Chewed over 25 years, wolf center upgrades are finally approved

By NEAL RENTZ

It took a quarter of a century to achieve but major changes to the Wolf Conservation Center have finally been approved by the Lewisboro Planning Board.

The board voted unanimously Jan. 21 to approve changes at the private nature preserve, located at 7 Buck Run, South Salem. 

The WCC received site development plan approval, special use permit approval, wetland activity permit approval and stormwater permit approval.

WCC will create a 4,200-square-foot education center that will be used for additional education programs.

The dwelling at Buck Run will be demolished to enable the construction of the new educational pavilion. The site plan also calls for a freezer facility in the northern portion of the site and 12 camping pods.

Janet Giris, an attorney representing WCC, previously told the board the mission of the center is to educate the public about wolves, the role they play in the environment and actions needed to protect them.

The center now comprises 32.5 acres and is home to 30 red and Mexican gray wolves and three “ambassador” wolves that are used for educational purposes.

Town planner and wetland consultant Jan Johannessen went over the project’s approval resolution. The proposal has received several approvals from entities outside of the planning board, he said, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Lewisboro Zoning Board of Appeals. 

The public hearing on the application opened in 2023 and was kept open for several planning board meetings until it was closed last year, Johannessen noted. Some of the conditions of the approval include having the applicant receive state Department of Transportation approval “for improvements in the right-of-way,” he said.

This week’s meeting marked the end of the decades-long approval process for the WCC, Giris said at this week’s meeting. Representatives of WCC have “been here for 25 years,” she said. “I appreciate your patience.”

Time extension granted

Also at this week’s meeting, the planning board voted unanimously to provide a 90-day time extension for the board’s resolution that provided final subdivision plan approval, wetland activity and stormwater permits that took place at the Aug. 16, 2022, meeting for the Silvermine Preserve. The project calls for the construction of 13 single-family houses on Silvermine Drive and Lockwood Road in South Salem.

The project was proposed by Ridgeview Designer Builders and Daniel Higgins.

The expiration date for the planning board approvals was Feb. 10, 2025.

The project “is moving in the right direction,” planning board chairwoman Janet Andersen said.