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Tompkins County Environmental Management Council to Host Public Meeting on Draft County-Owned Forest Lands Management Plan

On Wednesday, December 18, the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council (EMC) invites the public to participate in a community conversation on possible revisions to the County-owned Forest Management Plan. This meeting will take place 4:00-5:30pm in BorgWarner Room East at the Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E. Green Street, Ithaca, NY.

At the request of the County Legislature’s Planning, Energy, and Environmental Quality (PEEQ) Committee, the EMC (through its Unique Natural Areas Committee) has undertaken the task of evaluating options for the future management of the County-owned Forests in the Towns of Newfield and Caroline. This task involves producing a report for the Legislature identifying possible options and providing the scientific basis supporting the costs and benefits of each option. The EMC held a meeting at the Library on June 12 to seek public input on the scope of the review, and the resulting report is now released for public comment.

At the December 18 public meeting, the draft report will be described, highlighting the principal findings, recommendations and their implications.  The public will be invited to ask questions, seek clarification, and provide comments to help the EMC produce an improved version of the report prior to its submission to the PEEQ Committee in January.

Additionally, comments may be submitted online (URL below) or via mail or in person to the Tompkins County EMC, 121 E. Court Street, Ithaca, NY 14850, by January 3, 2020 at 5PM. Written comments will be added as an appendix to the final report.

Download the County-Owned Forested Lands Preliminary Draft Report:
www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc/countyforestplan

Submit a comment about the draft report: www.tompkinscountyny.gov/emc/comment

For more information on this report or the public meeting, please contact Brian Eden, EMC Chair, at bbe2@cornell.edu or 607-272-8595.