Who Wants To Kill Some Beavers?
The Town of Woodbury received a permit from the DEC to use lethal force against local wildlife.
I know this is not the case. But.
If you told me that a Town Board in upstate New York was given permission to use firearms on small woodland creatures, the first thing that’d come to my mind is blood thirsty Town Board members. All running through the woods, drunk, and shooting everything that moves.
People included.
Again. That is NOT what’s happening in the Town of Woodbury.
But it sure is funny to imagine.
Not so funny though, if you’re a beaver.
So, what gives?
The trouble started after a beaver was spotted at Earl Reservoir.
As cute as they are, during last night’s Town Board meeting, it was explained that beavers can contaminate water with bacteria that’s “dangerous” to humans causing what’s hilariously known as “beaver fever” (aka Giardia.)
It’s not actually dangerous. Giardia makes you shit yourself and tends to go away on its own according to the New York State Department of Health. So, getting it is no more or less dangerous than eating at Subway.
You’re also just as likely to get giardia through human feces, and people not properly washing their hands. Both of which are known problems when it comes to municipal swimming pools like the John P. Burke Memorial Pool and other water-based recreation locations such as Earl Reservoir.
Another problem cited at last night’s meeting was that the beaver eats a lot of vegetation.
When asked if trapping and relocating the beavers was an option, unelected Town Councilwoman Sandra Capriglione pointed out that she investigated this and found it was not a viable option.
She did not present any evidence to support her claims.
Perhaps Capriglione was waiting for someone to appear at the meeting to look her in the eye and ask for such sources.
Either way, the Town of Woodbury had a similar situation back when Supervisor Frank Palermo was in charge, and Mrs. Capriglione was his frequent nemesis. So this issue isn’t a new one for the Town.
The DEC permit was issued by Mrs. Rebecca Linkiewicz and expires on December 31st of this year. You can view a copy of the Woodbury Town permit here.
The most interesting part was the inclusion of “Lethal removal (firearm)” that can be found under “Authorized Actions.”
Are these Woodbury beavers wearing kevlar? What kind of firearms are you allowed to use? Can the Town purchase a grenade launcher? I have so many questions about this.
A trapper will start taking out the local beaver as of this afternoon, Friday, May 3rd.
The DEC does provide suggestions on non-lethal means to control nuisance beaver activity. Whether or not the Town of Woodbury investigated those alternatives is not known as this time.
In Other News …
Back in March, hanhallah’s law firm of choice, Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, reached out to the Village of Woodbury for tax exemption. Basically, there’s property within the borders of Woodbury that assists in providing the Village of Kiryas Joel’s Water Supply. Kiryas Joel does not want to pay taxes on that property.
(For whatever reason, Palm Tree, the town that Kiryas Joel became, is not mentioned, and the legal letter from this law firm only mentions Kiryas Joel.)
As former Woodbury Village Trustee Christopher Graziano said during public comment at that Woodbury Village meeting, “I deal in two states, five counties, and sixty-five municipalities in the State of New York. […] You are not tax exempt once you leave your municipality with water and sewer infrastructure. You’re just not. And nobody gives you that break in any other municipality anywhere else in the state.”
Every member of the Woodbury Village Board, except for Trustee Freiband, voted to reject Kiryas Joel’s request for a tax exemption.
During yesterday’s Town Board meeting, every member of the Board also voted to reject Kiryas Joel’s request, after hanhalla’s attorneys decided to make the same request to the Town Board that the Village rejected.
I wrote to Mr. Daniel T. Hubbell, of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP, back in March for comment on the Village of Kiryas Joel’s request. He did not write me back.
Rest assured, this time next year though, yet another request will be received by both the Village and Town.
As far as the Village goes, if Mr. Freiband is successful in getting Mr. Keleman and Mr. Tyler Etzel Jr. elected to the board, you can expect this tax exemption request to be approved.
But here’s something to consider.
The Village of Kiryas Joel Catskill Aqueduct Connection Project should be operational any day now.
Once operational, the Village will be allowed to withdraw 3.8 million gallons a day from New York City’s water supply.
Given that the project was heavily funded by Congress and New York State, I think it’s more than reasonable for Woodbury (and South Blooming Grove, among others) to make a trade.
You want a tax break on your properties within the Town and Village of Woodbury?
Well, Woodbury happens to be on tight water restrictions. How about you share all that water you’re getting?
Then we’ll talk tax breaks.