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the CAC continues to meet safely and remotely the first Monday of the month at 6:30 or 7pm. Please contact Jamie Purinton at jamiepurinton@fairpoint.net and/or David Dembo giacomo@fairpoint.net if you would like to remotely attend any of our upcoming CAC meetings. We will then let you know the date and time of the next meeting and send you a zoom link a few days prior to our meeting.

The Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) conducts research, disseminates information and advises other town agencies in the management, development and conservation of the town’s natural resources. It is the CAC’s mandate to serve as an in-depth data base for all issues that pertain to the preservation and ecological well-being of the town’s flora and fauna. The CAC’s mission is also to identify human activities or developments that may pose major threats to environmental quality, and to provide the Town Board with research and comprehensive analyses of the environmental impact of proposed land-use decisions on an “as-needed” basis. The CAC is comprised of 3 to 9 town residents with a strong interest in the Council’s mission, as well as knowledge and experience in the environmental sciences, planning and/or environmental law. It is the aim of the CAC to foster increased understanding of environmental problems and issues, and to support their solutions, including, from time to time, making recommendations to the Town Board of appropriate and desirable changes in existing local laws and ordinances relating to environmental issues. The CAC meets the first Monday of every month at 7:00 P.M. at the town hall. These meetings are open to the public.

Conservation Advisory Council Members

Jamie Purinton, Chair / Phone: 518-329-2337
State licensed landscape architect; author of books on landscape architecture; biodiversity mapping team and amphibian monitoring program.

David Dembo, Vice Chair / Phone: 518-329-1400
Researcher and writer on environmental, health and safety issues for non-profit organizations for 25 years; Organic farmer.

Claire Arnold: BS in Equine Facility Management from Lake Erie College, pursuing Masters in Natural Resource Science from Colorado State, horse farm manager, and hay farmer.

Choral Eddie: Ancram biodiversity mapping team; wildlife rescue work; amphibian monitoring team; graduate studies in environmental sciences.

Colleen Lutz: BS from Marist College in Environmental Science, currently pursuing an MS in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from SUNY Albany, Assistant Biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program, volunteer on the CSCTF (Climate Smart Community Task Force) and Ancram representative for the Columbia County Environmental Management Council.

Jane H. Meigs: BA Oberlin College and MS Long Island University; Conservation Education Director, Sustainability Coordinator and Environmental Science Teacher at Millbrook School. Green Schools Alliance Coordinator; Librarian and Field Research experience.

Jonathan Meigs: Director of the Trevor Zoo and ecology teacher at Millbrook School with extensive work in wildlife rehabilitation, retired; member of the Town of Standford CAC for 20 years, and member of Hudonsia Ltd. Advisory Board.

Erin Robertson: Certification in Landscape Design and Horticulture from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies; Architectural designer and draftsperson; biodiversity mapping team.

Kim E. Tripp, D.O., Ph.D. / 398-0644
Osteopathic physician (D.O.) and plant scientist (Ph.D.) with an extensive career dedicated to plants, plant conservation, and botanical gardens, and fully licensed osteopathic physician in practice in Sharon, CT.

Walter Williamson: BA, Cornell University; MD, NYU School of Medicine; Post-graduate Medical Training, Mt. Sinai Hospital, NY, NY; JD, Columbia University School of Law. Captain, USAF, Medical Corps., Ret. President, Williamson & Williamson, P.C., ret. Certified Master Forest Owner, Cornell University Cooperative Extension.

Advisors to the CAC

Andrew Wilcox, Forestry
Joe Hoyt, Wildlife Biology
Samantha Langton, Geologist

Recreation

CLC Public Conservation Areas (Columbia County) including Roundball Mountain & Drowned Lands Swamp: https://clctrust.org/public-conservation-areas/about-our-sites/

Weed Mine Taghkanic State Park – Weed Mine Rd. Ancram, NY

Fishing Access in Ancram, NY

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail

(Banner photo credit: Jamie Purinton)