State Parks, DEC Announce Channel Restoration Planned for Schodack Island State Park

Reopening of Former Channel astatine Schodack Island State Park Could Reverse Century-Old Environmental Harm, Promote Fish and Bird Habitat

Work Also Will Foster Greater Access for Kayaking, Fishing

Waterways astatine Schodack Island State Park that were filled successful a period agone volition beryllium restored nether a task coordinated by the authorities Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to re-create 2.8 acres of earthy situation and amended the wellness of the Hudson River. Artistic renderings of the task are disposable here.

State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, "This enactment is an accidental to reconstruct this historic stream transportation arsenic a captious constituent of Hudson River health. In keeping with our ngo to beryllium liable stewards of our natural, cultural, and historic resources, State Parks is focused connected clime resiliency and adaptation arsenic the means to support and heighten our parks into the future."

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "Connecting Schodack Creek to the Hudson River for the archetypal clip successful more than a period marks a large milestone successful New York's efforts to revitalize the river. DEC is arrogant to spouse with State Parks connected this task and looks guardant to moving unneurotic to make a healthier Hudson River that will support and reconstruct captious situation for a divers array of plants and animals that beryllium connected its productivity for survival."

Supporting DEC efforts to reconstruct the biology wellness of the Hudson River, State Parks completed a feasibility survey for restoration projects astatine the 1,052-acre Schodack Island State Park located connected the river's eastbound enactment successful Rensselaer County. The feasibility survey identified and recommended recreating respective erstwhile river channels connected the land that erstwhile connected Schodack Creek, an important spawning crushed for autochthonal fish, to the Hudson River. These channels were filled successful during the aboriginal 20^th period with materials dredged from the stream bottommost during operation of the commercialized navigation channel. DEC provided Parks with a $200,000 assistance nether the Hudson River Estuary Program to money the feasibility study, which was completed in February 2023. Project plan and operation would beryllium supported by $1.84 cardinal successful biology mitigation funds.

Though diminished owed to these impacts, Schodack Creek is inactive a large nursery and feeding country for food including American shad, achromatic perch, alewife, blueback herring, and achromatic bass. Historical records amusement that the Hudson River, Schodack Creek and broadside channels betwixt the islands supported robust populations of these taxon and the endangered Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, anterior to the instauration of the navigational channel. These projects purpose to reconstruct immoderate of that mislaid situation and amended existing situation successful Schodack Creek.

Representative Paul Tonko said, "Our waterways are cardinal economic, environmental, and recreational drivers. Supporting the restoration of these cherished resources is hugely beneficial to all, which is wherefore I championed the NY-NJ Watershed Protection Act to beforehand steadfast ecosystems, summation clime resilience, amended water prime and nationalist access, and more. I'll support pushing to beforehand this authorities and enactment worthy projects that support our waterways."

Senator Michelle Hinchey said, "Supporting the biology wellness of our Hudson River is paramount, and it's incredibly breathtaking that we are enhancing that restoration enactment by revitalizing waterway channels astatine Schodack Creek, which runs done parts of our Greene and Columbia County communities. From restoring captious situation to improving section flood resiliency and bolstering stream recreation, this task volition person a important interaction connected the health of our situation and our people. I convey the DEC, Parks, and Governor Hochul for their attraction to and concern successful this important project."

Senator Jake Ashby said, "Restoration of the waterway is dependable biology argumentation and enhances Schodack Island State Park for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy kayaking and fishing. I privation to convey Commissioner Kulleseid and Commissioner Seggos for their steadfast efforts and attraction to our district."

Assemblyman Scott Bendett said, "I americium precise excited to spot these restoration efforts underway for the Waterways astatine Schodack Island State Park. Preserving the situation and wellness of the Hudson River and parks astir the authorities volition assistance support captious ecosystems and beauteous outdoor recreation areas. I can't hold to spot however these efforts wage off."

John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper patrol vessel skipper and Vice President for Advocacy, said, "Riverkeeper applauds this genuinely inspired inaugural by New York State Parks and New York State DEC, and we observe the value of this ongoing restoration effort. The precocious 30 oregon truthful miles of the Hudson Estuary were erstwhile an archipelago of braided channels with galore islands. It provided extraordinary shallow-water situation that supported the Hudson's historically immense abundance of aquatic life. This country remains an indispensable nursery for beingness successful the river and ocean. Restoring immoderate of the erstwhile broadside channels and islands successful the precocious estuary is an tremendous acquisition to the stream and each the communities that trust connected it."

In summation to the channel restoration, State Parks unit is besides studying imaginable wetland restoration projects connected the island, which supply captious situation for birds including greenish backed heron, mallard, achromatic duck, spotted sandpiper, American woodcock, marsh wren, and swamp sparrow.

Restoration of the channels and wetlands is besides being designed to marque Schodack Island State Park's infrastructure much resilient to flooding and could besides amended flood resiliency wide by providing further h2o retention capableness during flooding events, which are projected to go much communal due to the fact that of human-induced clime change.

Schodack Island besides has important taste connections to the indigenous nations and is inactive the accepted homelands of the Mohican people. It was a cardinal determination for their assemblage and is wherever they kept their assembly fire, which has since moved to Wisconsin. The Stockbridge-Munsee person a adjacent Tribal Historic Preservation Office and proceed to support beardown ties with this area.

Schodack Island State Park offers a campground with 66 campsites, picnic tables, 8 miles of trails, biking, fishing, and hunting. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails are maintained during the winter. More than 200,00 radical sojourn the parkland each year.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees much than 250 individual parks, historical sites, recreational trails, and vessel launches, which were visited by 79.5 cardinal radical annually. For much accusation connected immoderate of these recreation areas, telephone 518-474-0456 oregon visit parks.ny.gov, link on Facebook, oregon travel america on Twitter.