On May 9, I paddled out to Prall’s Island in Don Betts’ Wee Lassie, a 1/8-inch plywood canoe that weighs all of 15 pounds. The northside channel was glassy and took about three minutes to cross. I landed at the little beach with the ‘bridge’ behind it and then made a counterclockwise circuit of the island. The birch forest I remembered from last fall was gone, reduced to piles of chips (I’d been told the potential host trees, mostly birches and maples, would be chipped and burned, but apparently the burning part didn’t happen). On the west side, I found a great beach and a treasure chest under a black cherry tree; on a hummock at the south end of the island, half of an old boat; and on the east side, the landing zone where the heavy equipment seems to have been moved on and off the island. The north end of the island is the one that seems to have seen the most clearing. There are still a few trees around, but it feels pretty ghostly.
The beetle that kicked this whole frenzy off was found in just 12 trees. Was such a drastic response called for? I don’t know, but I’m troubled by the way the operation went down--by fiat, with no public process. There are lots of stakeholders who should have been on this. But what’s done is done, and the real question is what to do now. Here’s one suggestion: since the nesting habitat for wading birds is gone, let’s open the island to recreational use by human-powered boaters. The beaches are great, a dirt road loops all the way around the island now, and there are a lot of new clearings that would be ideal places to pitch a tent. It could be the new NYC Water Trail’s first campsite. Would people overrun the place? I doubt it; you gotta like poison ivy to like Prall’s, and you gotta love ticks--the night I got back, I pulled one off the back of my leg and five from my head.
Prall’s Island
verrazano toll: $9
launch site, merrill’s creek
southeast view, merrill’s creek
exiting merrill’s creek
looking north up the arthur kill
it doesn’t exactly say no trespassing
former birch grove, now populated by ailanthus...
ex-grove with equipment tracks
northwest corner of prall’s
unburned chips
beach, west side
campsite with black cherry
the treasure chest
let’s have a party
log of the cachers
calling cards
response from nyc parks’ chief naturalist
bring on the dirt bikers!
beach, southwest shore
sea wrack
cove with old dock, east side
south point
stump n’ chips
the staging area, east side
landing zone, east side
big stump at high point
ex-grove, northeast corner
ailanthus, northeast corner
the last shade tree on beach (boxelder)
looking east along northside beach
boatporn
heading east toward merrill’s creek
easy carry to car
