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ALBANY---More than $1.3 million in Hudson River Estuary grants for 45 community projects that will enhance public use and enjoyment of the Hudson River, clean up pollution, promote environmental stewardship and education, and help to preserve the natural resources of the Hudson River Estuary and its tributaries and watersheds has been announced by Gov. George E. Pataki.
"New York State has made significant investments to clean up and restore the Hudson River, creating new opportunities for people to enjoy this beautiful national treasure," Pataki said. "Our efforts have led to dramatic improvements in the river's fisheries and habitats, a major reduction in pollution entering the waterway, and new access that makes it easier for people to use the river for activities such as fishing, swimming and boating.
Since the development of the Hudson River Estuary Action Plan in 1996, New York State has provided more than $370 million to clean up, protect, and restore the Hudson River. The Hudson River Estuary grants fund community projects that implement priority goals set forth in the Action Plan.
The awards are the seventh in a series of grants provided to municipalities and not-for-profit organizations located within the geographic boundaries of the Hudson River Estuary, including Bronx, New York, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, Albany, Rensselaer, and parts of Kings and Richmond counties.
The grants contribute for the revitalization and protection of the Hudson River and are awarded in five categories: 14 grants totaling $386,183 for interpretation and education projects; seven grants totaling $140,000 for community habitat conservation and stewardship; 10 grants totaling $372,938 for open space planning, inventory, and acquisition; five grants totaling $125,000 for watershed planning and implementation; and nine grants totaling $343,504 for river access, including boating, fishing, and swimming.
DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program performs research, adaptive approaches to management, and public outreach activities, and also works to develop partnerships with State and federal agencies, local governments, and other involved groups and organizations to improve the estuary and its surrounding watershed lands.
The Hudson River Estuary Program is funded by annual appropriations from the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, federal funds, and other sources.
A complete list of grant recipients is attached.
HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY GRANT PROJECTS
Community Interpretive Centers and Education Projects
Orangetown Historical Museum & Archives - Rockland County - $6,914 - Components of Exhibit Down to the Hudson: The Sparkill - Creation of a portable version of the Museums exhibition Down to the Hudson: The Sparkill Creek.
New York City Audubon- New York- $30,000 - Harbor Herons Webcam - A webcam will be mounted in a New York Harbor heron rookery and will broadcast images of nesting egrets and herons to a website and to educational kiosks located in New York City.
Institute of Ecosystem Studies - Dutchess County - $75,000 -The Changing Hudson: Web-based tools linking student & scientist investigations - Development of a web-based module focusing on the nature of change in the Hudson River ecosystem.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater - Dutchess County - $50,000 - Developing an Environmental Education Hub at Dennings Point - Development of Hudson River environmental education field programs at Dennings Point in Beacon.
Mid-Hudson Childrens Museum - Dutchess County -$26,000 - Hudson River Subject Specialist - The Museum will hire a Hudson River specialist to improve and institutionalize Hudson River educational efforts at the Museum.
Teatown Lake Reservation - Westchester County - $10,000 - Convocation of Eagles Festival - The Teatown Lake winter festival will be expanded to include field observations of bald eagles wintering along the Hudson River in northern Westchester.
Columbia Land Conservancy, Inc. - Columbia County - $16,000 - Hudson River Place-based Environmental Education Program - Provide Hudson River estuary community-driven educational programs featuring direct field experiences and interaction with estuary animals, plants, and habitats.
Beczak Environmental Education Center - Westchester County - $7,269 - Build It & They Will Come (computer exhibit/game) - Development of a self-directed computer-based environmental education activity that will be made available to the public.
Barnard College - New York - $30,000 - River Summer - The Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities will create a Hudson River inter-disciplinary and multi-institutional field course.
Black Rock Forest Consortium - Orange County - $30,000 - School in the Forest and the Estuary - Underserved New York City schoolchildren from the South Bronx and northern Manhattan will be brought to Black Rock Forest and the Hudson River at Kowawese for field programs. The field programs will explore the links between the watershed and the estuary.
Museum of the Hudson Highlands - Orange County - $20,000 - The Living Hudson Exhibit - Construction of an exhibit on the Living Hudson. The exhibit will incorporate Hudson River tributaries flora and fauna in the Highlands area. Self-directed activities and programming will be developed around the exhibit which will be part of the Hall of Animals, a popular destination for families and children.
W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center - Rensselaer County - $15,000 - Captain Samuel Schuyler Hudson River Educational Gallery - creation of the Schuyler Gallery will provide environmental education information for residents, tourists, educators and researchers at a riverfront location in Troy.
Scenic Hudson Land Trust - Dutchess and Ulster counties - $20,000 - Signature Parks Project - creation of interpretive kiosks and destination points to enhance outdoor experiences at five parks.
The River Project - New York - $50,000 - The River Project Relocation - This grant will assist in the continuity of significant environmental education and research programs on the Hudson in Manhattan while relocating during the reconstruction of Pier 26 in the Hudson River Park.
Open Space Acquisition/Planning Projects
Town of Gardiner- Ulster County - $25,000 - Development of an open space plan to identify and protect natural resource and habitat areas along the Wallkill River.
Town of Rochester - Ulster County -$18,500 - development of a Natural Resource Inventory and Open Space Index to protect natural resources in the Rondout Creek, its tributary system and the watershed aquifer system.
Village of Highland Falls - Orange County - $100,000 - acquisition of .85 acres of land that includes 500 feet of frontage on the Hudson River.
The Nature Conservancy - Columbia County - $100,000 - purchase of a conservation easement for 170 acres in Stuyvesant. The purchase will provide additional buffer for a freshwater tidal swamp contained in the Lewis A. Swyer Preserve at Mill Creek.
Upper Hudson Northern Catskill Natural Resource Trust - Greene County - $34,438 - acquisition of 40 acres of riparian wetlands along Coxsackie Creek. Acquisition of this parcel will protect a valuable area of forested wetlands along the Creek.
Town of Poughkeepsie - Dutchess County - $25,000 - planning for a habitat inventory of the remaining undeveloped and open parcels to assess environmental importance and to prioritize the preservation of open space through the development of a Master Plan and an Open Space Preservation Plan.
Town of Newburgh - Orange County - $12,500 -planning grant to study critical open space resources and to identify potential locations where Hudson River public access could be expanded or enhanced.
Town of North Salem - Westchester County - $25,000 - planning grant to assess open space lands which will be incorporated into a proposed Comprehensive Plan Update.
Ulster County Environmental Management Council/Water Quality
Management Agency - Ulster County -$10,000 - planning grant to create an inventory of environmental resources, bio-diversity, cultural, historic and water resources data to formulate a GIS database.
Westchester County - Westchester - $22,500 - planning grant to fund the development of a comprehensive GIS-based mapping inventory of vacant properties in the areas of 14 Hudson River front communities.
Community Conservation and Stewardship Projects
Town of Marbletown - Ulster County - $23,200 - conduct an assessment of lands associated with Vly Swamp and Rondout Creek to develop an inter-municipal agreement, and to develop outreach strategies for the community.
Town of Montgomery - Orange County - $20,000 - completion of an inter-municipal natural resources inventory.
Esopus Creek Conservancy - Ulster County - $12,300 - conduct a habitat mapping and assessment project in the 122-acre Esopus Bend Preserve which includes two miles of shoreline. The mapping will include assessments of storm water discharges and siltation on property flowing into the creek.
E.N. Huyck Preserve - Albany County -$4,500 - continue development of the Hill Towns Natural Area Alliance to identify critical habitat, create GIS maps, and assess current land use policies in the Towns of Rensselaer and Berne.
The Nature Conservancy - Various Counties - $45,000 - implementation of the results of planning workshops that identified critical Hudson Valley resources and strategies to conserve them.
Groundwork Yonkers, Inc. - Westchester County - $25,000 - planning grant to identify invasive species and to restore native vegetation to sites along the Saw Mill River.
New York Restoration Project - Bronx County - $10,000 - local community and businesses will work together to restore severely degraded upland habitat along the Harlem River in Roberto Clemente State Park.
River Access Projects
Village of Catskill - Greene County - $55,500 - replacement of deteriorated docks at the Villages trailer boat launch site.
Town of Ulster - Ulster County - $59,904 - construction of an ADA accessible fishing platform at Robert Post Park.
Village of Dobbs Ferry - Westchester County - $25,000 -planning and feasibility study for a car-top boat launch and fishing pier.
Town of Rhinebeck - Dutchess County - $25,000 - expansion of a floating dock system at the Town's public boat launch.
Downtown Boathouse - New York - $53,100 - provide public boating access to Governors Island for canoes and kayaks through guided tours.
Village of Briarcliff - Westchester County - $25,000 - planning for the design of a fishing platform at Scarborough Park.
City of Peekskill - Westchester - $60,000 - completion of the final phase of the Annsville Trail project.
Neighborhood Cruisers, Inc. - Rockland County -$25,000 - planning for a Stony Point Bay Community and High School rowing boathouse.
Historic Hudson Valley - Westchester -$15,000 - feasibility study to design an historic dock on the Croton River. The dock provides a destination for canoes and kayaks at the Van Cortlandt Manor and space to dock an historic scow.
Watershed Planning and Implementation Projects
Onesquethaw -Coeymans Watershed Council - Albany County - $36,000 - development of a watershed management plan for the Onesquethaw-Coeymans watershed.
Orange County Soil and Water Conservation - Orange County - $30,000 - implementation of Wallkill River watershed outreach to priority horse farms for pollution control and partnership development with conservation groups.
Open Space Institute/ Hudson Basin River Watch - Various Counties - $30,000 - initiate community watershed protection programs through the newly-formed Hudson River Watershed Alliance.
Pace University - Westchester County - $14,000 - development of a database containing laws that support watershed and bio-diversity goals at the local level. The goal is to identify model laws from local, regional and national sources that exemplify locally adopted national resource protection efforts. Pace University will post this information to their website.
Rivers and Estuaries Center - Dutchess County - $15,000 - develop low impact storm-water management techniques to be incorporated into the parking lot for Building One of the Rivers and Estuaries Center. This site will be used as a model demonstration site for green building design techniques. 1-26-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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