Sandy Island Beach, NY — As part of its 25th Anniversary celebration, The Ontario Dune Coalition (TODC) dedicated the Tony Kotz Memorial Ontario Dune Coalition interpretive panel at Sandy Island Beach State Park.
The late Tony Kotz, a Syracuse, NY, native, served as Chair or Vice-Chair from the Coalition’s inception in 1985 to his death in 2009. A respected landscape architect statewide, Kotz was instrumental in seeing Sandy Island Beach designated as a State Park. One of his favorite places was his Sandy Island Beach summer cottage.
Kotz was a graduate of Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and designed numerous parks and recreational and athletic facilities. He lectured and served with many organizations, including the New York Sea Grant Institute Program Advisory Council. Kotz helped found the Eastern Lake Ontario Dunes Foundation, LTD.
Kotz family members and friends received a model of the interpretive panel dedicated to Tony.
The 25th anniversary celebration by The Ontario Dunes Coalition member conservation organizations, property owners and public officials representing the Eastern Lake Ontario natural resource area included a retrospective of TODC accomplishments and presentation of a future “Stewardship Vision for Resource Conservation and Beneficial Use” for the region.
Sandy Island Beach State Park is part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Dune and Wetland System, a 17-mile stretch of barrier beaches and dunes in Oswego and Jefferson counties.
The 25th anniversary event was organized with support from New York Sea Grant Extension and the Oswego County Soil & Water Conservation District with support from the Friends of Sandy Pond Beach, Onondaga Audubon Society, the Oswego County Environmental Management Council, and the Eastern Lake Ontario Dunes Foundation.
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