-
New Handbook Guides Hudson River Landowners
A new publication, “Creating and Maintaining Hudson River Views: A Handbook for Landowners,” is now available on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website. The handbook provides guidance for historic sites, land trusts, and owners of other large properties to use the best methods for environmental stewardship, creating and maintaining scenic vistas that…
-
New Culvert Constructed Under Plan Developed by NEIWPCC and Trout Unlimited
Following a management plan developed by Trout Unlimited and funded by the Hudson River Estuary Program in partnership with NEIWPCC, the town of Copake, NY recently completed the construction a new road culvert, replacing one that was severely in need of repair. The old culvert had posed a significant threat to the community’s infrastructure and…
-
Our Work During the Pandemic
NEIWPCC adapts amid coronavirus crisis The first thing to go was our annual “all-staff” meeting that had been planned for the end of March. By mid-month, it seemed clear that interstate travel was not in the cards. Just a few days later, as state governors issued work-from-home orders, we postponed what would have been our…
-
Northeast Water Quality Standards Training
In October 2019, NEIWPCC hosted a regional water quality standards training for our member states. The training, held at the request of NEIWPCC’s water quality standards work group, covered important national and regional water quality issues. In this Northeast-specific training, state water quality personnel learned from each other and from regional experts and shared their agencies’…
-
Biotic Index Promises Monitoring Insights
The Bugs Tell the Tale A scientist wades into a slow-moving stream and brushes one square meter of the stream-bottom surface into a net. The procedure collects large invertebrates—mostly insects—for study. These bottom-dwelling animals are good indicators of stream health over time. There are many species, and some tolerate pollution better than others. Other field…
-
Youth Program Expands to Lawrence, Mass.
Eight Lawrence and Lowell high-schoolers are getting closely acquainted with wastewater treatment this summer. In Lowell, four teens are shadowing operators, lab technicians, and other employees at the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility. They also complete maintenance tasks like weeding or hosing down settling tanks. In Lawrence the students split their time between the Greater Lawrence…
-
Eel Project Documents Volunteer Data
Every spring since 2008, volunteers have waded into the Hudson River and its tributaries to count migrating juvenile American eels. This year, that activity and the data it collects are backed by a formal quality assurance project plan (QAPP). Such project plans allow researchers and decision-makers to know how data were collected. The organizers of…
-
Measuring Sea-Level Rise
Monitoring Impact on Tidal Marshes Late last fall, 3 NEIWPCC researchers at the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve finished installing 6 surface elevation tables to measure changes in Piermont Marsh, the Hudson’s largest brackish tidal marsh. These instruments monitor sediment accretion rates (the annual build-up of sediment) by measuring the elevation of the marsh…
-
All About Soil
October 16 marked the last day of NEIWPCC’s most recent eight-session soil evaluator certification course, which trains engineers, designers, local Boards of Health members, and others to make decisions regarding onsite septic systems in accordance with Title 5 of Massachusetts law. A major consideration when installing a septic system is how well the soil at…
-
Plastic Trash Targeted
Long Island Sound Study Campaign “Protect our wildlife: break the single-use plastic habit.” That was the rallying cry for a plastic trash reduction campaign that engaged thousands of people in New York and Connecticut this summer. NEIWPCC staff members and others at the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) delivered the message, primarily through social media.…