It's been a mystery to many in Monroe County, why anyone would even consider joining a social media group or cause, that was in direct opposition to efforts that would improve public safety within the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.But then again, that's normal in the "metaworld" of Facebook, and all those who pretend that social platform is a good thing for societyIt seems that every now and then we also get a chance to see just how some of these Stop the Clear-Cut Facebook members think, and if they truly are concerned about their neighbors or their own safety, or even the environment they say they are "standing to protect".And sometimes we get to shine the light on just how "phony" some members have been regarding "clear-cutting" in general.Here's a recent post from the group's Facebook page, once again one of the group founders is trying to prove a point about "trees" belonging on earthen canal dams. She is using a new Erie Canal Cycling Shirt as "proof" that Earthen Embankment Dams are somehow better covered with trees.
Note the comment by Ms. Sue Donk of Brockport, who claims that she is still quite upset about all the "clear-cutting" she sees when she looks out the back of her home. It still gets her "blood pressure" up she says, and she will "never forgive" the Canal Corporation for what they have done.
Now you might get the idea that Ms. Donk lives along one of these Canal Embankments, to be so devastated by all that "clear-cutting" in her "backyard". But you would be wrong... she does not.Actually the "Donk Estate" is located a couple roads off the Canal Dam, and she has someone else's property between her own and the Erie Canal. There is a map included to show where all this "devastation" has occurred, that has her so upset. Her home/property is outlined in RED on the map below.
NOTE: The Google satellite image is old, it shows a large amount of trees (outlined properties) that have been "clear-cut" recently.
And now- all those trees are GONE!
It's also important to note that another member of the Stop the Canal Clear-Cut Group lives in the property that is bordered with an ORANGE line, This gentleman is also a member of the Stop the Clear-Cut group and also a contributor to the lively banter on the STCC group's Facebook page. And he also has quite a bit of property frontage adjacent to one of Brockport's five earthen embankments that have recently been cleared & restored.Why do I bring this up you ask? Well simply to prove a point I guess.
Because with this group, and especially a select few members, this whole social media cause to "Stop the Canal Corporation" is nothing more than a clever guise of "hypocrisy & crocodile tears"
You see, while Ms. Donk is ridiculing the Canal Corporation for taking trees down that could cause a flood in her neighborhood, she seems to want to "look the other way" when her NEIGHBORS all around her have "clear-cut" their own properties... completely.
And she seems to avoid saying anything about removing trees to her "neighbors", especially those who are also "members" of the Facebook group she subscribes to. She isn't telling them how their clearing has her Blood Pressure elevated.The lesson here... it's OK to CLEAR-CUT your trees if you are a member of this Facebook Group or a neighbor of the Donks, I guess.Take a look at what her two adjacent neighbors, east and west of Ms. Donk's property have done to their "trees"... ALL GONE!
And now take a look at the neighbor' property between Ms. Donk and that Erie Canal Embankment that makes her "BP rise". And again, this property owner is part of the same Facebook Group Ms. Donks was expressing her opinion on. All of these trees were CLEAR-CUT. Firewood is stacked, tree stumps are untouched... he burns the firewood to process his Maple Syrup, in an outdoor wood stove/evaporator system.
That latter property along the canal embankment, that could very well be the "poster child" for what constitutes "clear-cutting" folks, something that both of these group members say is "wrong & unforgivable".It's a clear case of "do as I say, not as I do".
But that's not the REAL issue at all.It's the hypocrisy of the whole thing... isn't it?
It's the fact that some STCC Members seem to be crying tears of sorrow, but only do so for the trees along the Erie Canal Trail, not for trees removed from anywhere else near it.
It's the idea that some STCC Members tend to "look the other way" when it's their neighbors (and fellow FB Group members) clear-cutting entire residential lots of trees, but are watching the Canal Corporation's every move when they inspect the Canalway Property for dangerous vegetation growth.
It's the audacity that some STCC Members insist it's "wrong" to take down a single Erie Canal Trail Tree (that threatens the public), but it's all right to harvest a few dozen trees only a few hundred feet away, to get firewood, or to prevent another broken power line.Yes, that neighbor of Ms. Donk, the one who's a member of the Stop the Clear-Cut group she is part of, in that ORANGE BORDERED lot on the map. He removed ALL of his trees on that side yard to insure that the rest of HIS street would not lose power again, since it was one of his trees that took the power pole out a few windstorms back. I'm sure that down tree, that caused the 4 day power outage on our street, didn't affect the Donk Household.
We are all grateful he did remove those dead Ash Trees.So the "moral of the story" as they say...
When you see a Facebook Group, saying that "clear-cutting" is happening along the Erie Canal, and it's bad for the environment, remember that it's also being done by many property owners, INCLUDING some of those SAME Facebook members, who seem to think that "it's OK" to cut trees, if you have a valid reason.
As if the reason given by the NYS Canal Corporation wasn't valid enough...
The State of NY says their tree removal, off earthen canal embankments, is in the interest of public safety and canal sustainability.Here's what the Canal Corporation did in Brockport, it hardly resembles what this group calls "clear-cutting".. when compared to the other pictures posted here. And this is also the VIEW that Ms. Donk has out her back window, the one that gets her blood pressure rising. Which is worse to look at?
The fully restored Erie Canal Embankment with green grass & natural barrier, or the Clear-Cut mess that Ms. D's neighbor (and fellow Facebook member) has left in her view of the Erie Canal Embankment?
People... take a look, you can clearly see that the New York State Canal Corporation removed all invasive vegetation, extracted ALL tree stumps, and then replanted turf grass on the outboard embankment dam slope. That is EXACTLY what they said had to be done to restore Erie Canal Integrity.
https://www.nyscanalintegrity.org/
Then the NYS Canal Corporation went one step further, for these Canal Neighbors. They also planted a natural privacy barrier of evergreens & native dogwoods, to protect adjacent homeowners from the traffic along the Erie Canal Trail. If you are NOT a neighbor of the embankments or trail system you can't begin to understand what many of us have to tolerate having a major " NY tourist attraction" in your backyard.
And no Ms. Donk, you are NOT one of those adjacent canal neighbors who has to deal with all that Empire Trail traffic.
You are merely a sightseer, just a canal spectator, with a "humble opinion", who still wants to ignore the danger of earthen dams in your own backyard, and community. And you are also someone who was foolish enough to "buy in" to some social media cause that also wanted to ignore public safety, and the safety of Erie Canal Neighbors across New York State
And that's enough to make any Erie Canal Neighbor's blood pressure rise... how could anyone be so "blind" to the truth about Public Safety?
Home
Search
Today's Posts
Login
Register
ECNA US Site
NYS Canal Website
JOIN the ECNA
ECT Trail Alerts
Read This
Canal Integrity
Trail Integrity
Marketplace
Newsletter
Oxbow Blog
Facebook Opposition