Priority Areas of Conservation
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B. 1. Existing Land and Water Uses 11·3
SECTION II INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS A. OVERVIEW The Town of Poughkeepsie has a coastal area that is characterized by a diversity of largely urban land uses while retaining many significant. natural and cultural resources. With approximately two miles of frontage on Wappinger Creek and 8.5 miles on the Hudson River, the Town occupies an important position in the Mid-Hudson Valley's economy. The proposed coastal boundary ranges from 700 to 7,000 feet inland from the water's edge. The railroad and topography have both played a part in the development of the Town's waterfront -- effectively limiting access. A mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses occupy the coastal area; some of these uses are water-dependent. Several businesses and institutions including the Hudson River Psychiatric Center, Marist College, Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, IBM and New York Trap Rock quarry occupy large sites which further limit both physical and visual access to the Hudson River. Section B below describes the various natural and man-made features of the coastal area and their implications for waterfront policy making. Section C highlights major issues and opportunities that this Local Water Revitalization Program will address. B. INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS Field surveys, previous studies and published data were all used to assemble an inventory of existing conditions and features of the coastal area. Base maps were prepared to illustrate the data and photographs taken to record selected images. The results of this inventory and analysis process are presented below and illustrated on the accompanying maps. 1. Existing Land and Water Uses a. -
Flood Resilience Education in the Hudson River Estuary: Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation
NEW YORK STATE WATER RESOURCES INSTITUTE Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 1123 Bradfield Hall, Cornell University Tel: (607) 255-3034 Ithaca, NY 14853-1901 Fax: (607) 255-2016 http://wri.eas.cornell.edu Email: [email protected] Flood Resilience Education in the Hudson River Estuary: Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation Shorna Allred Department of Natural Resources (607) 255-2149 [email protected] Gretchen Gary Department of Natural Resources (607) 269-7859 [email protected] Catskill Creek at Woodstock Dam during low flow (L) and flood conditions (R) Photo Credit - Elizabeth LoGiudice Abstract In recent decades, very heavy rain events (the heaviest 1% of all rain events from 1958-2012) have increased in frequency by 71% in the Northeast U.S. As flooding increases, so does the need for flood control Decisions related to flood control are the responsibility of many individuals and groups across the spectrum of a community, such as local planners, highway departments, and private landowners. Such decisions include strategies to minimize future Flood Resilience Education in the Hudson River Estuary: Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation flooding impacts while also properly responding to storm impacts to streams and adjacent and associated infrastructure. This project had three main components: 1) a flood education needs assessment of local municipal officials (2013), 2) an evaluation of a flood education program for highway personnel (2013), and 3) a survey of riparian landowners (2014). The riparian landowner needs assessment determined that the majority of riparian landowners in the region have experienced flooding, yet few are actually engaging in stream management to mitigate flood issues on their land. -
Naturenotes: Madam Brett Park
Over the Creek and Through the Woods— on a Nature Quest NatureNotes Begin by walking across the boardwalk toward the marsh. Fishkill Creek, which flows through Madam • Do you see any fish in Fishkill Creek? MADAM BRETT PARK In spring, fish that normally live in the Brett Park before ocean (such as shad) migrate up the entering the Hudson river and into tributaries like this Beacon River, played a major to spawn. role in Beacon’s history. The creek powered • Look for “helicopter” seeds. What trees Madam Brett’s gristmill do they come from? How do the seed and, later, factories shapes help them spread? such as the Tioronda • As the creek flows from the waterfall Hat Works, the brick to the marsh, how does its speed building next to the change? park. In spring, shad • Can you smell any flowers? Why do and striped bass plants produce a sweet smell? spawning at the • Look for animal tracks in the mud. creek’s mouth, lured commercial fishermen. • Find the trail markers posted on tree While traces of this trunks. Why are they there? past remain, Madam • Take the Red trail and try to walk Brett Park now is an without making a sound. You may be important home for rewarded with many different bird wildlife—and a great calls. place for people to • At the marsh overlook stand quietly connect with it. and you might see some impressive birds! Look and listen for the Who’s Scenic Hudson? red-winged blackbird. We’re a group of dedicated people who care about the • Can you spot a tree trunk that a Josh Clague Hudson River Valley. -
Geology and Topography of Dutchess County (.Pdf)
Chapter 3: The Geology and Topography of Dutchess County Chapter 3: Geology and Topography of Dutchess County, NY ______________________________________________________________________________ Roy T. Budnik, Jeffery R. Walker, and Kirsten Menking1 May 2010 INTRODUCTION The topography, settlement patterns, and mineral resources of Chapter Contents Dutchess County are all influenced by the underlying geology. Geologic History For example, the highest mountains contain the hardest rocks, Bedrock Formations Structural Geology communities in the county are generally located in areas of Surficial Deposits sand and gravel because of the relatively level terrain and Mineral Resources Topography abundant water supplies they contain, and construction Trends and Changes Over aggregates are mined where suitable deposits are found. Time Implications for Decision- Understanding geologic materials and processes is essential to Making sound resource management because the geology affects the Resources 1 This chapter was written during 2010 by Dr. Roy T. Budnik (President, Roy T. Budnik & Associates), Dr. Jeffrey R. Walker (Professor of Earth Science & Geography, Vassar College), and Dr. Kirsten Menking (Associate Professor of Earth Science and Geography, Vassar College). It is an updated and expanded version of the Hydrology chapter of the 1985 document Natural Resources, Dutchess County, NY (NRI). Natural Resource Inventory of Dutchess County, NY 1 Chapter 3: The Geology and Topography of Dutchess County quality and quantity of groundwater resources, the migration of pollutants, potential hazards to inhabitants, drainage patterns, mineral resources, and soil characteristics. Geology is the study of the earth, including all materials found at and below the earth’s surface. Geologists analyze the composition, origin, and ongoing changes in the rocks and sediments that compose the earth. -
PARKQUEST from Dawn to Dusk
QUESTING: Use the information and map to learn about the history and ecology at Scenic Hudson’s Madam Brett Park. At the end of your Quest, you’ll find a box. Inside is a register for you to sign, a special stamp to mark this booklet, and more information about things you probably came across during your Quest. Don’t forget to put the box back where you found it so other people can discover it too. The adventure takes about one hour, 15 minutes. Have fun! DIRECTIONS: From Newburgh- Beacon Bridge head 3.2 miles south on Route 9D, turn right on Tioronda Ave., then left under the railroad trestle. Parking area is on the left. OPERATING HOURS: SCENIC HUDSON Open year-round PARKQUEST from dawn to dusk. MADAM BRETT PARK, BEACON Become part of our online community at: www.scenichudson.org SCENIC HUDSON PARKQUEST Madam Brett ParkQuest A Stroll through Nature & History Fishkill Creek Native• Americans called Fishkill Creek “Tioronda”—“little water that flows into big water—because it drains into the Hudson River. The Hudson gets most of its water from creeks, streams and smaller rivers (known as tributaries) that flow into it. From its source in the Adirondack Mountains to New York City, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, the Hudson travels 315 miles. The part of the river from New York City to Troy is called an estuary. It contains salt and fresh water, and its level rises and falls with the ocean’s tides. The estuary provides important habitat for fish and animals, including striped bass, blue crabs and great blue herons. -
FLOW and CHLORIDE TRANSPORT in the TIDAL HUDSON RIVER, NY Lawrence A
Citation: Weiss, L.A., Schaffranek, R.W., and de Vries, M.P., 1994, Flow and chloride transport in the tidal Hudson River, New York, in Hydraulic Engineering ‘94: Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, v. 2, p. 1300-1305. FLOW AND CHLORIDE TRANSPORT IN THE TIDAL HUDSON RIVER, NY Lawrence A. Weiss1, Member, ASCE, Raymond W. Schaffranek2,Member, ASCE, and M. Peter deVries3 ABSTRACT A one-dimensional dynamic-flow model and a one-dimensional solute-transport model were used to evaluate the effects of hypothetical public-supply water withdrawals on saltwater intrusion in a 133-mile reach of the tidal Hudson River between Green Island dam, near Troy, N.Y., and Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. Regression techniques were used in analyses of current and extreme historical conditions, and numerical models were used to investigate the effect of various water withdrawals. Of four withdrawal scenarios investigated, simulations of a 27-day period during which discharges at Green Island dam averaged 7,090 ft3/s indicate that increasing the present Chelsea pumping-station withdrawal rate of 100 Mgal/d (million gallons per day) to 300 Mgal/d would have the least effect on upstream saltwater movement. A 90-day simulation, during which discharges at Green Island dam averaged 25,200 ft3/s, indicates that withdrawals of 1,940 Mgal/d at Chelsea would not measurably increase chloride concentrations at Chelsea under normal tidal and meteorological conditions, but withdrawals of twice that rate (3,880 Mgal/d) could increase the chloride concentration at Chelsea to 250 mg/L. INTRODUCTION New York City's water-supply system serves over 9 million people in the City and five nearby counties; several upstate communities also could use the system during an emergency. -
Wappingers Creek Watershed Management Plan
Natural Resource Management Plan For the Wappinger Creek Watershed Prepared by the: Dutchess County Environmental Management Council Dutchess County Soil and Water Conservation District Wappinger Creek Watershed Planning Committee Dutchess County Water Quality Strategy Committee With assistance from: Marist College Institute of Ecosystem Studies Dutchess County Department of Health Mid-Hudson Chapter of Trout Unlimited Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County Land Use Law Center at Pace University School of Law YRDC-AmeriCorps Glynwood Center ImpAct, LLC Primary support was provided by: United States Environmental Protection Agency Wetlands Demonstration Grant Under Section 104 (b) (3) of the Clean Water Act NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Planning Grant under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act Rural New York Grant Program Dutchess County Staff for the project: Barbara Kendall, Executive Director, Dutchess County Environmental Management Council Edwin Hoxsie, Executive Director, Dutchess County Soil & Water Conservation District Dave Burns, Watershed Coordinator, DC Environmental Management Council Dalene Varney, Watershed Technician DC Environmental Management Council Bernadette Goebel, Program Assistant, DC Environmental Management Council Sarah Love, GIS Project Manager, DC Environmental Management Council Cara Stackpoole, GIS Technician, DC Environmental Management Council Meredith Hummel, Educator, DC Soil & Water Conservation District Amy DeGaetano, AEM Coordinator, DC Soil & Water Conservation District -
How's the Water? Hudson River Water Quality and Water Infrastructure
HOW’S THE WATER? Hudson River Water Quality and Water Infrastructure The Hudson River Estuary is an engine of life for the coastal ecosystem, the source of drinking water for more than 100,000 people, home to the longest open water swim event in the world, and the central feature supporting the quality of life and $4.4 billion tourism economy for the region. This report focuses on one important aspect of protecting and improving Hudson River Estuary water quality – sewage-related contamination and water infrastructure. Untreated sewage puts drinking water and recreational users at risk. Water quality data presented here are based on analysis of more than 8,200 samples taken since 2008 from the Hudson River Estuary by Riverkeeper, CUNY Queens College, Columbia University’s Lamont- Doherty Earth Observatory; and from its tributaries by dozens of partner organizations and individual 21% community scientists. Water infrastructure information Hudson River Estuary samples presented here is based on data from the Department that failed to meet federal safe of Environmental Conservation and Environmental swimming guidelines Facilities Corporation, which administers State Revolving Funds. 44 Municipally owned wastewater While the Hudson River is safe for swimming at most treatment plants that locations on most days sampled, raw sewage overflows discharge to the Estuary and leaks from aging and failing infrastructure too often make waters unsafe. The Hudson’s tributaries $4.8 Billion – the smaller creeks and rivers that feed it – are often Investment needed in sources of contamination. wastewater infrastructure in the Hudson River Watershed To improve water quality, action is needed at the federal, state and local levels to increase and prioritize infrastructure investments. -
Trip 6-6 Stratigraphic and Structural Geology in Western Dutchess County, New York
TRIP 6-6 STRATIGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY IN WESTERN DUTCHESS COUNTY, NEW YORK by Donald W. Fisher State Paleontologist, Geological Survey, New York State Museum and Science Service, Albany, New York 12234* and A. Scott Warth;n Jr. Professor Emeritus. Geo logy. Vassar Col lege, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 PROLOG Sedimentary rocks with deceptively s imilar but subtly different phys ical characteristics and yielding rare and hard-to -identify fossils demand exeedingly careful scrutiny. When, however. a further Jteasure of obscurity arises because such rocks are overprinted by polydeforma tional complex folds, faults, cleavage, and metamorphism, the demands made upon the investigating geologists are, indeed, taxi ng. Th i s;s the situation confronting those who attempt to unravel the geological maze of Dutchess Co unty and eastern New York. On this trip, our intention is to expose you to some of the knotty problems that beset us and permi t you to examine sorre of the typical rock units and typical structures of the region. Owing to time limita tions, we shall confine our visitations to western Dutchess County from Poughkeepsie northward--and not all the rock units nor al l t ypes of s tructures will be examined . If we make you aware of the fascination and frustration of Taconic geology, then we have succeeded in our mission . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS John B. Skiba, Senior Cartographer with the New York State Geological Su rvey. ski 11 fu 11y pre pared the ch arts and ma ps whi ch accompany th i s article and make for better understanding of the perplexing geologic re 1at i onsh i ps . -
Hudson River – New York to Wappinger Creek NOAA Chart 12343
BookletChart™ Hudson River – New York to Wappinger Creek NOAA Chart 12343 A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters When possible, use the full-size NOAA chart for navigation. Published by the northward from The Battery, the New York waterfront is an almost continuous line of wharves and piers, some of which can accommodate National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the largest transatlantic liners. National Ocean Service On the opposite side of Hudson River from New York City are Jersey City, Office of Coast Survey Hoboken, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg, Edgewater, Fort Lee and Englewood Cliffs. The shoreline from Jersey City to Edgewater is www.NauticalCharts.NOAA.gov lined with ruined piers and piling fields. Mariners must check with local 888-990-NOAA authorities and property owners for approval prior to mooring. Channels.–The lower Hudson River has depths of 43 feet or more in What are Nautical Charts? midchannel from deep water in Upper New York Bay off Ellis Island to the upper limit of New York City’s major wharves at 59th Street, about Nautical charts are a fundamental tool of marine navigation. They show 5.3 miles above the entrance. Above this point, the Federal project water depths, obstructions, buoys, other aids to navigation, and much depth is 32 feet to Albany. (See Notice to Mariners and latest editions of more. The information is shown in a way that promotes safe and charts for controlling depths.) efficient navigation. Chart carriage is mandatory on the commercial Seasonal buoyage.–The lighted buoys marking the Hudson River ships that carry America’s commerce. -
Hudson River Wappinger Creek to Hudson
BookletChart™ Hudson River – Wappinger Creek to Hudson NOAA Chart 12347 A reduced-scale NOAA nautical chart for small boaters When possible, use the full-size NOAA chart for navigation. Published by the northward from The Battery, the New York waterfront is an almost continuous line of wharves and piers, some of which can accommodate National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the largest transatlantic liners. National Ocean Service On the opposite side of Hudson River from New York City are Jersey City, Office of Coast Survey Hoboken, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg, Edgewater, Fort Lee and Englewood Cliffs. The shoreline from Jersey City to Edgewater is www.NauticalCharts.NOAA.gov lined with ruined piers and piling fields. Mariners must check with local 888-990-NOAA authorities and property owners for approval prior to mooring. Channels.–The lower Hudson River has depths of 43 feet or more in What are Nautical Charts? midchannel from deep water in Upper New York Bay off Ellis Island to the upper limit of New York City’s major wharves at 59th Street, about Nautical charts are a fundamental tool of marine navigation. They show 5.3 miles above the entrance. Above this point, the Federal project water depths, obstructions, buoys, other aids to navigation, and much depth is 32 feet to Albany. (See Notice to Mariners and latest editions of more. The information is shown in a way that promotes safe and charts for controlling depths.) efficient navigation. Chart carriage is mandatory on the commercial Seasonal buoyage.–The lighted buoys marking the Hudson River ships that carry America’s commerce. -
Work on Watersheds Report Highlights Stories Coordinate Groups
Work on Watersheds Hu ds on R i v e r UTICA SARATOGA SPRINGS Mo haw k River SCHENECTADY TROY ALBANY y r a u t s E r e v i R n o s d u H KINGSTON POUGHKEEPSIE NEWBURGH Hudson River MIDDLETOWN Watershed Regions PEEKSKILL Upper Hudson River Watershed Mohawk River Watershed YONKERS Hudson River Estuary Watershed NEW YORK Work on Watersheds INTRODUCTION | THE HUDSON RIVER WATERSHED ALLIANCE unites and empowers communities to protect their local water resources. We work throughout the Hudson River watershed to support community-based watershed groups, help municipalities work together on water issues, and serve as a collective voice across the region. We are a collaborative network of community groups, organizations, municipalities, agencies, and individuals. The Hudson River Watershed Alliance hosts educational and capacity-building events, including the Annual Watershed Conference to share key information and promote networking, Watershed Roundtables to bring groups together to share strategies, workshops to provide trainings, and a breakfast lecture series that focuses on technical and scientific innovations. We provide technical and strategic assistance on watershed work, including fostering new initiatives and helping sustain groups as they meet new challenges. What is a watershed group? A watershed is the area of land from which water drains into a river, stream, or other waterbody. Water flows off the land into a waterbody by way of rivers and streams, and underground through groundwater aquifers. The smaller streams that contribute to larger rivers are called tributaries. Watersheds are defined by the lay of the land, with mountains and hills typically forming their borders.