Conservation Advisory Council

Conservation Advisory Council
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Conservation Advisory Council (CAC)
The CAC regularly meets via Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm.  Please contact Jane Meigs at
janehmeigs@gmail.com
if you would like to remotely attend any of our upcoming CAC meetings.  Jane will then send you a link to our next meeting date. All are welcome.
The Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) conducts research, disseminates information and advises other town agencies in the management, development and conservation of the town’s natural resources. It is the CAC’s mandate to serve as an in-depth data base for all issues that pertain to the preservation and ecological well-being of the town’s flora and fauna. The CAC’s mission is also to identify human activities or developments that may pose major threats to environmental quality, and to provide the Town Board with research and comprehensive analyses of the environmental impact of proposed land-use decisions on an “as-needed” basis. The CAC is comprised of 3 to 9 town residents with a strong interest in the Council’s mission, as well as knowledge and experience in the environmental sciences, planning and/or environmental law. It is the aim of the CAC to foster increased understanding of environmental problems and issues, and to support their solutions, including, from time to time, making recommendations to the Town Board of appropriate and desirable changes in existing local laws and ordinances relating to environmental issues.
Conservation Advisory Council Members
Jane H. Meigs, Chair/ 646-512-2520
BA Oberlin College and MS Long Island University; Conservation Education Director, Sustainability Coordinator and Environmental Science Teacher at Millbrook School. Green Schools Alliance Coordinator; Librarian and Field Research experience.
Tom Ciano:
Master of Architecture Columbia University, Master of Public Administration/Public Finance George Washington University.  President of Property Management at Monadnock.  Extensive nonprofit experience in low income housing development at Homeward NYC and Neighborhood Restore in LA.  Experience in brownfields restoration.
Amy Gold:
Studies in wildlife conservation and degree in psychology; Founding member of the Minnesota International Wolf Center; Fundraiser for Save the Thompson-Finch Farm, and member of Pine Plains United.
Colleen Lutz:
BS from Marist College in Environmental Science, currently pursuing an MS in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology from SUNY Albany; Assistant Biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program; member of the Climate Smart Community Task Force and Ancram representative for the Columbia County Environmental Management Council.
Jonathan Meigs:
Director of the Trevor Zoo and ecology teacher at Millbrook School with extensive work in wildlife rehabilitation, retired; Member of the Town of Stanford CAC for 20 years, and member of Hudonsia Ltd. Advisory Board.
Susan O’Sullivan:
BA in Education and Theatre Arts CUNY Hunter. MS in Education Molloy University. Adjunct Writing/ELA Instructor St. John’s University. Former Executive Producer at CNN NY. Emerging organic/regenerative farmer in Ancramdale.  Climate Committee NW Bronx Indivisible.  Member Operation SPLASH (
top
olluting,
Li
ttering,
nd
ave
arbors)
Walter Williamson:
BA, Cornell University; MD, NYU School of Medicine; Post-graduate Medical Training, Mt. Sinai Hospital, NY, NY; JD, Columbia University School of Law.  Captain, USAF, Medical Corps, Ret.  President, Williamson & Williamson, P.C., ret.  Certified Master Forest Owner, Cornell University Cooperative Extension.
Associate Members:
Jamie Purinton:
State licensed landscape architect; author of books on landscape architecture; biodiversity mapping team and amphibian monitoring program.
Kim E. Tripp, D.O., Ph.D.
/ 398-0644
Osteopathic physician (D.O.) and plant scientist (Ph.D.) with an extensive career dedicated to plants, plant conservation, and botanical gardens, and fully licensed osteopathic physician in practice in Sharon, CT.
Links
Audubon Society
Butterflies of New York
Columbia Land Conservancy
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Dutchess Land Conservancy
Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program
Hudsonia
Inland Fish of New York
International Dark Sky Association
Dark Sky: Materials for Public Outreach
Invasive Species of New York
New York Flora Association
New York State Bluebird Society
Wildlife Rehabilitators Council
Recreation
CLC Public Conservation Areas (Columbia County) including Roundball Mountain & Drowned Lands Swamp:
Weed Mine Taghkanic State Park
–  Weed Mine Rd. Ancram, NY
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail
(Banner photo credit: Jamie Purinton)
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about Significant Habitats in the Town of Ancram
CAC Documents
Conservation Advisory Council Members Professional Training in 2024
January 17, 2025
Forests of Ancram
January 1, 2021
Significant Habitats in the Town of Ancram
February 1, 2020
Final Ancram Natural Resource Conservation Plan
January 29, 2015
CAC Ridgeline Protection
April 15, 2013
CAC Reports
CAC Year End Report for 2024
January 17, 2025
CAC Year End Report for 2023
January 16, 2024
CAC Year End Report for 2022
January 13, 2023
CAC Year End Report for 2021
January 18, 2022
Couger Sightings in New York
October 7, 2021
Wild Parsnip and Giant Hogweed
October 7, 2021
Impacts of Climate Change on the Hudson Valley: Results of the Fourth National Climate Assessment
October 7, 2021
Invasive Plants Awareness in Ancram
October 7, 2021
Conservation Advisory Council 2020 Annual Report
January 28, 2021
CAC Year End Report for 2019
January 28, 2020
View Archive of All Reports
Minutes
Minutes
April 22, 2026
Minutes
April 22, 2026
Minutes
October 14, 2025
Minutes
September 9, 2025
Minutes
September 9, 2025
View Archive of Minutes
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Ancram Town Hall
1416 County Route 7
Ancram, NY 12502
518-329-6512
Ancram, US
11:01 am,
Apr 24, 2026
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clear sky
51 %
1011 mb
11 mph
Wind Gust:
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Clouds:
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Visibility:
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Sunrise:
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Sunset:
7:44 pm
Weather from OpenWeatherMap
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