New York State to Close Parks Due to Budget Cuts.

February 23, 2010 in General | No comments

I don’t live in New York any more but this is just a shame:

by New York State Office of the Governor
ALBANY, NY (02/19/2010)(readMedia)– The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a recommended list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State’s historic fiscal difficulties.

Governor David A. Paterson issued the following statement:

“New York faces an historic fiscal crisis of unprecedented magnitude. It has demanded many difficult but necessary decisions to help ensure the fiscal integrity of our State. The unfortunate reality of closing an $8.2 billion deficit is that there is less money available for many worthy services and programs. In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and social services, no area of State spending, including parks and historic sites, could be exempt from reductions. We cannot mortgage our State’s financial future through further gimmicks or avoidance behavior. Spending cuts, however difficult, are needed in order to put New York on the road to fiscal recovery. Going forward through the budget process, I look forward to a productive dialogue with the Legislature on parks and historic sites, as well as other issues.”

OPRHP Commissioner Carol Ash issued the following statement:

“The 2010-11 Executive Budget included reductions to every area of State spending. As such, the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation has today put forward proposed closures and service reductions to meet its agency savings target. These actions were not recommended lightly, but they are necessary to address our State’s extraordinary fiscal difficulties.”

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A fact sheet on the proposed closures and service reductions is included below:

The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) today put forward a list of closures and service reductions in order to achieve its proposed 2010-11 agency savings target and help address the State’s historic fiscal difficulties. As part of a comprehensive plan to close an $8.2 billion deficit, the 2010-11 Executive Budget included necessary cost reductions to each executive State agency, as well as cuts to education, health care, social services, and every other area of State spending.

OPRHP’s plan includes the closure of 41 parks and 14 historic sites, and service reductions at 23 parks and 1 historic site.

The plan also assumes $4 million in park and historic site fee increases that will be identified at a later date, and the use of $5 million in funds from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) to finance OPRHP operations. These two actions were part of the 21-day amendments to the Executive Budget and are intended to reduce the number of parks and historic sites subject to closures and service reductions.

Specific recommended closures and service reductions are detailed below:

Long Island

Brookhaven State Park Suffolk Close Park
Bethpage State Park Suffolk Eliminate Winter Sports;
Reduce picnic area and polo field
Caleb Smith State Park Preserve Suffolk Close Park
Cold Spring Harbor State Park Suffolk Close Park
Connetquot River State Park Suffolk Close Weekdays
Heckscher State Park Suffolk Close Swimming Pool
Jones Beach State Park Nassau Close West Swimming Pool;
Eliminate July 4th fireworks
Montauk Downs State Park Suffolk Close Swimming Pool
Nissequogue River State Park Suffolk Close Park
Orient Beach State Park Suffolk Close Park
Trail View State Park Suffolk Close Park
New York City Region

Bayswater Point State Park Queens Close Park
Riverbank State Park New York Reduce Operating Hours;
Close Outdoor Swimming Pool;
Eliminate Seniors Classes; and
Community/Cultural Events
Palisades Region

Fort Montgomery Historic Site Orange Close Historic Site
Harriman SP– Anthony Wayne Orange Close Park Area
Harriman SP – Group Camps Orange Reduce Maintenance
High Tor State Park Rockland Close Pool
Knox Headquarters Historic Site Orange Close Historic Site
New Windsor Cantonment SHS Orange Close Historic Site
Schunnemunk State Park Orange Close Park
Stony Point State Historic Site Orange Close Historic Site
Tallman Mountain State Park Rockland Close Pool
Taconic Region

Donald J. Trump State Park Westchester Close Park
FDR (Roosevelt) State Park Westchester Reduce Swimming Pool Season
Hudson Highlands State Park Putnam Close Arden Point Area
James Baird State Park Dutchess Reduce Golf Course Season
Mills Norrie State Park Dutchess Reduce Golf Course Season
Olana State Historic Site Columbia Close 2 Days per Week
Philipse Manor Hall Historic Site Westchester Close Historic Site
Rockefeller State Park Preserve Westchester Eliminate Interpretive Programs
Taconic Outdoor Education Center Putnam Eliminate Interpretive Programs
Taconic State Park – Rudd Pond Dutchess Close Rudd Pond Area
Wonder Lake State Park Putnam Close Park
Saratoga-Capital Region

Bennington Battlefield State Park Rensselaer Close Historic Site
Hudson River Islands State Park Rensselaer Close Park
John Boyd Thacher State Park Albany Close Park
John Brown Farm Historic Site Essex Close Historic Site
Johnson Hall State Historic Site Fulton
Close Historic Site

Max V. Shaul State Park Schoharie Close Park
Schodack Island State Park Rensselaer Close Park
Schoharie Crossing Historic Site Schoharie Close Historic Site
Schuyler Mansion Historic Site Albany Close Historic Site
Central Region

Chittenango Falls State Park Madison Close Park
Clark Reservation State Park Onondaga Close Park
Fort Ontario State Historic Site Oswego Close Historic Site
Helen McNitt State Park Madison Close Park
Herkimer Home Historic Site Herkimer Close Historic Site
Hunts Pond State Park Chenango
Close Park

Oquaga Creek State Park Broome Close Park
Old Erie Canal State Park Onondaga Close Park
Oriskany Battlefield/Steuben SHS Oneida Close Historic Site
Pixley Falls State Park Oneida Close Park
Robert Riddell State Park Delaware
Close Park

Selkirk Shores State Park Oswego Close Public Swimming Beach
Finger Lakes Region

Beechwood State Park Wayne Close Park
Bonavista State Park Seneca Close Park
Chimney Bluffs State Park Wayne Close Park
Newtown Battlefield State Park Chemung Close Park
Springbrook Greens State Park Cayuga Close Park
Two Rivers State Park Tioga Close Park
Buttermilk Falls State Park Tompkins Close Public Swimming Area
Seneca Lake State Park Seneca Close Lake Swimming Beach
Stony Brook State Park Steuben Close Public Swimming Area
Thousand Islands Region

Canoe Island State Park Jefferson Close Park
Cedar Island State Park Jefferson Close Park
Eel Weir State Park St. Lawrence Close Park
Keewaydin State Park Jefferson Close Park
Macomb Reservation State Park Clinton Close Park
Mary Island State Park Jefferson Close Park
Point Au Roche State Park Clinton Close Park
Sackets Harbor State Historic Site Jefferson Close Historic Site
Genesee Region

Hamlin Beach State Park Monroe Close Swimming Beach 3 Days per Week
Oak Orchard State Marine Park Orleans Close Park
Regionwide Multiple Eliminate Camper Recreation Program
Niagara Region

Joseph Davis State Park Niagara Close Park
Knox Farm State Park Erie Close Park
Niagara Falls State Park Niagara Reduce Interpretive Programs
Wilson-Tuscarora State Park Niagara Close Park
Woodlawn Beach State Park Erie Close Park
Allegany Region

Allegany State Park Cattaraugus Close Quaker Area Swim Beach;
Close Quaker Cabins Area on December 1st;
Eliminate Winter Trails Maintenance;
Reduce Recreation Programs
Long Point State Park Chautauqua
Close Park

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The St. Lucia webpage is up!

February 15, 2010 in Vacation | No comments

Mike finished the web page tonight and posted it. It wasn’t a photo trip so we didn’t have too many pictures to go through. Here it is.

Now to figure out where we are headed next…

Flip!

February 10, 2010 in Avian, Photography, Vacation | No comments

We caught this brown booby flipping a small fish over and then catching it oh so neatly in its bill. Brown Boobies are spectacular divers, plunging into the ocean at high speed. They mainly eat small fish or squid which gather in groups near the surface and may catch leaping fish while skimming the surface. Although they are powerful and agile fliers, they are particularly clumsy in takeoffs and landings; they use strong winds and high perches to assist their takeoffs.

Grey Kingbird

February 8, 2010 in Avian, Photography, Photoshop, Vacation | No comments

I believe this is a gray kingbird in non-breeding plumage. Gray kingbirds are found through out the southeast USA down through the Caribbean and into norther South America and is a Tyrant Flycatcher, As the name suggests the bird feeds mainly upon insects. It is also a fierce protector of its territory attacking large birds such as red tail hawks and mammals that enter it’s range. For this reason it has been adopted as the symbol of the Puerto Rican independence movement.

Taken with Canon 5DMII, Canon 100-400L f/4.5-5.6 cropped about 30% (I got lucky he was sitting right above me in a branch) Slight contrast and tone adjustment with Nik Software in Photoshop CS4 and sharpened with Tony Kuyper’s action.,

Antillean Crested Hummingbird

February 7, 2010 in Avian, Photography, Vacation | No comments

I’ve fallen off the blog wagon again but I’ve got a few images from our trip to St. Lucia finished up so I’m back to trying again.

This is an Antillean Crested Hummingbird, the other type of hummingbird that we saw on vacation. They sat still even less often than the Green Throated Caribe’s did, but this particular male favored this branch at eye-level under the canopy of a fragrant tree, so it was just a matter of being patient enough. Which was hard since the sun and the surf beckoned me at the same time.

Processed in Photoshop CS4 with the help of Nik Software Plugins and sharpened with Tony Kuyper’s action.

Hummingbirds!

January 24, 2010 in Avian, Photography, Vacation | 1 comment

We just came back from another wonderful week in warm tropical waters. The destination this time was St. Lucia, BWI. This was our second trip to St. Lucia, our first we spent at Rendezvous in Castrides, this trip we went to one of the Sandals resorts the Grande St. Lucian. Since we had been to St. Lucia once before I went with plans on taking a zip line tour and a rainforest tour, but the bus ride from the airport to the resort dashed any plans. The bus ride rivaled that of the old road to Negril from Montego Bay or the road to Whitehouse (also from Montego Bay) which is to say windy, hilly and done in a bus with a driver that is constantly passing slower cars despite the fact the road is hilly, windy and one usually insanely narrow lane in either direction. Oh, and of course they drive on the left. So the week was spent soaking up the sun while walking along the beach, sailing in a wonderful wind in a hobie that didn’t capsize at every opportunity and shooting the local birds. There were hummingbirds galore and royal terns and brown boobies and banaquits. The next few posts will be some of these and maybe a picture or two of the resort along the way.

A green throated carib hummingbird in flight

Green throated Carib

A bit of summers warmth at the holidays

December 24, 2009 in Uncategorized | No comments

I was working on some images today and feeling cold but instead of pushing up the heat I looked back at some images that I took when Mike and I made a not so triumphant attempt at hiking to the summit of Mount Jefferson on the Caps Ridge Trail. Mike and I got married on the “first cap” of the Caps Ridge Trail twelve and a half years ago with two very good friends as attendants and for the first few years we would go up, stay at the ever wonderful Notchland Inn and hike the trail. We did this until I tore my (replacement) ACL (I’ve now had 4 surgeries on that knee – but that’s a different type of post for a different type of blog) and moved onto to less arduous hikes. But this summer we wanted to give it a try again, and although we didn’t summit we got over 3/4 the way there and it wasn’t my knee that made me ask to turn back, which is a good step (groan).

We got a fairly early start, we thought until we saw the dozens of cars in the tiny parking lot at the trailhead. This summer was very wet and the first weekend in August was the first dry weekend that we had in New England and it seemed like everyone was out for a hike. But it was a beautiful morning, the greens were unbelievably green from all the rain and there was a mist rising off the ground. As we came around a corner of the trail I saw this:

I wanted to make an HDR of the image because the tonal range was just too great for a single shot and I’m not overly fond of tonemapped single images, they never look natural to me. I’d brought the 50D with me because I wanted to keep the weight in my pack down and at that moment regretted it dearly. The 50D is not a bad camera as long as you keep your ISO low, once you go above 400 ISO the noise is very noticeable and the process of making an hdr enhances that. Of course since I was keeping the weight down I had no tripod so I did the best I could I got 6 images taken before the light shafts disappeared but the last 2 in each series (+2 exposure) were very blurry – no way I’m holding anything still at 1/6 sec. (f/4.0 ISO 400). So this was a 2 exposure hdr combined in photomatix, adjusted with Nik Software in LR2 and then adjusted and sharpened with Tony Kuypers actions in PSCS4

Happy Holidays to everyone and I hope next year is as full of love and happiness and fun as can be!

The Known Universe

December 20, 2009 in General, Science | No comments

There is a new exhibition at the Rubin Museum of Fine Art in NYC called Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe. The American Museum of Natural History has created this short film that is part of the exhibition. I’m thinking this might be worthy of a trip to the Big Apple.

Twilight, Boston financial district style

December 13, 2009 in Image Processing, Landscape, Photography | No comments

Another shot I took whilst out with Terry on our long hike through the streets of Boston. You can see that “party yacht” better in this shot, it’s a bit of an eyesore against the brick and glass buildings, I wish I got lower to hide it better. I like the way the light illuminates the redish gold leaf on the cobblestones and the seagull waiting for a handout. Another HDR processed in Photomatix then finished with Nik Plugins and Tony Kuypers web sharpening actionTwilight from Moakley Courthouse

Canon 5DMII, Canon 16-35mm F/2.8

Boston Financial District

December 12, 2009 in Landscape, Photography | No comments

I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from all aspects of photography, the number of unread blogs I subscribe to is well over 1000 and I haven’t even picked up my camera since going down to watch Mike and Jas surf at the begining of November. We even went hiking up falling waters trail in NH and I only brought my little point and shoot and took 3 pictures that I haven’t looked at yet. Part of it is ennui, part of it is Dragon Age, part of it is that I’ve been reading vociferously but I seem to be reviving. I took another look the images I took with Terry when he was up that first weekend of November and started working on a few of them. This is probably my favorite of the series. The wrought iron sculptures of the sailing ships worked nicely to camouflage the yacht that was moored in front of the Boston Harbor Hotel which stood out like a sore thumb. I don’t like the slight haloing around the buildings but it’s there in each of the raw images to some extent, it’s where the light was the strongest I guess. I didn’t feel like spending hours in photoshop to make it go away so I didn’t.

Boston from the Moakley Courthouse

Taken with a Canon 5DMII, 24-105L f/4.5 lens. Merged to HDR with Photomatix and finished in Photoshop with Nik plug-ins and Tony Kuyper luminosity and sharpening actions

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