Municipal Staff and Community Members Welcome to Attend Schoharie Watershed Summit

The Schoharie Watershed Summit returns to the Hunter-Tannersville Jr-Sr High School (6094 Main St, Tannersville, NY 12485) on Saturday, April 6th, 2024. The Summit is a free, one-day conference offered by the Schoharie Watershed Stream Management Program (SWSMP) at Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District (GCSWCD), in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The Summit was developed to serve as a forum that brings a diverse set of Watershed stakeholders together to network, learn from, and share interests with one another. The first Summit – presented by the Schoharie Watershed Assistance Program in 2007 – was attended by approximately 120 people and focused heavily on turbidity issues. The turnout was indicative of the deep interest local and regional stakeholders have in learning about the status of stream management in the Schoharie basin, the different programs that are available to support local communities and landowners, and how to protect the quality of the community’s natural resources. With morning presentations, followed by afternoon training sessions, the Summit offers community members the opportunity to hear about relevant studies and projects, while simultaneously providing local officials with training opportunities that fulfill annual training requirements.

This year’s morning presentations will include:

• New York State Mesonet for Water-related Research by Dr. Junhong (June) Wang of UAlbany This presentation will cover how the NYS Mesonet supports water-related research through offering a variety of high-quality and high-resolution hydrometeorological and other water related data and products. It will also share trends in precipitation, snowfall, soil moisture and temperature at sites located in Schoharie Watershed as well as examples of applications of data in emergency and watershed management.

• Local Flood Analysis: Making the Catskills Region more resilient to flooding by Mark Carabetta of SLR Consulting

This presentation will provide an overview of SLR’s Local Flood Analysis studies across the Catskills region, discuss challenges encountered, share lessons learned, and provide examples of hydraulic analyses undertaken and flood mitigation strategies recommended. It will also provide examples of implemented projects that were recommended in Local Flood Analysis studies.

• Unraveling the Gordian Knotweed: Management of Japanese Knotweed in the Catskills by John Thompson of the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP)

In this presentation, CRISP staff will cover current best management practices, experimental methods, and the future of Japanese knotweed biocontrol. Knotweed is a common streamside and roadside invader that can reproduce from a tiny root fragment, which has led to its spread along many Catskill rivers and streams.

Afternoon workshops include:

• Introduction to the National Flood Insurance Program

• SEQR: The Short Environmental Assessment Form

• Introduction to the Greene County Web Map (laptop required)

• Post Disaster Floodplain Administrator Response and Flood Insurance Implications

The program is offered free of charge and draws attendees from municipalities across Greene County and the Schoharie Reservoir watershed. Registration is required. For more information about the Schoharie Watershed Summit and for a link to the registration page, please visit https://gcswcd.com/. For more information, please contact amanda@gcswcd.com or 518-622-3620.

The Schoharie Reservoir watershed is part of the Catskill/Delaware Watershed for the New York City public water supply. The Schoharie Reservoir watershed includes the entirety of the towns of Windham, Jewett, Ashland, and Prattsville as well as the villages of Hunter and Tannersville. The towns of Conesville, Gilboa, Hunter, Lexington, Halcott, Jefferson, Stamford, and Roxbury are all partially included.