Beginning on or around August 24th of this year, a rare algae bloom pervaded the Wallkill River. Encompassing around 30 miles, the pea-soup colored bloom was observed from Montgomery to Rifton. While not unusual in a still water body like a lake or pond, an extended algae bloom such as this is definitely not the norm for a moving river. …
This river is a contrarian river, confusing everyone. I sit and watch it rippling along and I become lost. Am I upstream or downstream? The river laughs at me in a quiet, calm way. ‘Silly woman, who cares about such things? I am water, I am always flowing. it matters not where.” The river moves from New Jersey north, up …
A river runs through New Paltz as it makes its way from the NJ Highlands. It traverses three counties and 69 tributaries and just past Sturgeon Pool, combines with the Rondout Creek, entering the Hudson River estuary near Kingston. Due especially to its unique south- to- north path, the Wallkill River teems with wildlife such as 22 species of fish, …
Did anyone else in the New Paltz area notice the Wallkill turn bright green in the past few days? These pictures were taken by Alliance member Rich Picone off the Rail Trail bridge this past Wednesday. It seems to be some sort of algae bloom, starting just upstream of the bridge and continuing out of sight downriver. Algae blooms are …
Dear Alliance and Supporters— In our newly-adopted bylaws, Village, Town and County governments may join the Alliance by making a minimum $1,000 donation and appointing an official representative. As we speak, every Town and County government is drafting their budget for next year. Yesterday I sent emails to all the Town Supervisors from central Orange to central Ulster counties, as …
This just in from Jennifer Epstein, of Riverkeeper: “Results from our 8/29 Wallkill River water quality testing are on the Riverkeeper website. You can see them here: http://www.riverkeeper.org/…/citi…/wallkill-river-watershed/. In other mid- and upper-Hudson tributary watersheds where we sample, including the Rondout Creek, we observed notably good water quality on our late August sampling days. In the Wallkill River watershed, the …
Last week’s algae bloom in New Paltz was reported to the DEC and listed as a suspicious blue-green algae bloom. Although we haven’t confirmed that it was a harmful bloom in the Wallkill, these algae can produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. For more info: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/77118.html. If you see this again, send info and photos to HABsInfo@dec.ny.gov. …
Twelve of the nineteen people who came to this week’s meeting of the Alliance (Southern Ulster Chapter). To join our email list, send a blank email to wallkill+subscribe@googlegroups.com. Photo by Emily Vail Here are Dan Shapley’s notes on the meeting: Wallkill River Watershed Alliance meeting 8-20-15 Upcoming Events: • Aug. 20 (TONIGHT) WRWA Boat Brigade, Sojourner Truth Park, New Paltz …
We are recruiting for two more Working Groups! GEOSPATIAL WORKING GROUP The first meeting of this mapping and google-earth using Working Group only had two participants. To join the list and help with this work, send a blank email to: wrwageospatial+subscribe@gmail.com POLICY WORKING GROUP There isn’t currently a Policy Working Group, but there’s a need for one. I envision us …
Today on the Boat Brigade several volunteers identified a piece of property where some questionable excavation was happening. An Environmental Conservation Officer from the New York DEC was called and responded later in the afternoon. The Officer was able to confirm that a silt fence was not properly installed and a permit for excavation next to the River was not …