Duell Hollow Conservation Association

Conservation & Community

The Duell Hollow Conservation Association (DHCA) was formed in 1986 to challenge a high density residential development project proposed for the site of the former Camp Sacajawea, a 94 acre Girl Scout Camp straddling a dirt road and abutting a Nature Conservancy property. As proposed, the development would have resulted in significant negative impacts on the open space, the rural character and the cultural history of Duell Hollow. Also in 1986, the Town designated teh Duell Hollow Critical Environmental Area. http://bit.ly/18kQrmo

Together with neighbors and friends of Duell Hollow, the DHCA challenged a site plan inappropriate for a parcel with steep slopes, a high water table, an infrequently travelled, single lane, dirt road running along the edge of significantly biodiverse wetlands, in an area with seven existing historic houses within a six square mile border in what was a former Quaker village.

In addition, the increased volume of stormwater would have threatened the Duell Hollow Critical Environmental Area.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/permits_ej_operations_pdf/deuelhollow.pdf

The DHCA prevailed. A local resident bought and subdivided the camp into a ten lots of 10-25 acres each. Deed restrictions were put in place to preserve large swaths of open space. This site plan increased the acreage which, when added to that of the the Pawling Nature Reserve (PNR), the Appalachian Trail, and the adjacent Boyce Park, ensured that a biodiverse ecosystem of over 1000 uninterrupted acres would be protected, increasing the size and health of the open space within the Duell Hollow Watershed which includes the PNR and the AT.


In 2011, DHCA instituted an annual scholarship to send a Dover elementary student to the Cary IES Summer Eco-Camp. The cost is $250 for a week; your tax-deductible contribution of $270 includes our 8% overhead fee to OSI. The more money we raise, the more kids we can send. http://www.ecostudies.org/ed_eco_camps.html

Please make checks payable to OSI with DHCA in the memo line, and mail to
OSI
1350 Broadway, Suite 201
New York, NY 10018

We are currently collaborating with the National Parks Service & ATC on an Invasive Species treatment plan. We have participated with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in a study of the New England Cottontail (NEC,) and individual members have met with the National Resources Conservation Service to explore NEC habitat restoration.

Visit us at Dover Earth Day, April 11, 2014, at the Dover High School/Middle School.

Deuel Hollow Conservation Association is a project of the Open Space Institute, Inc. (OSI,) a nonprofit public charity exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
http://www.osiny.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AboutOSI_Mission
http://www.osiny.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Issues_citizen_action

Tags: Neighborhood