DEC Gives Grants To Improve Water Quality Of Hudson River Estuary

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The state Department of Environmental Conservation announced Thursday grants totaling more than $1.4 million for 23 projects to help communities along the Hudson River Estuary improve water quality.

The money, which was given to several organizations and municipalities, can also be used to enhance environmental education and stewardship.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said the grants will help Hudson River Valley communities develop plans and advance work on the ground to become more resilient to the ongoing impacts of climate change while protecting ecosystems and natural resources.

“New York is undertaking the nation’s most ambitious climate law,” he said. “These grant awards build on local conservation efforts and priorities to sustainably improve water quality, protect our national resources and bolster statewide climate action.”

The grants were given to the following:

Dutchess County

• Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies — $75,000: Mid-Hudson Young Environmental Scientists (MH-YES). MH-YES will help high school students from underserved communities and groups traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) build their knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to pursue environmental science through a three-week, paid research program.
• Town of Stanford — $20,406: A Natural Resources Inventory for the town of Stanford. The Stanford Conservation Advisory Commission, with assistance from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County and Hudsonia, Inc., will provide GIS analysis, mapping and documentation of critical habitats and natural resources in the town of Stanford.

Dutchess and Putnam counties

• Pace University — $37,085: Fishkill Creek Watershed Land Use Leadership Alliance Training Program. The Land Use Law Center (LULA) at Pace University’s School of Law will implement a community-based LULA program for the Fishkill Creek watershed within Dutchess and Putnam counties, to foster the development of targeted policy, planning and regulatory tools for natural resource and open space protection, watershed planning and shoreline resiliency.

Orange County

• City of Newburgh — $50,000: Natural Resources Inventory. This project will produce a natural resources inventory for the city of Newburgh that will identify and document areas to protect, including water resources, habitats, view sheds, wildlife and natural areas important for climate resilience.

Putnam County

• Walter Hoving Home, Inc. — $100,000: Philips Brook Dam Removal and Restoration Project. This grant will fund design, engineering, permits, and construction documents necessary for the removal of a dam on Phillips Brook in the town of Garrison, which will restore stream habitat and improve flood resilience.

Rockland County

• The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York — $74,969: Hudson River Education: Building A Pathway. The Building A Pathway project will enhance the Next Generation of Hudson River Educators paid internship program by offering the opportunity for student teams to develop field-research projects along a range of Hudson River science topics at the Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Field Station in Piermont.

Ulster County

• Arm of the Sea Productions Inc. — $54,467: Estuary Education in Saugerties-on-Hudson. Arm-of-the-Sea is partnering with Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy to offer environmental education and workshops about the Hudson River estuary using a newly built watershed model.

Westchester County

• Groundwork Hudson Valley — $49,900: Flood Vulnerability Modeling and Climate Resilience in the Saw Mill River Watershed. Groundwork Hudson Valley and the Saw Mill River Coalition will engage watershed stakeholders in a two-year process to plan for future flood risks. The Urban Systems Lab at the New School will provide an overview of flooding issues in the watershed and characterize the highest risk sites based on climate predictions, to inform future flood resilience plans.
• Groundwork Hudson Valley — $74,500: Furthering the STEM Career Pathway: A Research Fellowship for Yonkers Students at the Science Barge. This project will expand and formalize youth research initiatives at the Science Barge, a floating hydroponic farm and environmental education center in Yonkers, providing high school students with a flexible, paid fellowship research experience over a two-year period.
• Village of Ossining — $50,000: Ossining Riverfront Resilience Plan. This project will create a resilience vision and strategies for environmental sustainability for the Ossining waterfront north of Louis Engel and Gourdine parks, which is projected to be impacted by sea level rise, inundation, and increased flooding over the next three decades.
• Sarah Lawrence College — $70,000: Rising Training Innovative and Diverse Environmental Scientists (TIDES) — EELS Team (Evaluating Estuary Lateral Species). This project supports Rising TIDES, an immersive Hudson River ecology education and research program that will offer 20 Yonkers high school students paid, after-school education and research opportunities during the academic year.

Westchester and Orange counties

• Riverkeeper Inc. — $68,042: Dam Removal Feasibility on Furnace Brook and Quassaick Creek. Riverkeeper will explore the feasibility of removing three priority dams on Furnace Brook in Westchester County and Quassaick Creek in Orange County to restore natural flow regimes, improve ecological connectivity, and benefit river herring and American eel.

Westchester and Putnam counties

• Riverkeeper Inc. — $50,000: Water Quality Monitoring in Peekskill Hollow Creek. Riverkeeper will work with the city of Peekskill to monitor and assess water quality in Peekskill Hollow Creek, a critical, regionally significant drinking water supply for more than 100,000 people, identified in the city’s draft Drinking Water Source Protection Plan.

The grants are administered by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program, which is provided by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund.