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State Awards Nearly $400,000 In Grants For Hudson River Estuary

CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently awarded four grants totaling $395,273 for projects in the Hudson River Estuary to help reduce localized flooding, create sustainable shorelines, improve water quality and restore aquatic habitat in tributary streams, according to Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos. 

Acting DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said funding enables local partners to join with the state in advancing projects that improve the Hudson River, sustain economically important fisheries, and connect New Yorkers to this incredible resource.

Acting DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said funding enables local partners to join with the state in advancing projects that improve the Hudson River, sustain economically important fisheries, and connect New Yorkers to this incredible resource.

Photo Credit: www.noaanews.noaa.gov

“Governor (Andrew) Cuomo has prioritized creating resilient communities in New York State, and these grants provided through the Hudson River Estuary Program are helping to make his vision a reality," Seggos said. “This funding enables local partners to join with the state in advancing projects that improve the Hudson River, sustain economically important fisheries, and connect New Yorkers to this incredible resource.” 

The grants support Cuomo’s $17 billion strategy to re-imagine the state for the new reality of extreme weather by transforming the its infrastructure and shoreline protection systems to better protect residents. 

They are also part of the Sustainable Shorelines Project, which provides science-based information to planners and local governments on the best management options to employ that protect coastal property while providing habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife that live along the shores of the Hudson River Estuary. 

Grants have been awarded to the following communities and organizations:

  • Village of New Paltz: Replacement of Culvert System -- $246,365. This project will improve intermittent stream flow and movement of fish and wildlife by replacing a deteriorated culvert system with adequately-sized drainage structures at a road and rail trail crossing adjacent to the Wallkill River. The new system also will improve the flow of floodwater, and maintain habitat connections for eel and wood turtle, among others.
  • Dutchess County Soil and Water: Shapp Pond Dam Removal -- $96,408. Dutchess County Soil and Water will remove the 12-foot Shapp Pond Dam on the East Branch Wappinger Creek, which will result in greater connectivity throughout the creek by removing a large impediment to fish passage, and will enable eels to migrate farther upstream. 

For more information on the Hudson River Estuary and funding opportunities through the Hudson River Estuary Program, click here

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