- Pine Bush
:"This article is about the rare inland pine barrens in
New York State 'sCapital District . For the hamlet inOrange County, New York seePine Bush, New York . For the locality in Southland,New Zealand , seePine Bush, New Zealand .Pine Bush is a globally rare
ecosystem , located between the cities of Albany and Schenectady in theCapital District region ofNew York .Ecology
The Pine Bush is considered one of the best examples of an inland
pine barrens ecosystem on sanddune s in theUnited States , and is recognized world-wide as a unique pine barrens ecosystem. It contains over 300 species ofvertebrate animals, over 1,500 species of plants, and over 10,000 species of insects and otherinvertebrate animals. Many of them are rare and restricted to Pine Bush habitat. Its most famous occupant, theKarner Blue butterfly, is on New York State'sendangered species list and was listed on theFederal Endangered Species List in December 1992.Pine bush also has a smallcoyote population. Coyotes, along with almost every other large animal that inhabits pine bush, are a very common sight for any late night or early morning walkers.Geography
The Pine Bush is located in the Capital District region of New York State, between Albany and Schenectady. The boundaries are Fuller Road on the east,
New York State Route 5 (Central Avenue) on the north,New York State Route 146 on the west, andU.S. Route 20 (Western Avenue) on the south. Pine Bush is located in three municipalities: Albany, Guilderland and Colonie. The Pine Bush originally encompassed convert|58800|acre|sqmi km2|0|lk=on|abbr=on. There are currently convert|5800|acre|sqmi km2|0|lk=on|abbr=on remaining.History
The Pine Bush has played an important historical role in the development of Albany and Schenectady and is enshrined in the literary heritage of the United States. The
Song of Hiawatha byHenry Wadsworth Longfellow is sung by the Indian brave from the Vale of Tawasentha located in Pine Bush.George Washington wrote of Pine Bush in his diaries while traveling in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War. In "Moby-Dick ",Herman Melville describes the dark beauty of Pine Bush in a long account of a stage coach ride from Albany to Schenectady.Vladimir Nabokov and other writers have written about the mystery and beauty of Pine Bush. [http://www.pinebushufo.com]Additional facts about the Pine Bush
The Pine Bush is located in the geographic center of the Capital District and is subject to great development pressures. Developers are making new proposals every day to construct houses and office buildings which could destroy Pine Bush.
Save the Pine Bush is a not-for-profit community group, run by consensus, which was formed in 1978 to stop destruction of the Pine Bush. They have prevented or delayed the construction of many developments in the Pine Bush. In addition, Save the Pine Bush has developed case law on cumulative impact using the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA ).Future of Pine Bush
Today, though the Pine Bush ecosystem contains about 5,800 acres, only 3,010 have been purchased and added to the
Albany Pine Bush Preserve . The remaining 2,800 acres are privately owned, and could be developed at any time, thus destroying the Pine Bush on that land. The fear of encroachment on the Pine Bush has been a constant worry in recent years.Crossgates Mall , which was built in the Pine Bush, has looked into expanding onto more of the Pine Bush. The city of Albany has also talked about expanding the Albany City Landfill or garbage dump in the Pine Bush, while developers have been seeking to build on the Pine Bush for commercial use.External links
* [http://www.savethepinebush.org/ Save the Pine Bush]
* [http://www.albanypinebush.org/ Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission]
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