KUDOS — Ward Stone, state wildlife pathologist, pauses at his lab at Five
Rivers Environmental Education Center, in Delmar. He is being honored for
his work by the Sierra Club.
Sierra Club award energizes state pathologist
Stone is open-minded and can change his views
when necessary. For example, his solution to saving the Pine Bush is
incineration, something he was against in the mid-1990s.
“Waste changes over time. We need to think more globally than we used to,”
Stone said. “Today, countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Belgium and Sweden have
implemented high-tech incineration. They even recycle the ash.”
Another area of concern for Stone is the pollution coming from cement
plants, especially the Lafarge plant in Ravena.
“It’s important to see what’s out there. Cement plants are poorly studied.
We don’t know what the pollutants are doing to wildlife and people. I won’t
be directly studying people, but if I look for the toxins to protect the
plants and wildlife, you ultimately protect the people,” Stone said.
Story and photos By DEBORAH A. MILES
Ward Stone hardly needs an introduction. The state Department of Environmental
Conservation’s (DEC) 70-year-old wildlife pathologist has been a staunch
investigator and crusader to protect the environment for 40 years. He is
outspoken, diligent and recently captured the attention of the national Sierra
Club.
The club has named Stone the 2009 winner of its Distinguished Service Award. It
will be presented to him September 26 at the club’s annual awards ceremony in
San Francisco.
Stone was nominated by the New York Sierra Club and selected by the club’s
national awards committee.
“We reviewed the nominations and Ward was just outstanding,” said Mary Linn, a
committee member. “He has done so much in terms of protecting wildlife, doing
detective work, working on waste issues and pollution. He has done a tremendous
amount of work.”
Stone said he was surprised and elated when he received the news.
“It’s a national group for which I have a lot of respect. It’s refreshing to get
backing on a national level and that encourages me to fight on.”
Fighting on is precisely what Stone is doing.
An ongoing battle is trying to save the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, which is
threatened by the encroaching Albany landfill on Rapp Road.
“Pine Bush is so much in decline,” Stone said. “I’m not sure it will survive. It
is no place to put a dump. The continuation of the dump was approved for seven
years. So, it must expand.
Now, it gets waste from 22 other communities. It is threatening the wild
blue lupine, a beautiful wildflower which is critical to the survival of the
federally endangered Karner Blue Butterfly.
“Pine Bush also has bad odors. There is a potential for human health problems
related to smells,” he said.
SOLVING THE BAT MYSTERY — Ward Stone tests and researches
a culture to identify a mysterious disease that has been killing bats.
“This little study in Ravena could have global
implementations.”
In his lab at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, Stone also is
testing and researching the culture to identify a mysterious disease that
has been killing bats.
His current projects could make headlines, just as Stone’s role did in
identifying the West Nile virus. He was the one scientist who outlined how
the virus could be controlled, after crows began dying by the dozens in July
1999 in Suffolk and Westchester counties.
He also made news with his daughter, Montana, in 2007 after they worked
together and discovered high levels of lead in children’s jewelry.
Stone took the results to the office of New York Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo who recommended another round of testing. It resulted in a nationwide
recall of more than 500,000 pieces of jewelry as well as a settlement with
12 companies, including national chain stores that agreed to stop selling
lead-tainted items.
One thing Stone would like to see happen is more creative freedom for
scientists.
“It would be ideal if DEC would recognize scientists need the freedom to
produce their ideas. A happy scientist would be more productive and be a
better investment for the public’s money,” Stone said.
PEF President Ken Brynien said this PEF member stood his ground when former
Govs. Mario Cuomo and George Pataki cut his funding and staff to either
silence or punish him for speaking out.
“Ward Stone has carved a remarkable career for himself simply because he
investigates whatever he is asked to do by public officials, organizations
or private citizens. PEF salutes him on achieving the Sierra Club Award.”
Brynien said.
