NEWS
|
Press Advisory and Photo Opportunity: Osprey Nesting Platform to be Set Up Thursday at Buckhorn Island State Park August 8, 2007 Buckhorn Island State Park will be the setting for a pole-mounted platform being erected on Thursday morning (Aug. 9) to provide a nesting place for osprey, one of North America’s largest birds of prey, as part of a Habitat Improvement Project committed to by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) for the relicensing of its Niagara Power Project. The 70-foot pole and platform are being installed near a National Grid tower where an osprey nest was recently discovered, making it the first such sighting of the raptors on the upper Niagara River in decades. Material from the nest will be moved in September to the platform, after the osprey migrate for the winter, helping to guard against potential power disruptions if the osprey return to the park preserve next year. There will be photo opportunities of the nesting platform being raised. (The structure is similar to platforms installed by NYPA within the boundaries of its St. Lawrence Franklin D. Roosevelt Project in Northern New York, pictured in the attached photo.) Officials of the Power Authority, National Grid, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be available to answer questions at Wednesday’s pole installation. DATE: Thursday, August 9 TIME: 10 a.m. PLACE: Buckhorn Island State Park DIRECTIONS: Access to the site is available only from the southbound lanes of Interstate 190, after crossing the North Grand Island Bridge from Niagara Falls, just beyond the north toll barrier. A double-wide gate is on the right, immediately past the toll booths. After pulling through the gate, members of the news media will be escorted to the osprey pole location. Pls. note there is no access from the northbound lanes of 190. CONTACTS:
Michael Saltzman, NYPA Stephen Brady,
National Grid Angela Berti,
OPRHP Meaghan Boice-Green,
DEC About NYPA: ■ NYPA uses no tax money or
state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of
bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of
electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting
energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric
transportation initiatives. ■ It is the
nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating
facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400
circuit-miles of transmission lines. |
|