Chester Conservation Council

10/10/2026

2 Chester, NY Biologists ( Chester Conservation Council co-founders, with others) exactly 20 years ago, engaged in field research of non-native turtle populations in Orange County, NY.

https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2006/10/22/the-trouble-with-non-local/53033475007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawU3HVNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7254uIYcZuyyh52HJRyC5NpbpWel_KS7J5Zu5BRvn2Xd2dlM7M8G7iVqEH9Q_aem_MY_e5fp0v3AuwE3Q7sd8gA

Like dark bumps, turtles line up on a log in Harriman State Park. They crane their necks to soak up the fall sun. And that's bad. These are red-eared sliders — out-of-state reptiles — that might be c…

10/10/2026

Checking progress on translocated Nymphea, habitat improvement, Eastern Cricket frog (NYS "Endangered") .
Black Meadow Creek, Chester NY.

10/09/2026

CHESTER RESIDENTS:
When you consider "Proposition 1" on the back of your ballot in November,
Remember:
One of the main people pushing this referendum the hardest also pushed hard (through a quickly created 'preservation' group) for taxpayers to pay over $4 MILLION for "Knapp's View" in 2004.
This taxpayer-funded purchase significantly increased their family's land value right on the Southern border of the parcel
( Parcel #1 on attached map)
Seven years later in 2011, Their family purchased the 165 acre parcel that abuts Knapp's View's Northeast border
(Parcel #2 on attached map)....same corporate ownership name, etc. , effectively connecting their two large parcels with a taxpayer-funded $4 million dollar public open space in the middle.
(This is all publicly available information)

And now, this same person may likely have a seat on the town board that will determine which properties are purchased with funds generated by this new tax...

Let's hope that 165 acre parcel won't be tapped for public purchase, especially now with its current $1,000,000.00 + valuation, after they paid around $360,000.00 for it years ago.

Do you still think this "TRANSFER TAX" is really about land preservation, and not enriching a small huddle of people on the taxpayers' dime?

THIS is one of the reasons why our original Chester Conservation Council opposes this "Transfer tax".

10/07/2026

We started this private NGO "Chester Conservation Council" 15 years ago, as anyone can see by scrolling through our posts to see the real-time conservation work that we have been doing in this time.
Anyone that states that our org. was created to imitate the town's municipal "conservation advisory council" is confused, at best....and more likely simply lying.
Interestingly, some of the founders and members of the town's municipal conservation council were part of our original group in 2011, and somehow brought our name to the municipal council.

10/06/2026

Thanks, Peter Dawson:

10/02/2026

https://www.chroniclenewspaper.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-vote-no-on-preservation-fund-IF6241390

On Chester’s ballot in November is the “Preservation Fund” referendum.While it may sound green and fuzzy, Chester’s record suggests this tax might not be that simple. Chester’s administration might us...

09/28/2026

PLEASE be wary of the proposed Chester Preservation tax (it is a "tax").
In light of the current town supervisor's record, this NEW TAX ( on top of our current 20% tax increases under this supervisor) would likely be used to purchase parcels owned by friends of administrators and their inner huddle rather than to protect critically-imperiled habitat such as wetlands, fens or bogs, or to protect open space.
This town's current supervisor has demonstrated a track record for abusing public spaces for grant writing activities to bolster the his political acumen rather than to do better for our wildlife and our wild lands.
When we see a false parallel being made to Warwick's preservation tax, remember that Warwick's model is completely different than Chester's: Warwick is the county's largest town with a higher median income and it had far, FAR more active farms to protect when Warwick ( through my cousin) first introduced this proposal
We've already seen Chester's municipal conservation advisory council seeking proposals from a licensed pesticide applicator to "manage" Knapp's View" with the assistance of a broad cohort, telling the municipal council that it could cost in the millions to "Manage" a wild space that really should be left alone save for seasonal mowing.
We've also seen this town's "municipal conservation advisory council" install signs proclaiming Chester to be a "Monarch town USA", while this same municipal council does nothing to stop or delay the slaughter of Monarch caterpillars feasting on acres of Milkweed on Knapps view ***right behind one of these signs*.
No, to date, we have not seen good faith efforts toward ecologically-based preservation from this town, and I would not expect the influx of even more taxes in this town that has seen a 20% tax increase under its current administration suddenly 'see the light" and do the right thing.
I'd expect to see only already-taxpayer subsidized hobby farms' land so-purchased under such a proposal, along with land that would somehow benefit inner-huddle member's adjoining parcels.
This reeks of greenwashing.

Why would a political climber be pushing this so hard?
These "preserved parcels" will be used as cash cows for writing new grants for "stewardship" and management, and Supervisor Holdridge will tally these grant sums to his resume for his own climb up the political ladder to county exec. or Albany. "I got Chester $50 million in grants when i was supervisor; imagine what I can do for Orange County!"
( See attached Town of Chester Municipal Conservation Advisory committee communication with a consultant)

When anyone that never helped we authentic grassroots preservationists with the heavy lifting of activism here over the past 30 years becomes an overnight "preservationist".....you probably shouldn't trust their motives.

PS- Where were any of the municipal conservation advisory council's members when some of our authentic grassroots groups were doing the serious work of fighting tooth and nail to save open spaces and at-risk species?
Please say NO to this new tax designed only to bolster this supervisor's political acumen on his climb to Albany....on public monies.

09/22/2026

We're hoping someone can help us with something.
One of our group's founders gave a talk on Sugar Loaf's history in 2023, and afterward, "Jeff Zahn", who was hoping to edge his way into the Sugar Loaf Historical Society had reached out to "Jay" who gave the talk, and introducing himself ( Jeff Zahn) as a 4 time Emmy award winning TV producer, a claim that he's repeated with many other people in our once warm, tight knit community.
In a meeting at a cafe in Warwick, he went on to elaborate on the ceremony in which he received these Emmys, even stating that they grace his own fireplace mantel here in Sugar Loaf.
Months later we were warned by industry people about about this person, and told that he makes this and other unfounded claims in a pattern of manipulative behavior, typically involving sidling up to community leaders in a quest for some sort of influence, as we're now seeing in his relationship with the Town of Chester's Supervisor.
So: We checked the official Emmys web page, and they have no record of this person ever having won an Emmy....this despite his recurring claims of having won 4 in four different awards ceremonies.
We found that he and his team were once nominated for a "Daytime Emmy Award" ( not quite the same as an "Emmy", but managed under the same corporate family), but he is not listed as having won this award, either...not once.....let alone 4 times.

If anyone can help us to track down these 4 Emmys that this person repeatedly claims to have "won", and which he claims to keep on his fireplace mantel, we would appreciate that, as we're having difficulties finding anything to back these claims up.
To date he has not provided photos of these awards on his mantel, either.
Thank you.

09/18/2026

Two of our team stopped in at Knapp's View today, to see how the Monarch Butterflies are doing, after the town's *municipal* conservation advisory council posted about the importance of this Autumn Monarch generation ( the generation that finally migrates to far away places after emerging from Chrysalises in October and November). We had recently posted photos of last year's Monarch-killing mowing.
What we found today, right behind the town's *Municipal* conservation advisory council's "Butterfly town" sign, was the milkweed and the shrubs on which the Monarchs attach their chrysalises being mowed down as we watched.
We don't blame the town DPW or parks department, who are just doing their job. We DO question this "(Town of) Chester municipal conservation advisory council" for joining "Monarch Town", buying and installing signs (on taxpayer dollars), posting about the importance of Autumn Monarch caterpillars, and then doing NOTHING to delay this mowing, or at least to try to collect as many caterpillars as possible prior to the mowing.
This symbolic town conservation board did nothing to save or preserve these caterpillars, while they exploit them for their own image-building.
All talk, NO action.
THIS is hypocrisy at its worst.
THIS is what we mean by "Greenwashing".
THIS is Town of Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge's legacy.
Remember this if you ever see this person's name running for County Executive or any other post in the future.

07/04/2026

PLEASE vote "NO" on this new tax for new homebuyers in Chester.
This tax would only provide a new means by which "inner circle" cronies benefit from having taxpayers subsidize their own pet projects, such as niche farms, farm wineries or simply preserving their own backyard viewshed, at the expense of others.
It also provides a path for the town to hire and pay (with taxpayer funds) more specialized consultants ( who are also in the huddle, as we've recently seen at Knapp's View, etc.) to make (paid) preservation value assessments.
It's critical for Chester voters to understand exactly what this is.