WATERSHED DIGEST
monthly newsletter
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Water Quality Monitoring Workshop
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Thursday, December 5
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
SUNY New Paltz, College Terrace,
New Paltz, NY
This
free
workshop focuses on which water quality monitoring methods are best suited to achieve particular goals. It brings together experts to discuss monitoring for different types of parameters related to stream health, including benthic macroinvertebrates (or biomonitoring), nutrients, bacteria, and road salt. Speakers will focus on case studies in the Hudson River watershed, sharing monitoring results and ideas for what to do with data. Lunch will be provided.
Co-sponsored by the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz. Sponsored by the Hudson River Estuary Program & New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
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Update from the Hudson River Watershed Alliance
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Annual Watershed Conference
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On October 29, we held our annual watershed conference at the FDR Presidential Library and Home in Hyde Park. 130 people from across the region heard from researchers, practitioners, state agency staff, volunteers, and students about their work. Our theme "Healthy Landscapes" focused on perceptions of beauty, communication strategies, new opportunities, and best practices.
Presentations have been posted
here
.
Thanks to all our conference sponsors for your support!
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Upper Hudson Speaker Series
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On Friday, December 13 from 12-1:30 PM, our lunch & lecture event is back at Brown's Brewing Company in Troy. Bill Simcoe & Neil O'Connor from Albany Water Department will present on the Patroon Creek daylighting project in Tivoli Lake Preserve in Albany.
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Greene County Natural Resources Inventory
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Map of major watersheds in Greene County
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Catskill Creek in the Village of Catskill
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Kaaterskill Falls and Spruce Creek, one of the few Class B streams in Greene County.
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Map of flood zones and riparian buffers in Greene County
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Hudsonia Ltd., in collaboration with Greene Land Trust and Cornell Cooperative Extension Columbia & Greene Counties, recently completed the
Greene County Natural Resources Inventory
. A
natural resources inventory (NRI)
compiles and describes important natural resources within a particular area, including forests, wetlands, surface water, ground water, farmland, recreational resources, and cultural resources. Natural Resources Inventories lay an important foundation for local planning and policies, including open space planning and protection, zoning updates, conservation overlay districts, critical environmental areas, and watershed plans.
The Greene County Natural Resources Inventory includes substantial information about watersheds and water resources. It discusses major watersheds and subwatersheds, aquifers and groundwater, waterbody classification and Priority Waterbodies List status, stream habitat classification, important coldwater habitats, riparian buffers, active river areas, fishing access/recreation, and more.
The project also included an interactive story map, which is available to view
here
. The story map allows users to pull up specific layers of GIS data and zoom into an area of interest.
Major watersheds in Greene County include the Catskill Creek, Kaaterskill Creek, Schoharie Creek, Batavia Kill-Schoharie Creek, and Esopus Creek. A county-scale Natural Resource Inventory presents data in a format that can be particularly valuable to watershed work. Large watersheds frequently include multiple towns, villages, and cities. A county-wide Natural Resource Inventory that extends beyond those smaller municipal borders can compile more information on watersheds in one place, and represents a broader perspective. (Smaller scale Natural Resources Inventories are also very important for water resources planning!)
County Environmental Management Councils are directed to create Natural Resources Inventories through
state enabling legislation
. However, Greene County does not have an Environmental Management Council, and the towns and villages within the county do not have Conservation Advisory Committees. Partnerships with land trusts, agencies like Cornell Cooperative Extension, and other local partners can play an important role in advancing natural resource planning and protection.
Other counties also have Natural Resource Inventories, or similar resources:
Does your county have a Natural Resources Inventory, or a similar document? Please
get in touch
if you have a resource to share!
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Thursday, November 14
Breakfast Lecture Series
Plaza Diner
New Paltz, NY
8 AM - 9:30 AM
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Thursday, December 5
Water Quality Monitoring Workshop
The Terrace, SUNY New Paltz
New Paltz, NY
9:30 AM - 4 PM
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Thursday, December 12
Breakfast Lecture Series
Plaza Diner
New Paltz, NY
8 AM - 9:30 AM
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Friday, December 13
Upper Hudson Speaker Series
Brown's Brewery
Troy, NY
12 PM - 1:30 PM
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New York State Water Resources Institute: Water Resources Research Grant Program Applications due December 2
Applications are now being accepted from New York State's higher education community for the New York Water Resources Institute/Hudson River Estuary Program 2020 Water Resources Research Grant Program. The primary objective of this program is to bring
innovative science to watershed planning, management, and policy. Projects throughout New York are eligible, but proposals related to the Hudson River Estuary and Mohawk watersheds are particularly encouraged.
Catskill Science Collaborative: Catskill Research Fellowship applications due December 19
The Catskill Science Collaborative, a program hosted by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, is offering Catskill Research Fellowships in 2020. These fellowships generate scientific information to inform natural resource management while providing students applied scientific training in an experiential learning environment. The CSC is seeking proposals from college or university faculty who want to collaborate with natural resource managers in the Catskill Mountain region of NY State to answer natural resource management research questions. Professors must have an interested undergraduate or graduate student.
NFWF: Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grants due January 30, 2020
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), FedEx, Southern Company and BNSF Railway are pleased to solicit applications for the 2020 Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration program.
NYS DEC: Tributary Restoration and Resiliency RFA due February 5, 2020
NYS DEC is pleased to announce funding for projects to support restoration of free-flowing waters to benefit water quality, conserve and restore habitat, and help communities with existing and projected impacts of localized flooding. Projects must conserve and restore aquatic habitat connectivity for American eel and/or river herring found in the tributary streams of the Hudson River estuary watershed. Primary priority will be given to dam removal projects that are in close proximity to the Hudson, because of their importance for improving habitat for American eel and river herring.
NOAA: Environmental Literacy Grants due March 26, 2020
NOAA-Environmental Literacy Grants: Supporting the education of K-12 students and the public for community resilience. The goal of this funding opportunity is to build environmental literacy of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience.
Position Available: Water Resource Specialist NYS Water Resources Institute, in partnership with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program
The position will be part of a multi-disciplinary team charged with managing and protecting the Hudson Estuary and its watershed through science, outreach, and partnerships targeting both the main-stem Hudson River and specific tributaries of concern. A focus of this work will be to understand water quality in the Hudson River Estuary and tributaries, communicate results to communities and watershed stakeholders, and develop support for watershed restoration and protection projects and programs.
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The Hudson River Watershed Alliance unites and empowers communities to protect their local water resources
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This newsletter is supported in part by the Hudson River Estuary Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, with support from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, in cooperation with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.
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