Conservation efforts could lead to environmental ‘connectivity’

COLUMBIA COUNTY — Two conservation plans, the Taghkanic Headwaters Conservation Plan (THCP) led by the Columbia Land Conservancy and the Green Corridors plan led by Hudson Highlands Land Trust in Putnam County, were completed on Thursday, Aug. 11, according to a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on the same day. The projects received competitive grants of $50,000 each from the DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program (HREP).

“A goal of the [Taghkanic Headwaters] Conservation Plan is to enable the communities in the Taghkanic Headwaters to realize their vision for a healthy watershed,” the DEC wrote in an email to The Millerton News.

According to the DEC, “Conservation and Land Use Specialists at the Estuary Program managed this grant project [and] provided biological data, attended committee meetings, reviewed drafts, and consulted as needed with the grantee to ensure a successful project.”

While DEC employees did work on the project, the DEC noted that they are not from the same team that approved the grant.

The DEC also made mention of the fact the project relates to HREP’s goal to facilitate conservation in large and unfragmented wetland areas.

“The Taghkanic Headwaters Conservation Plan helps the Estuary Program reach the target of 10 new planning projects that support landscape-scale conservation and habitat connections by 2030.”

It also stated the plan “was coordinated by the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC), with community volunteers from the towns of Claverack, Copake, Hillsdale and Taghkanic… [and] the plan also maps five areas of exceptional importance, selected based on a combination of features including areas prioritized for connectivity, the presence of large, intact forests, wooded wetlands, and important resources such as the Taghkanic Creek, Pumpkin Hollow Swamp and Copake Lake.”

Individuals who helped

The THCP was written by Karen Strong of Strong Outcomes consulting and Christine Vanderlan of the HREP.

Strong said her prior work at HREP drew her to this project.

“My personal mission is to help people conserve natural resources, and that’s what I’ve dedicated my career to,” said Strong in an interview, noting she has a deep personal connection to the Hudson Valley, having lived in the area for almost her entire life.

The project also relied on input from a committee of stakeholders including Chair of the Taghkanic Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Tony LaSalvia.

“I naturally had concern for this project as it directly affects our local community and the water we use in our everyday lives, as well as the wildlife that is supported by this watershed,” LaSalvia wrote in an email to The Millerton News.

He noted that it is particularly important to keep the headwaters clean because they serve as the watershed for the Town of Hudson’s drinking water.

LaSalvia and Strong both emphasized the importance of involvement from local community members with such pivotal issues.

“Our hopes are that this plan will help landowners, municipalities and the public in general have a greater appreciation for the watershed area and the water itself,”  LaSalvia wrote. “We hope these areas will be protected and the forests enlarged to allow for more connectivity and the ability to keep our waters clean.”

Strong said since the Taghkanic Headwaters have generally been overlooked in conservation efforts, the environmental plan offered an opportunity to bring local community members together and put them at the forefront of the work.

“Science doesn’t conserve nature, people do,” she said.

The DEC wrote that it hopes that the THCP can act as a model for future watershed conservation plans. LaSalvia echoed this sentiment.

“I think this is a good model to be used by other municipalities and conservancy organizations to do the same in other watershed areas,” he stated. “Water is not something that is confined by man-made boundaries, but, like air, is connected to all of us all over.”