hudson river estuary program 2016 coordinator's annual …2016 coordinator’s annual report...

HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY PROGRAM 2016 COORDINATOR’S ANNUAL REPORT

Presented to the Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee March 8, 2017

In accordance with the provisions of the Hudson River Estuary Management Act, NYS Environmental Conservation Law 11-0306

A Program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation In cooperation with several state and federal agencies, as well as private partners

Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor Basil Seggos, Commissioner

About the Hudson River Estuary Program Created by state law in 1987, the Hudson River Estuary Program develops knowledgeable and effective stewards of the estuary and its ecosystem using an understanding of ecology as a foundation for all of its work. The program encompasses the Hudson River from the Verrazano Narrows in New York City to the head of tide at Troy and includes the surrounding valley and watershed. The Estuary Program is guided by an Action Agenda—a shared vision for the future of the Hudson and its watershed, as well as opportunities for action as defined by diverse groups of people who live and work along the river and in its watershed. The outcomes included in the Action Agenda are measurable and achievable and build on a strong record of progress in each of our core areas of expertise.

The Environmental Conservation Law (11-0306) which created our program also created the position of Hudson River Estuary Coordinator and the Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee. It directed the Coordinator to present an annual report to the Committee detailing the progress in implementing the Action Agenda.

Additional information is available from: Frances F. Dunwell Hudson River Estuary Coordinator NYSDEC – Hudson River Estuary Program 21 South Putt Corners Road New Paltz, NY 12561

phone: 845-256-3016 fax: 845-255-3649 email: [email protected] http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html

Front cover: Nora Banaja looks pleased after catching a yellow perch during an I Fish NY Family Fishing Day at Norrie Point in Staatsburg. Photo: Chris Bowser

HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY PROGRAM | 2017 COORDINATOR’S ANNUAL REPORT i

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html

Table of Contents About this Report ...................................................................................................................... 1

How’s the Estuary Ecosystem Doing? .................................................................................... 1

Delivering on Statewide Priorities ........................................................................................... 4

Collaborating with Other Agencies .......................................................................................... 6

Partnerships Lead to Progress on Action Agenda Priorities ................................................. 7

Clean Water ............................................................................................................................ 7

Resilient Communities ............................................................................................................. 8

Vital Estuary Ecosystem ........................................................................................................ 11

Estuary Fish, Wildlife and Habitats ........................................................................................ 13

Natural Scenery ..................................................................................................................... 14

Education, River Access, Recreation and Inspiration ............................................................. 15

2016 Summary by the Numbers ............................................................................................. 16

Estuary Grants and Funds Leveraged ................................................................................... 16

Action Agenda Benefits ......................................................................................................... 17

• Clean Water ....................................................................................................................... 17

• Resilient Communities ....................................................................................................... 17

• Vital Estuary Ecosystem..................................................................................................... 18

• Estuary Fish, Wildlife, and Habitats .................................................................................... 18

• Natural Scenery ................................................................................................................. 18

• Education, River Access, Recreation and Inspiration ......................................................... 18

Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee Members and Ex-officios ........ 20

HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY PROGRAM | 2017 COORDINATOR’S ANNUAL REPORT ii

About this Report The Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2015 – 2020 focuses on six key benefits a healthy estuary provides:

• Clean water

• Resilient communities

• Vital estuary ecosystem

• Fish, wildlife, and habitats

• Natural scenery

• Education, river access, recreation, and inspiration

It specifies the challenges we face and identifies practical solutions that can be carried out by 2020 through the collaboration of federal and state agencies, municipalities, organizations, other stakeholders, and citizens working together. The outcomes included in the Action Agenda are measurable and achievable and build on a strong record of progress in each of our core areas of expertise. This 2016 Coordinator’s Report highlights the second year of implementation of the Action Agenda.

How’s the Estuary Ecosystem Doing? In 2016, There were positive advancements in the estuary’s health, yet more work is needed to keep the estuary on the road to recovery. Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon continue to show encouraging signs of recovery. More than 360 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon were captured in the annual abundance survey, which is just above the average for the 11 years of the project. Preliminary data from the 2016 striped bass survey show juvenile production this year to be well below the historical long-term average, possibly due to extremely dry conditions. The river was less turbid than normal; the clear water may have affected our ability to catch fish during the young-of-the year sampling programs. However, the long-term trend for juvenile striped bass has been stable since the mid-1990s.

The recovery of American shad in the Hudson River continues to be a slow process. Although the 2014 and 2015 young-of-year index values were among the highest we’ve seen in 15 years, in 2016, the value was below-average for the years since the stock collapsed.

Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon are weighed, measured, and tagged during the annual abundance survey. NMFS ESA Permit 16436-01.

Photo: Steve Stanne

HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY PROGRAM | 2017 COORDINATOR’S ANNUAL REPORT 1

Hundreds of alewives (a species of herring) returned to their historic spawning habitat on the Wynants Kill in Troy after a dam was removed near the mouth of the stream. American eel, white sucker, yellow perch, and other resident fish also benefited by the restoration of stream flow. The barrier removal project was funded by an Estuary Program grant for tributary restoration and resiliency.

In New York Harbor, several humpback whales were documented swimming in the Hudson this summer. DEC scientists and researchers from the Hudson River Foundation believe that the whales may have been chasing menhaden, their primary food source. The increase in numbers of prey fish in the harbor may be a sign of the improved health of the Hudson. Climate change and rising water temperatures also may be factors.

There has been a slow, steady recovery of native submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) to nearly 40% of the coverage documented in 2007. SAV almost disappeared following tropical storms Irene and Lee in 2011. However, the invasive spiny naiad (Najas minor), has spread into areas formerly occupied by SAV such as water celery (Vallisneria americana).

A non-native and highly invasive strain of Phragmites also has spread to varying degrees in Hudson River tidal marshes, ranging from small, new infestations to hyper-dominant stands. Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, remained contained in the Croton River, but is still a threat. Native white catfish may be declining in response to increasing numbers of channel catfish.

Photo: Eric Capuana


The year 2016 was the warmest on record for the planet. New York was no exception; the state recorded its warmest temperatures to date for the period of August through November. In addition to unseasonably warm temperatures, below-normal snow and rainfall led to extremely dry conditions throughout the Hudson estuary watershed. A severe to extreme drought declaration was in place for most of New York State.

With low freshwater flow from tributaries and the upper Hudson to the lower Hudson River, the salt front moved north to reach the City of Poughkeepsie, the furthest upriver it has reached in at least nine years. Species compositions reflected the increase in salinity. Coupled with normal catches of what are considered freshwater species, such as spottail shiners and tessellated darters, were some brackish/marine species, including Atlantic menhaden, Atlantic needlefish, bay anchovies, bluefish, and striped mullet.

Stream flow was very low, with the Wallkill River gage, for example, flowing at 41 cubic feet-per-second (CFS) on October 15, 2016, a historic low for that date in 91 years of recordkeeping.

High temperatures and lack of rain also likely contributed to an increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs); 38 streams, ponds, and lakes in the Hudson watershed (including Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rensselaer, Rockland, Ulster, and Westchester counties) had documented HABs.

DEC remains focused on improving the health of this vital estuary.

Atlantic needlefish were among the marine species caught near Poughkeepsie this summer. Photo: Steve Stanne

Wallkill River Photo: Scott Cuppett


Delivering on Statewide Priorities

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has made a historic commitment to protecting and preserving New York’s natural resources. He directed investments to help communities protect source water, improve infrastructure for storm and flood risk, and restore protective natural features. Many of our programs have helped meet these goals through regional action.

Our outreach programming is fostering local action on climate resilience. In partnership with Cornell Univerisity and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, Estuary Program staff provided science-based training to more than 479 municipal officials, members of watershed groups, and conservation partners on topics related to climate change, sea-level rise, water resources, habitat conservation, land use, and watershed planning.

One result is that Hudson Valley communities are now leaders in the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program. Although the region represents only 17% of the municipalities in the state, it makes up 41% of all Climate Smart Communities, including 89% of all certified CSCs.

View of Poughkeepsie Photo: Steve Stanne

Municipal officials from Blooming Grove and Cornwall in Orange County work together on a joint Natural Resources Inventory (NRI).

Photo: Laura Heady


In 2016, DEC awarded $3.8 million in Hudson River Estuary grants to help local partners achieve the goals of the Action Agenda to protect water quality and natural resources, and to support the Governor’s outdoor recreation and tourism initiatives. Grants were awarded to municipalities and nonprofits for access projects along the entire stretch of the estuary. Projects included improvements to docks and piers, expanded kayak and rowing programs in New York City and Yonkers, and new accessible kayak launches on Haverstraw Bay and on the Rondout in Kingston. DEC’s Hudson River Fisheries Unit continued to monitor and manage migratory species in the estuary, such as striped bass, to ensure that these fisheries will thrive, supporting the Governor’s NY Open for Fishing and Hunting initiative. Anglers reported a successful striper fishing season in 2016.

In an ongoing effort to nurture Hudson River stewards for the future, Estuary Program education staff worked to foster appreciation of nature and the outdoors among young people and the public. Place-based programs in Hudson Valley schools and field programs, such as Day in the Life of the Hudson River Estuary, the Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count, and the Glass Eel Migration Project brought more than 17,000 people to the river.

Finally in 2016, DEC, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and land trusts continued to conserve important lands along the Hudson River estuary, protecting more than 8,700 acres of open space. These lands include the addition of a 3,775-acre conservation easement contiguous to the iconic Storm King Mountain, the northern gateway to the Hudson Highlands, to provide access and enjoyment to the public for decades to come.

Photo: Chris Bowser

View of the Hudson River from Storm King Mountain. Photo: Steve Stanne


Collaborating with Other Agencies A key element of the program is working with other state and federal agencies to carry out the important work of conservation and restoration of the Hudson River Estuary. Highlights for 2016 include:

• The program is working with the NYS Department of State (DOS), Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to develop model local laws that reduce risk from sea-level rise, storm surge, and flooding for inclusion in the Community Risk and Resiliency Act (CRRA).

• The Hudson River Valley Greenway and the Estuary Program collaborated to help five local land trusts identify, map, and share information about their scenic resources in the Hudson River Estuary watershed. More than 200 new places were identified for scenic value by community residents.

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), DEC, and NYS DOS re-activated the Hudson River Habitat Restoration Feasibility Study with support from the Nature Conservancy and other partners. The study has the potential to enable New York State to leverage matching federal funds for planning and construction of restoration projects. Historic Hudson River Towns, Inc. and the Hudson River Watershed Alliance met with planning officials in 10 counties to gather input on a Comprehensive Restoration Plan for the Hudson.

• The NYS Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is working with DEC to implement side channel, oyster habitat, and tidal wetland restoration projects as compensatory mitigation for dredging-related impacts from the construction of the New NY Bridge at the Tappan Zee.

• The NYS Department of Health (DOH) changed the advice on consuming walleye from the lower Hudson from once a month to “do not eat.” DOH is moving toward a more mobile-friendly fish consumption advice website.

• The NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) and Cornell University worked with the Estuary Program to present a green infrastructure workshop to identify research and management needs for nature-based systems.

• DEC is collaborating with OPRHP and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission on a management and restoration plan for Piermont Marsh to help protect the Village of Piermont, restore native marsh communities, and foster community and natural resilience.

Constitution Marsh Audubon Sanctuary

Photo: Laura Heady


• DEC collaborated with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on research and management projects on endangered Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in the Hudson River. DEC’s Hudson River Fisheries Unit (HRFU) also participated in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission technical and stock assessment committees, and with expert working groups on key Hudson River species.

• New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) and DOS partnered with the Estuary Program to develop a protocol for evaluating the ecological and hazard mitigation value of natural and nature-based solutions to mitigate erosion and wave action on Hudson River shorelines.

Partnerships Lead to Progress on Action Agenda Priorities The year 2016 was notable not only for our accomplishments in advancing the region’s ability to prepare for and be resilient to extreme weather on the estuary and in the watershed, but also for advancing the other goals of the Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda through many partnerships. Below are a few highlights of this work.

Clean Water • Swimmable Water Quality: DEC grants

are supporting green infrastructure planning and reduced sewage overflows in the Albany Pool, New York City, and New Paltz. Long Term Control Plans (LTCP) have been approved by DEC’s Division of Water and are being implemented at eight facilities with combined sewer overflows: Albany North, Albany South, Troy, Hudson, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Yonkers. According to Riverkeeper’s enterococcus monitoring, water quality in the estuary was better than in previous years, which may be due to the lack of precipitation and storm-related overflows.

An Atlantic sturgeon is brought onto a DEC boat to be weighed, measured, and tagged before being released back into the Hudson during the annual adult sampling program. NMFS Permit 16436-01.

Photo: Chris Bowser

Kids jumping in river revised caption: Cooling off in Upper New York Harbor near Red Hook (Brooklyn) on a hot summer day.

Photo: Paul Bastin, courtesy of Riverkeeper


Watershed Management

• Watershed Plans: The Estuary Program, in partnership with the Hudson River Watershed Alliance, provided technical assistance on watershed planning and assessments to help watershed groups identify specific next steps and actions to protect and restore tributaries and improve water quality. The program is also supporting new watershed plans for the Kleine Kill, Coxing Kill, Poesten Kill, and Monhagen Brook through Estuary Program grant funding, and initiated a new watershed partnership for the Roeliff Jansen Kill.

• Watershed Budget: We provided a grant to develop a water budget for the Quassaick Creek watershed to provide baseline information that will enable water users and communities to understand the availability of water for public use and to sustain ecosystem needs. A water budget is the accounting of water flowing in (precipitation) and out (evaporation or withdrawals) of a watershed.

• Source Water Protection: The Estuary Program is partnering with the City of Newburgh, Town of Newburgh, Town of New Windsor, DOH and New York Rural Water Association to develop a source water assessment and protection plan for the City of Newburgh’s drinking water supplies. This inter-municipal effort will be the basis for a source water protection program emphasizing watershed conservation strategies that can be modeled by other Hudson Valley communities.

Resilient Communities Natural Resources Planning

• Conservation Advisory Council: The Town of Coeymans established and appointed a Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), which is an important step in building capacity for natural resource-based planning. The CAC plans to develop a natural resources inventory for the town.

• Natural Resources Inventory: The Estuary Program provided funding and technical support to the Town of Rochester, allowing the town to complete and adopt its natural resource inventory in January 2016. The town is now working on an open space plan in collaboration with the neighboring Town of Wawarsing.

• Connected Natural Areas: The Community Preservation Plan for the Town of Red Hook and the Villages of Red Hook and Tivoli incorporates data on connectivity, important animal habitat, and large forest patches. It resulted from our pilot project, Planning for Resilient, Connected Natural Areas in Red Hook and Tivoli. These natural resources now will be used as criteria for funding local open space protection.

Local decision makers learn how to assess habitat in the field during a three-day workshop in Ulster County.

Photo: Laura Heady


• River Shoreline Flood Resiliency Plans: The Estuary Program funded a learning group of Waterfront Flooding Task Forces in four communities (Catskill, Kingston, Piermont and Stony Point) to collaborate on new initiatives to address flooding on their waterfronts. Supported by Scenic Hudson and the Consensus Building Institute, they are working together to implement their final recommendations. A new partnership with Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory will help these municipalities map their water infrastructure.

• Climate-Adaptive Design: The Climate-Adaptive Design (CAD) program provided three flood-risk Hudson riverfront communities (Catskill, Hudson and Kingston) with design concepts that envision climate resilient and connected waterfront areas. Cornell University landscape architect students work with community stakeholders to address specific access and flooding issues, providing ideas that may be used to apply for grants from the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.

• Community Risk and Resiliency Act: The program is leading a workgroup of agency staff to develop state agency and local guidance on the use of natural resilience measures to implement the Community Risk and Resiliency Act. It will outline key principles and recommendations to consider the risk of flooding and erosion, and promote the conservation, restoration and use of natural and nature-based features in the permitting and funding of projects. HREP is also assisting in developing model local laws to protect and conserve floodplains, wetlands, and habitats and to reduce risk from sea-level rise, storm surge, and flooding.

• Trees for Tribs: The Trees for Tribs program provided 2,900 plants and mobilized more than 400 volunteers to plant along more than a mile of tributary streams. Since 2007, Trees for Tribs has planted more than 40,000 plants along 100 streamside acres. With coordination and funding from DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests, the program is working with the Natural Heritage program to create a characterization model that will help prioritize riparian areas for protection and restoration in all of New York.

A Cornell University student explains her design for Hudson’s waterfront.

Photo: Libby Zemaitis


Real-time Monitoring of Water Quality

• New Current Meter: The Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) established a current meter at the Port of Albany in partnership with the New York Water Science Center of the United States Geological Survey to improve safety and efficiency for commercial navigation in the estuary.

• Monitoring Stations Added: In partnership with the Hudson River Park Trust, HRECOS established a new monitoring station at Pier 26 in New York City. This station will be integrated into exhibits at the upcoming Pier 26 Estuarium, a scientific research and education center dedicated to the Hudson River estuary. We also established a HRECOS monitoring station at West Point on the Hudson River—filling in a crucial gap between the Poughkeepsie and Piermont monitoring stations for tracking movement of the salt front. The system now has 14 operational sites within the watershed from the Mohawk River to New York City.

Right-sizing of Culverts and Removal of Dams

• Shapp Pond Dam Removed: A section of the East Branch Wappinger Creek was restored to its natural, free-flowing condition after the removal of this dam. Migratory species, such as American eel, and resident species, such as brown trout, benefited from this project. The dam removal also improves water quality and reduces local flood risk.

• Culvert Assessment: We assessed the flow capacity and aquatic passibility of 2,300 stream road crossings in 20 watersheds. We also provided Estuary Program grants to replace two culverts with bridges in the Towns of Ancram and Esopus which will restore historic habitat for fish, including American eel.

The HRECOS current meter recently installed in the Port of Albany helps pilots move large vessels in and out of the port.

Photo: Steve Stanne

East Branch Wappinger's Creek after the removal of Shapp Pond Dam.

Photo: Andrew Meyer


Vital Estuary Ecosystem Sustainable Shorelines

• Webinars: Designers from academia and the private sector presented nature-based shoreline projects and shared expertise in the webinar series “Sustainable Shorelines Designs: from Long Island to Lake Erie.” More than 300 natural resource managers, engineers, and landscape designers from all over the nation participated in the webinars, which promoted adoption of these methods by showing that nature-based shoreline projects are feasible and successful. Sustainable shorelines maintain or improve habitat while stabilizing the shoreline and enhancing public use and access to the river.

• Judges’ Choice Winner: The Sustainable Shorelines Project was selected from 500 proposals as the Judges’ Choice Winner in the 2016 Adaptation Contest for the Climate CoLab, which collects the practices of thousands of people from all around the world to address global climate change.

• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV): Two projects funded by the Hudson River Foundation provided scientific data that will help manage and restore habitat for submerged aquatic vegetation:

– One, by scientists at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, showed that the habitat for SAV was not impaired by tropical storms Irene and Lee. Instead, the post-storm loss of this plant community was likely due to the burial of overwintering plant parts with sediment.

– A second project, by researchers at the University of Maryland, assessed the genetic diversity of Hudson River SAV and found that there are at least four different populations of SAV in the estuary, including an apparently more salinity-tolerant group in the lower estuary. These findings have implications for SAV protection and the development of a response plan in anticipation of future storm events.

• Phragmites: DEC continued long-term monitoring and maintained low-level control of the invasive plant Phragmites at the Tivoli Bays. Other land conservation organizations have similar programs underway at Ramshorn Marsh, Constitution Marsh, and Iona Island.

Coir rolls, biodegradable tubes of densely packed nets made from coconut husks, are placed at the edge of the shoreline at Foundry Dock in Cold Spring. The tubes offer an excellent medium for plant growth and provide shoreline stability by resisting wave action.

Photo: Courtesy Scenic Hudson


• Habitat Use: We produced a sturgeon foraging report linking Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon diets with prey distribution and environmental variables to identify benthic (river bottom) foraging habitat in the Hudson River. In late summer 2016, the National Marine Fisheries Service requested comments on the designation of critical habitat for Atlantic sturgeon throughout its range. DEC submitted comments to NMFS requesting inclusions of coastal habitats and a bottom feature near historic spawning areas in the Hudson River used by adult Atlantic sturgeon in spawning condition.

• Habitat Restoration: DEC is working with the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) to evaluate the feasibility of restoring side channel habitat at Gay’s Point in Stockport, collecting and analyzing baseline data on water quality, sediments, benthic macro-invertebrates, fish, and intertidal vegetation. DEC and NYSTA also selected a preferred side channel configuration and developed project plans.

Bird’s eye view of Gay’s Point where engineering plans are underway for a side channel restoration that will improve habitat and water quality.


Estuary Fish, Wildlife and Habitats • Striped Bass: DEC’s Hudson River

Fisheries Unit completed this year’s annual striped bass spawning stock survey, catching an above-average number of adult striped bass. While young-of-year (juvenile) production was below the historical average in 2016, the long-term trend for young-of-year production continues to be stable.

• Atlantic Sturgeon: We are contributing to the current Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) stock assessment for Atlantic sturgeon, which is the first step toward the development of a recovery target and determining the recovery status of this species. Our survey provides the best information available for monitoring the recovery of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon; New York’s survey is the only directed sampling program on the coast. Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon continue to show an upward trend in numbers.

• River Herring: DEC’s Hudson River Fisheries Unit developed the Hudson River Sustainable Fishery Management Plan and submitted it to the ASMFC Technical Committee for approval. The management plan outlines continuing the current sampling and the commercial and recreational fishery for river herring in the Hudson River. We continued the use of the Black Creek fish counter and camera to complement our annual spawning stock monitoring methods as we work on a five-year project to establish an index of abundance.

• American Shad: DEC played a key role in ensuring that the updated Sustainable Fishing Plan for American shad in the Delaware Basin included a benchmark that limits the expansion of fisheries there. Delaware Bay fishers are currently allowed to harvest American shad in several fisheries, and genetic studies have shown that up to 40% of the fish that are harvested are on their way to the Hudson to spawn. American shad continue to be harvested as bycatch in a wide range of ocean fisheries.

• Blue Crab: DEC’s Marine Resources Bureau staff are identifying ways to incorporate Hudson River blue crab management into the current development of a statewide blue crab management plan.

DEC biologists set up tables in the Hudson to collect lengths, weights, and scale samples for aging, before tagging the striped bass and returning them to the river. The crew use a 500-foot haul seine to net the fish during the annual striped bass spawning stock survey.

Photo: Steve Stanne


Natural Scenery

• Land Conservation: Land trusts continued to help the state protect important areas for access and enjoyment by the public. In 2016, 8,727 acres of open space lands within the estuary watershed were conserved by the state and conservation partners, including 4,117 acres on or along the shores of the estuary. OPRHP added more than 400 acres to Goosepond Mountain State Park in Orange County, building an important southern connection to the conserved areas in the Hudson Highlands. OPRHP also added more than 3,775 acres to protected land around Storm King Mountain through a conservation easement, almost tripling the area around this iconic mountain in the Hudson Highlands.

• Connected Open Space: In 2016, Scenic Hudson purchased 500 acres of land along the Hudson River estuary in Stockport, protecting scenic vistas and wildlife habitat. The property, a former brickyard, adjoins state land at Gays Point, adding to the connected open space that is protected in that area. The property will be open for hunting, fishing, and hiking. The state is pursuing purchase of these lands from Scenic Hudson.

• Cross-River Scenic Resources: Esopus and Hyde Park citizens worked with Cornell University to identify scenic resources and take into account the visual impacts of each town’s development on their neighbors across the Hudson. This pilot project can be modeled by other shoreline communities.

• Art Trail Scenic Vistas: The Thomas Cole National Historic Site received a grant from the NYS Water Resources Institute (WRI) at Cornell University to add three new scenic vistas to the Hudson River School Art Trail sites. The partners will work with WRI to write the art trail plaque and online information to highlight watershed benefits and the history of land conservation.

The view across the intertidal marsh of Tivoli North Bay offers a panorama of the Catskills. Photo: Chris Bowser


Education, River Access, Recreation and Inspiration • River Education Programs: In 2016, Estuary Program and Hudson River National Estuarine

Reserve education programs served more than 17,400 people, including 12,900 students. Many of these offerings were field-based programs that brought school classes, families, and individual Hudson Valley residents to the river, taking advantage of access sites and building connections between people and their riverfronts. Staff reached 6,000 students in classrooms throughout the valley, at grade levels ranging from kindergarten to college, covering a range of topics from adaptation to life in estuaries to zebra mussel impacts.

• Day in the Life of the Hudson River Estuary: Staff recruit, organize, train, and support scores of partners from not-profit environmental groups, colleges and research institutes, and other agencies to lead this program. The 14th annual Day in the Life brought nearly 5,300 participants to 80 sites from Staten Island and Jamaica Bay to the mouth of the Mohawk River to measure tides and currents, analyze water quality, and catch and identify fish. More than 4,000 online Hudson River lessons were used in classrooms during the weeks before and after the event. Day in the Life has been modeled and adopted by educators for rivers and estuaries on eastern Long Island and the Buffalo River on the Niagara Frontier.

Students from PS 5 identify the striped bass caught during Day in the Life of the Hudson River Estuary at Swindler Cove in Manhattan.

Photo: Chris Bowser


• Marina Access: The DEC dredge team and the Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Association, continue to work on the Hudson River Dredge Bundling Project. This project seeks to combine, or bundle, several small marina dredging projects to share costs, achieve economies of scale, and facilitate efficient regulatory reviews.

• Glass Eel Migration Study: The 500-plus volunteers in the study caught, counted, and released more than 142,000 glass eels – the highest yearly number to date. Citizen scientists have counted over 400,000 eels since this research began in 2008. Conservation groups in Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine are interested in modeling this project.

• Recreation for all Abilities: Cornell Sea Grant and the Northeast Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center began developing a handbook on designing accessible canoe/kayak sites for estuarine and urban settings. These recreational sites and hand launches currently do not have ADA standards to guide their design or construction. The handbook will be available in 2017 as a downloadable, printable file.

2016 Summary by the Numbers Estuary Grants and Funds Leveraged • More than $15 million in funds were leveraged by the Estuary Program to assist partner

projects.

• 61 Estuary grants were made in 2016, totaling $3,869,131, including projects that will help implement Action Agenda targets for tributary and stream restoration, improved stewardship of resources and access and education.

• 4 Estuary grants were completed in 2016, totaling $117,000, including projects that help implement Action Agenda targets for biodiversity, watersheds, access, and education.

• 3 New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission RFPs were awarded in 2016: Owner Outreach for Priority Hudson Estuary Biologically Important Barriers; Design of a Sustainable Shorelines Demonstration Project at Nutten Hook; and Natural Resource Inventory and Conservation Assessment of the Binnen Kill tidal wetlands complex.

A ‘strong arm’ adaptive fishing device provides extra support for this angler during a day of fishing on the Hudson in New York City.


Action Agenda Benefits Clean Water

• In 2016, trained volunteers contributed 414 hours of monitoring at 123 Hudson River watershed sites as part of Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators, a statewide citizen-science, water-quality monitoring project.

• Staff and partners assessed more than 2,330 culverts for their capacity to pass flood flows in ten watersheds. Up to 30 dams and 425 culverts were identified and prioritized as significant barriers to aquatic connectivity through staff and partner-assisted projects. All of the stream/road crossings have been entered into the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Consortium’s regional database and are now scored for their passability. 25% of the Hudson River Estuary watershed area has now been assessed for culvert passability and capacity.

• 6 municipalities are using the culvert data to help prioritize replacements and upgrades of their road-stream crossing infrastructure: towns of Ancram, Stony Point, Taghkanic, Gallatin, and Red Hook, as well as Ulster County.

• 3 barrier removal projects have begun at the following sites: Klein Kill in Esopus, town of Ancram culverts, and the village of New Paltz culverts.

Resilient Communities

• 18 Hudson Valley communities signed the Climate Smart Pledge in 2016, bringing the total to 81.

• 8 municipalities have become certified Climate Smart Communities.

• 42 adaptation actions are complete.

• More than 350 people were introduced to natural resource-based planning issues. More than 200 local officials and other decision-makers were trained on environmental review, field assessment, and the use of maps and conservation principles in land-use planning. In-depth assistance or funding was provided to 27 municipalities for natural resource and open space inventory projects. New practices, plans, or policies that will conserve priority lands and waters were adopted by 5 municipalities.

• Estuary Program staff and partners trained more than 514 municipal officials, members of watershed groups, agency staff, and conservation partners on topics related to climate change, sea-level rise, water resources, habitat conservation, and land-use and watershed planning. In addition, 75 presentations given by Estuary Program staff and partners reached 2,348 people.

• More than 40 municipalities received in-depth technical assistance to build capacity for science-based land use, resiliency, and watershed planning.

Girl Scouts help with a Trees for Tribs planting on Monhagen Brook.

Photo: Beth Roessler


• More than 8,300 visits were made to the HRECOS homepage. The system now has 14 operational sites within the watershed from the Mohawk River to New York City.

• Upwards of 275 HRECOS volunteer hours were donated in 2016, including attendance at meetings and trainings, and maintanance of HRECOS stations throughout the year.

• 400 volunteers donated 1,150 hours to the Hudson Estuary Trees for Tribs program, planting 2,950 trees and shrubs at 30 sites and restoring 5 acres along 1.2 miles of stream.

Vital Estuary Ecosystem

• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) monitoring volunteers documented a recovery in SAV cover with 248 observations at 17 sites. Throughout the estuary, the percentage of places where SAV was positively identified was 34% in 2016.

Estuary Fish, Wildlife, and Habitats

• More than 360 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon were captured in the annual juvenile abundance survey. This number is lower than 2014 and 2015 but still just above the average for the 11 years of the project.

• Participation in the volunteer Cooperative Angler Program was above-average; more than 180 people signed up in 2016.

Natural Scenery

• Working toward the Action Agenda conservation goals, New York State and its partners conserved 8,727 acres of open space lands within the estuary watershed. Of these, 4,117 acres are on or along the shores of the estuary.

Education, River Access, Recreation and Inspiration

• More than 47,000 downloads of Hudson River lesson plans from the Estuary Program’s website were recorded in 2016.

Water celery at Tivoli Bays. Photo: Steve Stanne

A naturalist pours water from the Hudson into a turbidity tube to measure the clarity of the water during Day in the Life of the Hudson River Estuary event at Corning Preserve in Albany.

Photo: Jim Clayton


• Upwards of 17,484 people (including 12,901 students) attended educational programs of the Estuary Program and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve to learn about the ecosystem. Three major river-related partnership events reached more than 116,500 people, including 210 educators through Teaching the Hudson Valley (July); 5,297 people at 80 sites through Day in the Life of the River (October); and 111,000 participants in 226 Hudson River Ramble events hosted by 150 partner organizations. These events included 45 estuary-themed attractions.

• More than 2,700 volunteers contributed over 4,408 volunteer hours while participating in citizen science and stewardship programs at more than 210 sites. These programs included monitoring for migrating eels and amphibians, submerged aquatic vegetation, and water quality. More than 22 Trees for Tribs sites were monitored by volunteer professionals.

• Upwards of 142,770 young-of-the-year glass eels were caught and released by 550 volunteer citizens and students from more than 47 organizations following ASMFC protocols. Approximately 1,680 people learned about eels in the classroom and other group presentations.

• Nearly 23,000 Hudson River Almanac subscribers received the email almanac in 2016.

• 32 RiverNet issues released in 2016 reached 24,606 subscribers, a nearly three-fold increase in subscriptions from 2015.


Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee Members and Ex-officios

HREMAC Members

• Dennis Suszkowski, Committee Chairman Hudson River Foundation

• Allan Beers Rockland County Dept. of Environmental Resources

• Frank Bergman Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Assoc.

• Andy Bicking Scenic Hudson

• Janet Burnet Ramapo River Watershed Council

• David Church Commissioner of Planning Orange County

• Nicola Coddington Irvington Green Policy Task Force

• Dave Conover Hudson River Sloop Clearwater

• Chris DeRoberts Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp.

• Bill Emslie Coastal Conservation Association

• Todd Erling Hudson Valley Agri-Business Development Corp.

• Jerry Faiella Historic Hudson River Towns

• Stuart Findlay Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

• Paul Gallay Riverkeeper, Inc.

• Charles Gruetzner Hudson Valley Marine Trades Assoc.

• Lucille Johnson Vassar College and Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities

• Tom Lake Commercial Fisherman/Educator

• Roland Lewis Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance

• Eric Lind Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary

• Suzette Lopane Westchester County Dept. of Planning

• Bernard Molloy Hudson River Watertrail Association

• John Mylod Commercial Fisherman

• Steve Noble Mayor, City of Kingston

• George Schuler The Nature Conservancy

• Shino Tanikawa NYC Soil and Water Conservation District

• Rene VanSchaack Greene County IDA

• Russell Yess Trout Unlimited


HREMAC Ex-officios

• Tom Baudanza NYC Department of Environmental Protection

• Peter Brandt US Environmental Protection Agency

• Diana Carter NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

• Mark Castiglione Hudson River Valley Greenway

• Noreen Doyle Hudson River Park Trust

• Jamie Ethier NYS Department of State

• Nordica Holochuck NY Sea Grant

• Regina Keenan NYS Department of Health

• Rob Pirani NY-NJ Harbor and Estuary Program

• Peter Weppler U.S. Army Corps of Engineers


Hudson River Estuary Program New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

21 South Putt Corners Road New Paltz, NY 12561

845-256-3016 [email protected]

www.dec.ny.gov

mailto:[email protected]

hudson river estuary program 2016 coordinator's annual …2016 coordinator’s annual report...

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