The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Federated Conservationists of Westchester (FCWC) this past Friday was exceptionally inspiring. It was stimulating to gather with other like-minded environmental organizations like Westchester Land Trust, Save the Sound, Haub Environmental Law School, Save Buttonhook and more. Also present, Prof. Achinthi Vithanage who together with JHC Trustee Shelby Green helped us launch our own Haub Environmental Law Fellows program!
FCWC’s 2025 Corwin Fellow Madison Bishop made a superb presentation about the urgency of protecting the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process as a precursor to decisions about land use. She detailed what’s at risk without diligent environmental review. She explained compellingly that without the application of SEQR, there can be a failure to identify or consider significant adverse impacts in advance. Without the application of SEQR, there is no protection for local wetlands, irreplaceable viewsheds, critical conservation areas, unique local habitats, undisturbed habitat or migration corridors, adjacent water wells, fragile archaeological sites, or steep slopes & erosion control. This can result in destruction of some of our favorite green spaces, increased flooding and/or loss of precious dark skies and peaceful surroundings.
Westchester County Legislator David J. Tubiolo who is chair of Westchester County’s Park and Environment Committee concurred with the group about the importance of prioritizing SEQR. He took many questions from the audience and promised to keep everyone abreast of any County projects that might be of concern.
In 2024, Tubiolo helped pass legislation to prevent illegal dumping in County Parks. “Parks are for people, not to be used as a landfill. Our residents deserve the right to have a clean and safe green space. With this new law, offending parties with a waste removal license would be referred to the Solid Waste Commission for licensure revocation if they do not comply with County regulations on waste disposal, especially if they try to use our parks as a dumpster. Families should not have to see piles of tires, stacks of sheetrock, or disposed mattresses when trying to enjoy time in our parks. Hopefully, these new measures serve as a deterrent as we strive to protect our environment and preserve quality of life.”
We couldn’t agree more!