Easy to protect, hard to restore
Environmental groups announce plan to safeguard Catskill Creek watershed
The Daily Mail
Apr. 4, 2009

CAIRO — Representatives of two environmental education groups have told the Cairo Town Board about a joint initiative to protect the 415-square-mile Catskill Creek watershed.

The watershed includes parts of Schoharie, Albany, Greene and Ulster counties.

Fran Martino of Hudson Basin River Watch, Inc., explained that the upper sections of the Catskill Creek, and the Shinglekill, in Cairo, are pollution-free, which is why the groups hope to watch the streams now, rather than wait for pollution to come,

“It is much easier to protect a stream than it is to try to restore it,” she said.

The creek’s headwaters are in Schoharie County and it flows through Albany County before winding its way through Greene County to empty into the Hudson River at the Catskill Point.

Liz LoGiudice of Cornell Cooperative Extension explained that the lower portion of the creek is tidal, LoGiudice said, and is a spawning ground for ocean fish including American shad and other herring as well as for American eels. Local species, such as white perch, spawn in the creek as well, she said.

The creek also plays an important role in the tourism, marina and bait industries, Martino said. Farmers use water from the creek and its tributaries for irrigation.

LoGiudice said that the first step toward organizing, the team is trying to promote watershed awareness. Next, the partnership will create a concerned citizen’s group to monitor tributaries in the watershed.

The group will gather other information about the streams’ life and previous studies conducted from people who life along its banks. Finally, the partnership hopes to work with municipalities across the watershed to develop a watershed protection plan.

The pair will give a similar presentation to the Catskill Town Board on May 5, and another to the Durham Town Board. They have tentative plans to visit the Cairo Planning Board and other public forums as well.

Last fall, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County was awarded an $80,000 grant from the Hudson River Estuary Program to continue promoting watershed protection. Part of these funds will help start the Catskill Creek watershed protection program, LoGiudice said.

Hudson Basin River Watch, Inc. and Clearwater have already begun work on watershed management plans for the Kinderhook creek, Martino added.

LoGiudice and Martino asked the Town Board for permission to access Shinglekill, in Cairo, for some stream studies. During the studies, volunteer researchers will take measurements of the stream’s depth and width as well as its oxygen, nitrate and pH levels.

They will also look for various bugs.

“The bugs tell all,” Martino said, “certain bugs can only live in healthy water systems.”

The Town Board approved their request for access to the Shinglekill from the town park.

Councilman Richard Lorenz pointed out that the town water supply is adjacent to the Shinglekill.

“Preserving the Shinglekill creek is of utmost importance to the town and the community,” Lorenz said.

To learn more about the Catskill Creek watershed protection program or to get involved, contact Fran Marino, Hudson Basin River Watch, Inc., at (518) 828-1330 and riverhaggie@peoplepc.com or Liz LoGiudice, Cornell Cooperative Extension, at (518) 622-9820, ext. 33 and elm37@cornell.edu.