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Red Hook board continues public hearing on Camp Rising Sun conservation easement; requests more design detail
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Summary
The Red Hook Town Board kept open a public hearing on Winneke Land Trust's Camp Rising Sun CPF acquisition, asked for more EAF detail on trail design, parking and potential disturbance, and accepted draft edits while preserving protections for wetland and possible Blanding's turtle habitat.
Supervisor Robert and representatives of Winneke Land Trust returned to the board Tuesday evening to continue a public hearing on the nonprofit's proposed purchase of a conservation easement and public-access easement for the Camp Rising Sun property on Oriole Mills Road.
Bob Davis, speaking for Winneke, summarized the project as an approximately 142.6-acre acquisition focused on water-quality protection, groundwater recharge and surface-water protection. He said the site contains about 40 acres of wetland and roughly one-and-a-half miles of stream and tributary to the Sawkill and described a trail concept that would include a 12-space parking area and a wildlife viewing platform. "These WQIP projects seem to take forever," Davis said, noting the project received a Water Quality Improvement Program award in February 2024 and that Winneke signed a contract in February 2025. He said due diligence work is scheduled to finish in April and that Winneke hopes final purchase documents and a conservation easement could be executed later in 2026.
Board members pressed for more technical detail in the State Environmental Assessment Form (EAF). One council member said the EAF's Part 1 text and impact checkboxes are "incomplete" for the project as presented and asked whether engineering studies, disturbance-area estimates or site designs support the claim that the project will not cause significant environmental impacts. The board asked for specifics on trail materials, the anticipated length and footprint of any new trails, the size and drainage plan for the 12-car parking area and whether proposed surfaces would count as impervious for permitting purposes.
Winneke responded that the Department of Environmental Conservation will review and permit final site plans and that many of the trails shown are preexisting; Davis told the board Winneke intends to perform presence/absence surveys for Blanding's turtle if the species is suspected to use the site and that the organization has staff permitted to work with endangered species. He said trail construction would be designed to minimize disturbance and that work in wetlands and during nesting season would be avoided. "One of the things we would do initially upon acquiring the property is do that presence and absence survey," Davis said.
The board recognized the tension between completing an EAF now and having DEC and WQIP design review that will occur later. Several members requested that Winneke provide measured trail alignments, an estimate of total ground disturbance (so the board can determine whether disturbance would exceed one acre), and construction material choices to inform SEQR-style review. The board also asked for the draft conservation easement (already included in the meeting packet) to be circulated to members for closer review.
Procedurally, the town left the public hearing open to the March meeting to allow Winneke time to add more specificity to Part 1/2/3 of the EAF and to circulate edits suggested by counsel and board members. The board voted to "accept the edits" to the second draft as an interim working draft and to revisit the application when the requested technical information and appraisal materials are available.
Next steps: Winneke will work with the town planner and DEC as required, provide more detailed trail/parking measurements and materials, complete presence/absence surveys for targeted species if appropriate, and return to the board for a continued hearing in March. The CPF funding proposal remains contingent on final appraisals, confirmation of DEC WQIP funding and town easement terms.
