TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – A logging company operating in the Town of Dickinson was given a stop work order yesterday.

Finnerty Logging is clearing out any dead or fallen trees in a private lot off of College View Road behind SUNY Broome.

The land is at the center of some neighborhood concern as SUNY Broome has announced plans to purchase it and nearby residents are suspicious of what the college plans to do with it.

Owner Mike Finnerty says that yesterday, a drone flew over the property, and after, the town issued a stop work order until the space is considered to be up to standards.

Town of Dickinson Supervisor Mike Marinaccio says that a representative from the town went up to the site today and confirmed that all of the necessary precautions are in place, and the operation can continue.

Things such as truck mats to limit the mud and dirt that is trailed onto the roads, and silk fences to prevent soil erosion.

Finnerty says a focus of his logging efforts is to eliminate the infestation of the emerald ash borer.

Owner and Operator of Finnerty Logging, Mike Finnerty says, “We’re taking out all the dead stuff, all the bad stuff, and a certain percentage of decently grown trees, just to make this forest better. That’s going to help in that carbon input too, I mean, a healthy forest is going to take more carbon. So, instead of it all being dead, it’s useless to anybody, so, let’s get it out of here and make something out of it.”

The ash borer is an invasive species that targets, you guessed it, ash trees.

Finnerty says that if the problem is not addressed, there won’t be any ash trees remaining in the U.S.

Instead of leaving them dead and on the ground, he says they can be turned into mulch, firewood, lumber, and more.

Jean Boland is a managing member of the Blue Irish Group, which owns the property, says that people seem to forget the environmental benefits that come from logging.

Managing Member of the Blue Irish Group, Jean Boland says, “About every ten years, you should be bringing in a professional logging company to get rid of the overly mature trees, put them to a useful purpose, so that the other trees can grow up in their place and you maintain a healthy forest that way.”

Finnerty says that some nearby residents have expressed concerns of increased runoff that could result in flooding.

But Boland says that if the forest is left unattended, and fallen trees start piling up, the possibility of flooding and damage to the watershed is even more likely.

Finnerty says logging also reduces the threat of wildfires.

He says that once they leave, they’ll clean it up, so people won’t even know they were there.