Citizens Campaign for the Environment

CAMPAIGNS

OPEN SPACE AND WILDLIFE HABITAT

Allegany State Park:

Allegany State Park Mineral Rights
Allegany State Park is New York's largest State Park, located approximately 60 miles south of Buffalo on the border of New York and Pennsylvania. In 1996, CCE successfully defeated a plan that would have permitted commercial logging on more than 25% of the forested parkland. CCE continues to advocate for the public acquisition of the privately controlled sub-surface mineral rights within the boundaries of Allegany State Park.

Community Preservation Funds:

Community Preservation Funds
Throughout New York, there has been an increased pressure to develop undeveloped lands rapid and a subsequent decrease in the amount of open space. One effective tool communities can use to protect important places is to create a Community Preservation Fund (CPF), which is a dedicated perpetual environmental fund that can be used to preserve open space, protect drinking water and surface water quality, and create community parks. A CPF keeps local dollars local and allows a town to apply for matching funds from the state, county, and federal governments to purchase areas of significant environmental importance. CCE is working to advance state legislation that would allow municipalities throughout New York the right to create Community Preservation Funds.

Davids Island:

Davids Island
Davids Island, located in the Long Island Sound, off the coast of New Rochelle in Westchester County, is nestled in an important ecosystem and has been under threat of development for some time. CCE is aggressively pursuing preserving the island as open space and establishing it as a community park.

Environmental Funding:

Environmental Funding
Preserving open space, improving water quality, and educating youth and adults about our shared environment are all critical programs that need steady and robust funding in New York and Connecticut. CCE works to ensure that the Environmental Protection Fund in NY is fully funded and to bolster the CT Department of Environmental Protection budget to provide programs that benefit every resident throughout NY and CT.

Farming Future:

Farming Future
Large concentrated animal feeding operations produce waste that, if not properly managed, can contaminate drinking water, sicken individuals recreating in our nation’s waterways, and lead to massive fish kills. CCE’s Campaign for our Farming Future advocates for sensible and sustainable agricultural policies to keep farmers farming while preserving the essential rights of New Yorkers and all Americans to enjoy clean water and quality food.

Finger Lakes National Forest:

Finger Lakes National Forest
The Finger Lakes National Forest is the nation's smallest and New York's only National Forest. Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes wine region in Schyler County, only 15 minutes from Watkins Glen, the Finger Lakes National Forest provides over thirty miles of trails for hikers and invaluable habitat for a rich diversity of wildlife. Unfortunately, this forest is a target of invasive energy exploitation. CCE works to protect the Finger Lakes National Forest.

Horseshoe Crabs:

Horseshoe Crabs - Stopping Excessive Harvests
The Horseshoe Crab is an ecologically, economically and medically important species on the east coast of the United States. Recently there has been a decline in the population of horseshoe crabs, mostly because of over-harvesting by humans. CCE is working to protect this unique species and institute conservation measures to ensure their survival and the survival of horseshoe crab dependent species, like the endangered migratory bird, the Red Knot.

Piping Plovers:

Piping Plovers, Endangered Species
The piping plover (Charadrius melodus), a migratory shorebird that graces the shores of Lake Ontario and the Atlantic Ocean, is listed as federally threatened and state endangered. CCE is involved in a "hands on" project to protect this beautiful and important species.

Pleasure Beach / Long Beach West:

Pleasure Beach / Long Beach West
Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport, CT, and the adjacent Long Beach West in Stratford form a peninsula in Long Island Sound and is among the largest, undeveloped, unprotected parcels in the Sound. CCE is working to ensure the property's protection as a National Wildlife Refuge by advocating for the City of Bridgeport and Town of Stratford to sell the property to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area:

Zoar Valley
Located in Southern Erie and Northern Cattaraugus Counties along the Cattaraugus Creek, this 3,000-acre, state-owned multiple use area is truly an open space jewel of Western New York. CCE continues to work to ensure that this amazing forest and creek are protected for generations to come.