Originally published on The Daily Mail By Audrey Mattot

Oct. 18, 2014

CATSKILL — In the town of Catskill, many residents and visitors stop at the Ramshorn-Livingston Wildlife Sanctuary to enjoy its 460 acres of peaceful views amidst a preserved natural setting. Ramshorn is co-owned and operated by Audubon New York and Scenic Hudson. Unfortunately, this past Tuesday one of four benches that was built and placed at Ramshorn by a local Eagle Scout candidate was stolen from the sanctuary.

Northern Catskills Audubon Society’s Local Chapter President Larry Federman explained that the Eagle Scout project was just completed last month. The wooden benches were cemented into the ground by angle irons attached to the bench.

The theft of the bench came to Federman’s attention when a neighbor witnessed suspicious activity. “On Tuesday afternoon, I got an e-mail from a neighbor who said he saw a few teenage kids walking with the bench out of the park,” Federman said. “Upon further investigation we found it was indeed yanked out.”

Where the bench had been along the Old Farm Road trail, there is now just a mound of dirt where the bench had been installed. Taking into account both the state of the ground where the bench was and the report from the neighbor, Federman remarked that is possible the bench was removed with the concrete balls and angle irons still attached. “The neighbor who saw them carrying it said it looked like it was a heavy bench,” Federman said.

Federman said that the loss runs much deeper than monetary value. He said, “It’s not only the monetary impact but it was a community service project.”

Ramshorn has seen some poor conduct by visitors in the past but nothing like the bench theft. Carley Kiernan, Parks and Trails Coordinator for Scenic Hudson said, “We have a common problem with litter and graffiti at the observation tower.”

Both Kiernan and Federman observed that the sanctuary is popular with local dog walkers and that most regulars clean up after their dog. But there have been issues in the past with visitors failing to clean up dog waste, both in accordance with the sanctuary’s and the town’s rules. Federman said that issue has improved over time.

“For the most part, this is a peaceful place, Federman said. “It is a great place to walk and we encourage the right people to come.”

With the recent theft, police have been increasing patrols at the sanctuary. Furthermore, with bow hunting season upon us, the Department of Environmental Conservation officers are also beefing up their patrols of the sanctuary.

A report has been filed with the Catskill Police Department regarding the theft. Federman expressed that if anyone has any further information or saw anything suspicious to please report it to Catskill Police Department at 518-943-2244.