On the wings of success
Pine Bush Preserve wins national award

GUILDERLAND — The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission has shared an important award from the Natural Areas Association, a 26-year-old national group that promotes public understanding and appreciation of natural areas and natural diversity.

The commission along with the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park were given the Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award last month. The award, to recognize major contributions to managing, restoring, or saving natural areas, was for conserving the habitat of the Karner blue butterfly, which is listed as an endangered species by both the state and federal governments.
"To be recognized by an organization like the Natural Areas Association is really prestigious," said Christopher Hawver, executive director of the commission, this week. "It says we’re doing it right.

He told The Enterprise, "It means a lot to me and to our staff and the community. We’ve been doing habitat restoration for years. We learned through trial and error. Now we’ve got it down."

The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission has protected about 3,010 acres of pine bush and about 1,600 acres are protected by the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park.

The Wilton preserve is a not-for-profit organization in Saratoga County that works to protect natural habitat and provides the public with a network of trails for recreational use, said Hawver.
"We work together, sharing staff and resources," he said of the two preserves. "Much of the habitat work we’ve done, we’ve exported to Wilton," he said. This includes planting lupine, which the Karner blue depends on, along with other native plants; opening habitat; and removing forest trees, said Hawver.

A viable population of the Karner blue is about 3,000. Seven years ago, there were barely 1,000 in the Albany Pine Bush, down from 65,000 in 1980, and millions in the 1940’s.
"The basic theory is, if you have an occupied area, build around it," said Hawver, describing habitat being re-created around places the butterflies already occupy. "We’ve had butterflies occupy areas we’ve restored," he said with satisfaction.
Asked about the effects of homeowners or businesses landscaping with native plants, Hawver said, that provides a "valuable buffer," softening the effect after development.
In accepting the award, Neil Gifford, conservation director for the Pine Bush Commission, said it strengthened the commission’s resolve in its mission and "motivates our on-the-ground conservation efforts — from implementing prescribed fire at the urban interface to restoring Karner blue butterfly habitat."
Gifford also said, "This has been a strong team effort," and he credited both public and private efforts, naming The Nature Conservancy, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, and the federal forest and fish and wildlife services.
"The commission is proud of what we have been able to accomplish," he concluded, "but knows that we have much more work to do if we are to succeed in recovering the Karner blue butterfly and restoring the barrens for future generations."