Congratulation Messages

Since word has gotten out about the successful campaign to protect the Ridgewood Reservoir all of the folks involved have been sending/receiving congratulations messages. I thought I'd share one of the more poignant notes. It was from Mickey Cohen. Mickey is a naturalist and, more important, a New York State certified wetlands delineator. Many years ago he surveyed the reservoir habitats for us and created a report of his findings. That report, ultimately was one of the key pieces that helped clinch the state protection that we needed. Here is his email:

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On Jan 9, 2019, at 1:01 PM, Mickey Maxwell Cohen wrote:

Good morning, Steve, and congratulations upon the Ridgewood Reservoir wetlands finally having been recognized as worthy of protection.

I have a few recollections of those February days in 2009 when I spent much of my time among the reservoir basins . It was fairly easy to rappel down the sides of the basin; the real challenge was climbing out again after a long day among the wetlands. The pleasure of spending hours taking soil samples and matching color with those depicted in the Munsell Soil Color Charts, drilling two-feet deep cores, identifying dozens of plants solely on the basis of winter buds, and occasional surprise discoveries, such as the spying a buckeye butterfly, Janonia coenia, sunning itself in a protective niche of a birch tree. February days were short, requiring an early start to avail myself of limited daylight, so I’d conserve time by dining on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches washed down with coffee or tea or whatever Barbara stored in my thermos.

The experience was physically uncomfortable at times but mostly joyful in ways that only a solitary naturalist might understand. I had little confidence at that time that years later the entire complex might be recognized by today's authorities as the ecological gem that it is, and I thank them, Rob Jett and you for making that a reality.

I wish you continued success in your endeavors.

Mickey Maxwell Cohen

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