Search for endangered species is on - The Times Herald

"Search for endangered species is on" Wednesday, March 29, 2000 - The Times Herald

Developer hires expert to explore future nature center site in Napoli

The Cattaraugus Local Development Corp. has hired a wildlife expert from Portville to catalog rare and endangered plants and animals at the former Enchanted Lake Development.

Rick LeFeber, the Local Development Corp.'s executive director, said Rick White of the Pfeiffer Nature Center in Portville was hired to do the study on some of the 1,100 acres of the defunct Enchanted Lake project in Napoli. Mr. White will see if any plants or animals there are listed on the federal or New York endangered or special concerns list.

Mr. White will also survey the wetlands on the property. The wildlife and wetlands assessments will be done over three periods during the spring, summer and fall. Besides working as executive director of the nature center, Mr. White's credentials include degrees in forestry, ornithology (the study of birds), and plant material and management.

His work is part of the Local Development Corp.'s plans to protect between 500 to 700 acres under the federal Wetlands Reserve Program. The organization, which is not for profit and is dedicated to community and economic development, has to submit its application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural resources Conservation Services.

"Once our application for the Wetlands Reserve Program is approved, the region will have a new forever wild nature preserve for future generations to enjoy," Mr. LeFeber said.

The organization intends to name the protected land the James A. Zaepfel Nature Center. Mr. Zaepfel, a Williamsville developer who bought the abandoned project with plans to develop it, donated the property to the Local Development Corp. About $50,000 in back taxes was owned on the property. When the development was originally proposed a quarter-century ago, about 14 landowners bought property and moved there. After plans to develop the property twice fell through, the landowners remained landlocked on quarter acre lots.

Once the Local Development Corp. Took ownership, about 200 acres was conveyed to the property owners, allowing them to expand their lots to meet town laws regulating septic systems. As part of the land transfer, the property owners paid for the back taxes on the land they received, which amounted to about $37,000.