Rattlesnake Hill WMA

The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.

The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.

The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.

The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.

A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24443.html

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Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES)

Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES)
BOCES Districts
Broome-Delaware-Tioga Binghamton City, Chenango Forks, Chenango Valley, Deposit, Harpursville, Johnson City, Maine-Endwell, Newark Valley, Owego-Apalachin, Susquehanna Valley, Tioga, Union-Endicott, Vestal, Whitney Point, Windsor
Capital Region Albany City, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Bethlehem, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Cohoes City, Duanesburg, Green Island, Guilderland, Menands, Middleburgh, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Rotterdam-Mohonasen, Schalmont, Schenectady City, Schoharie, Scotia-Glenville, Sharon Springs, Shenendehowa, South Colonie, Voorheesville, Watervliet City
Cattar-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming Allegany-Limestone, Andover, Belfast, Bolivar-Richburg, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Cuba-Rushford, Ellicottville, Fillmore, Franklinville, Friendship, Genesee Valley, Hinsdale, Olean City, Portville, Randolph, Salamanca City, Scio, Wellsville, West Valley, Whitesville, Yorkshire-Pioneer
Cayuga-Onondaga Auburn City, Cato-Meridian, Jordan-Elbridge, Moravia, Port Byron, Skaneateles, Southern Cayuga, Union Springs, Weedsport
Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washing Ausable Valley, Beekmantown, Boquet Valley, Chazy, Crown Point, Keene, Moriah, Northeastern Clinton, Northern Adirondack, Peru, Plattsburgh City, Putnam, Saranac, Schroon Lake, Ticonderoga, Willsboro
Delaw-Chenango-Madison-Otsego Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford, Delaware Academy Csd At, Downsville, Franklin, Georgetown-South Otselic, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, Greene, Hancock, Norwich City, Otego-Unadilla, Oxford Academy &, Sherburne-Earlville, Sidney, Unadilla Valley, Walton
Dutchess Arlington, Beacon City, Dover, Hyde Park, Millbrook, Northeast, Pawling, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie City, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Spackenkill, Wappingers
Eastern Suffolk Amagansett, Bay Shore, Bayport-Blue Point, Brentwood, Bridgehampton, Brookhaven-Comsewogue, Center Moriches, Central Islip, Connetquot, East Hampton, East Islip, East Moriches, East Quogue, Eastport-South Manor, Fire Island, Fishers Island, Greenport, Hampton Bays, Hauppauge, Islip, Longwood, Mattituck-Cutchogue, Middle Country, Miller Place, Montauk, Mt Sinai, New Suffolk Comn, Oysterponds, Patchogue-Medford, Port Jefferson, Quogue, Remsenburg-Speonk, Riverhead, Rocky Point, Sachem, Sag Harbor, Sagaponack Comn, Sayville, Shelter Island, Shoreham-Wading River, South Country, Southampton, Southold, Springs, Three Village, Tuckahoe Comn, Wainscott Comn, West Islip, Westhampton Beach, William Floyd
Erie 1 Akron, Alden, Amherst, Buffalo City, Cheektowaga, Cheektowaga-Maryvale, Clarence, Cleveland Hill, Depew, Frontier, Grand Island, Hamburg, Hopevale Ufsd At, Kenmore-Tonawanda, Lackawanna City, Lancaster, Sweet Home, Tonawanda City, West Seneca, Williamsville
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Bemus Point, Brocton, Cassadaga Valley, Chautauqua Lake, Clymer, Dunkirk City, East Aurora, Eden, Evans-Brant Csd (Lake Shore), Falconer, Forestville, Fredonia, Frewsburg, Gowanda, Holland, Iroquois, Jamestown City, North Collins, Orchard Park, Panama, Pine Valley Csd (South Dayton), Ripley, Sherman, Silver Creek, Southwestern Csd At, Springville-Griffith Inst, Westfield
Franklin-Essex-Hamilton Brushton-Moira, Chateaugay, Lake Placid, Long Lake, Malone, Raquette Lake, Salmon River, Saranac Lake, St Regis Falls, Tupper Lake
Genesee Valley Alexander, Attica, Avon, Batavia City, Byron-Bergen, Caledonia-Mumford, Dalton-Nunda Csd (Keshequa), Dansville, Elba, Geneseo, Le Roy, Letchworth, Livonia, Mt Morris, Oakfield-Alabama, Pavilion, Pembroke, Perry, Warsaw, Wayland-Cohocton, Wyoming, York
Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery Amsterdam City, Broadalbin-Perth, Canajoharie, Edinburg Common, Fonda-Fultonville, Fort Plain, Gloversville City, Johnstown City, Lake Pleasant, Mayfield, Northville, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, Piseco Comn, Wells, Wheelerville
Herk-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego Central Valley Csd At Ilion-, Dolgeville, Frankfort-Schuyler, Herkimer, Little Falls City, Mount Markham, Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville, Poland, Richfield Springs, Van Hornesville-Owen D Young, West Canada Valley
Jeffer-Lewis-Hamil-Herk-Oneida Adirondack, Alexandria, Beaver River, Belleville-Henderson, Carthage, Copenhagen, General Brown, Indian River, Inlet Comn, La Fargeville, Lowville Academy &, Lyme, Sackets Harbor, South Jefferson, South Lewis, Thousand Islands, Town Of Webb, Watertown City
Madison-Oneida Camden, Canastota, Hamilton, Madison, Morrisville-Eaton, Oneida City, Rome City, Sherrill City, Stockbridge Valley
Monroe 1 Brighton, East Irondequoit, East Rochester, Fairport, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Penfield, Pittsford, Rochester City, Rush-Henrietta, Webster, West Irondequoit
Monroe 2-Orleans Brockport, Churchville-Chili, Gates-Chili, Greece, Hilton, Holley, Kendall, Spencerport, Wheatland-Chili
Nassau Baldwin, Bellmore, Bellmore-Merrick Central School, Bethpage, Carle Place, East Meadow, East Rockaway, East Williston, Elmont, Farmingdale, Floral Park-Bellerose, Franklin Square, Freeport, Garden City, Glen Cove City, Great Neck, Hempstead, Herricks, Hewlett-Woodmere, Hicksville, Island Park, Island Trees, Jericho, Lawrence, Levittown, Locust Valley, Long Beach City, Lynbrook, Malverne, Manhasset, Massapequa, Merrick, Mineola, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, North Bellmore, North Merrick, North Shore, Oceanside, Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Plainedge, Plainview-Old Bethpage, Port Washington, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Roslyn, Seaford, Sewanhaka Central School, Syosset, Uniondale, Valley Stream 13, Valley Stream 24, Valley Stream 30, Valley Stream Central School, Wantagh, West Hempstead, Westbury
Oneida-Herkimer-Madison Brookfield, Clinton, Holland Patent, New Hartford, Ny Mills, Oriskany, Remsen, Sauquoit Valley, Utica City, Waterville, Westmoreland, Whitesboro
Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Baldwinsville, Cazenovia, Chittenango, Cincinnatus, Cortland City, Deruyter, East Syracuse Minoa, Fabius-Pompey, Fayetteville-Manlius, Homer, Jamesville-Dewitt, Lafayette, Liverpool, Lyncourt, Marathon, Marcellus, Mcgraw, North Syracuse, Onondaga, Solvay, Syracuse City, Tully, West Genesee, Westhill
Orange-Ulster Chester, Cornwall, Florida, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, Highland Falls, Kiryas Joel Village, Marlboro, Middletown City, Minisink Valley, Monroe-Woodbury, Newburgh City, Pine Bush, Port Jervis City, Tuxedo, Valley Csd (Montgomery), Warwick Valley, Washingtonville
Orleans-Niagara Albion, Barker, Lewiston-Porter, Lockport City, Lyndonville, Medina, Newfane, Niagara Falls City, Niagara-Wheatfield, North Tonawanda City, Royalton-Hartland, Starpoint, Wilson
Oswego Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Central Square, Fulton City, Hannibal, Mexico, Oswego City, Phoenix, Pulaski, Sandy Creek
Otsego-Delaw-Schoharie-Greene Andes, Charlotte Valley, Cherry Valley-Springfield, Cooperstown, Edmeston, Gilboa-Conesville, Hunter-Tannersville, Jefferson, Laurens, Margaretville, Milford, Morris, Oneonta City, Roxbury, Schenevus, South Kortright, Stamford, Windham-Ashland-Jewett, Worcester
Putnam-Northern Westchester Bedford, Brewster, Briarcliff Manor, Carmel, Chappaqua, Croton-Harmon, Garrison, Haldane, Hendrick Hudson, Katonah-Lewisboro, Lakeland, Mahopac, North Salem, Ossining, Peekskill City, Putnam Valley, Somers, Yorktown
Questar Iii (R-C-G) Averill Park, Berkshire, Berlin, Brunswick Csd (Brittonkill), Cairo-Durham, Catskill, Chatham, Coxsackie-Athens, East Greenbush, Germantown, Greenville, Hoosic Valley, Hoosick Falls, Hudson City, Kinderhook, Lansingburgh, New Lebanon, North Greenbush Comn Sd (Williams), Rensselaer City, Schodack, Taconic Hills, Troy City, Wynantskill
Rockland Clarkstown, East Ramapo Csd (Spring Valley), Haverstraw-Stony Point Csd (North, Nanuet, Nyack, Pearl River, Ramapo Csd (Suffern), South Orangetown
Schuy-Steub-Chem-Tioga-Alleg Addison, Alfred-Almond, Arkport, Avoca, Bath, Bradford, Campbell-Savona, Canaseraga, Canisteo-Greenwood, Corning City, Elmira City, Elmira Heights, Hammondsport, Hornell City, Horseheads, Jasper-Troupsburg, Odessa-Montour, Prattsburgh, Spencer-Van Etten, Watkins Glen, Waverly
St Lawrence-Lewis Brasher Falls, Canton, Clifton-Fine, Colton-Pierrepont, Edwards-Knox, Gouverneur, Hammond, Harrisville, Hermon-Dekalb, Heuvelton, Lisbon, Madrid-Waddington, Massena, Morristown, Norwood-Norfolk, Ogdensburg City, Parishville-Hopkinton, Potsdam
Sullivan Eldred, Fallsburg, Liberty, Livingston Manor, Monticello, Roscoe, Sullivan West, Tri-Valley
Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Candor, Dryden, Groton, Ithaca City, Lansing, Newfield, South Seneca, Trumansburg
Ulster Ellenville, Highland, Kingston City, New Paltz, Onteora, Rondout Valley, Saugerties, Wallkill
Washing-Sara-War-Hamltn-Essex Argyle, Ballston Spa, Bolton, Cambridge, Corinth, Fort Ann, Fort Edward, Galway, Glens Falls City, Glens Falls Comn, Granville, Greenwich, Hadley-Luzerne, Hartford, Hudson Falls, Indian Lake, Johnsburg, Lake George, Mechanicville City, Minerva, Newcomb, North Warren, Queensbury, Salem, Saratoga Springs City, Schuylerville, South Glens Falls, Stillwater, Warrensburg, Waterford-Halfmoon, Whitehall
Wayne-Finger Lakes Canandaigua City, Clyde-Savannah, Dundee, East Bloomfield, Gananda, Geneva City, Gorham-Middlesex Csd (Marcus, Honeoye, Lyons, Manchester-Shortsville Csd (Red, Marion, Naples, Newark, North Rose-Wolcott, Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan, Phelps-Clifton Springs, Red Creek, Romulus, Seneca Falls, Sodus, Victor, Waterloo, Wayne, Williamson
Westchester Ardsley, Blind Brook-Rye, Bronxville, Byram Hills, Dobbs Ferry, Eastchester, Edgemont, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Hastings-On-Hudson, Irvington, Mamaroneck, Mt Pleasant, Mt Vernon School, New Rochelle City, Pelham, Pleasantville, Pocantico Hills, Port Chester-Rye, Rye City, Rye Neck, Scarsdale, Tuckahoe, Ufsd-, Valhalla, White Plains City, Yonkers City
Western Suffolk Amityville, Babylon, Cold Spring Harbor, Commack, Copiague, Deer Park, Elwood, Half Hollow Hills, Harborfields, Huntington, Kings Park, Lindenhurst, North Babylon, Northport-East Northport, Smithtown, South Huntington, West Babylon, Wyandanch
Andy Arthur, 3/31/23
Data Source: NYS Education Department.

Non-Citizens in New York

For those who are curious, there are 2,047,527 non-citizens in New York State. Non-citizens are people who are have green cards, work or education visas, or are undocumented immigrants.

The state’s population of non-citizens is about twice 1,066,421 residents of our state who live within 14-county region of New York State that is falls under the Appalachian Regional Commission, and consists of most of the counties of the Southern Tier and few above them.

See this map of the Applachian Regional Comission counties in New York State: https://andyarthur.org/map-applachian-region-of-new-york-state.html

Divided Government

  • Different parties represent different segments of the population — differences in region, population density, gender, race, occupation
  • Increases compromise on legislation, ensuring a variety of viewpoints are represented in final law.
  • Stops or at least modifies bad laws that would screw one segment of the population to appease another segment of population’s ideological beliefs.
  • Increases constitutional protections by allowing one party to raise constitutional questions related to their ideological beliefs.
  • Allows one party to investigate the other party, increasing honesty in government.

… it’s really not clear that it’s a bad thing.

US Capitol

Why is electric heat so expensive?

On average in 2019, it took an average of …

10,551 BTU or 3.1 kW of coal or 7,732 BTU or 2.3 kW of natural gas to produce 1 kilowatt of electricity, which is equal to 3,412 BTU.

With fossil generation, it takes quite a bit more kWh of the fossil fuel burned to turn into usable electricity. It took roughly 4.65 kWh worth of coal to make the 1.5 kWh of electricity, as it fossil fuels have significant losses due to the inefficiency in converting coal or oil into electricity.

How much does your 120 volt plug-in electric heater in your house use when it’s on? It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a $12 Walmart heater fan, or a $300 radiant heater in a fancy wood cabinet. All are same energy efficiency – when you apply resistance to electricity, 100% becomes heat, including the heat produced by the fan coils or indicator lights.

All 120-volt heaters are 1.5 kW or 5,118 BTU, because 120-volt wall outlets can only supply 12.5 amp constantly. In theory, you could make a space heater smaller then 1,500 watts but nobody does because electric coils are cheap to manufacture, and when you are warm, the thermostat just shuts off.

So every hour a heater heater is operating, it’s 1.5 kWh.

Oddly Fascinating

I find it oddly fascinating that in the split phase electricity system used in the United States, the only power that flows on the neutral wire back to the center tap of the pole transformer is the difference in amperage between the phases.
So if you have …
20 amp draw on the Phase A
30 amp draw on Phase B
You’ll have 10 amp flowing on the neutral, which is also referenced to the ground
If you disconnect the neutral from the center tap of the transformer, the 20 amp load will work okay but the 30 amp circuit will see its voltage cut by 1/3rd.

Sugar Coating the Truth

It needs to be said, that sugar coating the truth of climate change isn’t helping anyone except maybe short-term political expediency.

It bugs me when political leaders refuse to talk about climate change or acknowledge that humans are changing the climate, because only a stupid person would fail to acknowledge such an obvious fact. Every day when I look at the weather records, we are consistently above historical averages, and record breaking cold is almost unheard of these days. Almost all the cold records are 100 plus years old.

I understand the climate change activists are obnoxious people, advocating unrealistic goals, hoping for near ideal outcomes. Sure an ideal goal for not cooking the planet would be an emissions cut of 80% over 1990 levels, which conveniently now is described as keeping the yearly global average climate within 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures that were averaged out in the 20th century.

That would be ideal. Such levels have been judged to minimize serious damage to the earth’s climate, even though any realistic person knows that wouldn’t be possible without an impractical or generally undesirable crash diet on humanity’s use of carbon for energy and all other purposes. Renewables offer a lot of promise, but they aren’t a stand-in for our high levels energy consumption we get from fossil fuels. Even if we could make nuclear safe, it would bankrupt society before we ever made much of a dent in the climate.

If you were to eat a controlled food ration every day of year and never smoked, drank alcohol, or went out in town on Friday night, you could probably live a lot longer. You would be a lot healthier for sure. But we don’t live in such a world, but do make informed choices in our diet and lifestyle choices, and realize life is a compromise that you make. It’s not a bad idea to eat a little more broccoli, choose to not smoke, consume alcohol in moderation, exercise and not party too hard. But it would suck to give up on all that is fun and good in life. No cookies, no alcohol ever?

Reasonable adults would come to the table and weight the pros and cons of addressing climate change to different extents. There should be an informed dialog, one where we as a society get together and come to a consensus on what would be an appropriate amount of change – and not just an theoretically ideal number. We should harden our communities against obvious storm threats, like increased flooding and sea rise, as the climate gets warmer. We should take reasonable steps, like investment in roof-top solar and wind turbines and replacing old coal and nuclear plants with modern, efficient gas peaking and mid-load plants. We should be designing automobiles to be efficient while serving the purposes of their owners.

There are cost-effective solutions that would allow for economic growth, while ensuring people are comfortable and can do much what they currently do today. Climate change action should be about moderation not extremism, and should address the serious threats while balancing our contemporary needs.