The group of more than 120 guests including Lorraine Bracco, John Lipton and Karim Abdul Jabar were treated to a brief environmentally focused program led by Joan and George Hornig, ardent Riverkeeper supporter Christie Brinkley, Hudson Riverkeeper and President Alex Matthiessen with special remarks by Van Jones, president Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the Council on Environmental Quality in the White House. Guests had the opportunity to explore environmental issues together during a Q&A session with Van before the evening wound down. A number of guests stayed on to enjoy further discussion and a sumptuous family style meal of organic, locally supplied trout, sea bass and duck.

Photo Courtesy Ann Watt

The idea behind the EcoSalon is to introduce the top environmental policy makers to thought leaders in the fields of politics, science, the arts, business and entertainment and to spend an evening sharing perspectives on many of our most challenging issues. Riverkeeper will host EcoSalons in Manhattan and Westchester during the holidays and winter months. Plan to join us at our next event.

Riverkeeper’s EcoSalon brings together top environmental policy makers with thought leaders in the fields of politics, science, the arts, business and entertainment for an evening of sharing perspectives on challenging issues.

Our special guest for this event will be Van Jones, who serves as Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Join your hosts Joan and George Hornig at their home in the Hampton’s with co-hosts Lorraine Bracco, Christie Brinkley, Hamilton Fish, Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney, Anne Jameson and Jay Eisenhofer, Mary and Sidney Lumet, Maria and Peter Matthiessen, Nicole Miller and Kim Taipale, Averell and Gigi Mortimer, Renee and Mark Rockefeller, Jeff Tannenbaum and other leading Riverkeeper supporters for this unique opportunity.

Your membership gift of $100 per reservation maintains Riverkeeper’s standing as New York’s leading clean water advocate. An intimate post-Salon dinner will take place with Van Jones and other distinguished guests for $1,000 per plate. Head table with Van Jones for $2,500 per plate.

Hamptons EcoSalon Invitation

More on Van Jones – Selling Americans on a ‘Green-Collar’ Economy

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He is one of the leading voices for combining economic development with environmental sustainability, and as Director of the Earth Institute leads large-scale efforts to promote the mitigation of human-induced climate change. In 2004 and 2005 he was named among the 100 most influential leaders in the world by Time Magazine. He is author of hundreds of scholarly articles and many books, including the New York Times bestseller Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet.

Riverkeeper board chair Howard Rubin and his wife Susan of Pound Ridge will co-hosted the event with an host committee that includes prominent members of the community and board members – John and Tonina Abplanalp, Seema Boesky, Hamilton Fish, George and Joan Hornig, Lyn Leone, John and Catherine McGrath, Ilo Milstein, Glenn Pacchiana and Alina DiDonato, Jane Preiser, Jeff and Debbie Resnick, Mike and Veronica Richter, Steven and Kimberly Rockefeller and Martha Stewart.

This fall’s Westchester EcoSalon was the second of three such outreach events being held in the New York metropolitan area each year. The purpose of the EcoSalon is to bring thought leaders in the fields of environmentalism, politics, science, arts and entertainment together with our members and their guests to spend an evening discussing some of the leading issues of our time.

For 20 years, Riverkeeper’s Shad Fest has been a celebration of the vast numbers of American shad that returned each year to the Hudson River to spawn. The shad run has been a welcome sign of spring, rebirth and renewal for thousands of years, since the Lenape Indians populated the Hudson’s shores. Sadly, the shad population has declined in recent years to dangerously low levels and the focus of this year’s event is on saving the American Shad and other Hudson River signature fish which are similarly at risk.

Join Riverkeeper on Sunday, May 16, 2010, at Boscobel in Garrison, NY, in celebration of the American Shad and in the organization’s efforts to protect and restore this historic fishery. The day offers fun for all ages and features a Whole Foods Market picnic, activities for children of all ages, our unique Green Street marketplace, Wellness activities and live entertainment throughout the whole day!

Purchase Tickets

For Amendment 2, the Shad and River Herring Management Board approved the following as the management measure for both commercial and recreational fisheries:

States with river herring (anadromous alewife and blueback herring)
stocks must close fisheries (commercial / recreational) except for those systems with a sustainable fishery.

“Sustainable” is defined as “those that can demonstrate their
alewife or blueback herring stock(s) could support a commercial and / or recreational fishery that will not diminish the potential future stock reproduction or recruitment.” Simply, this means that adults and production of young in a stock cannot be in decline. If you would like more information, the entire amendment can be found at www.asmfc.org under “managed species”, shad and river herring.

So what does Amendment 2 mean to you? There are two options for herring fisheries in New York:

1. All river herring fisheries will be closed, OR
2. NY would have to show that any fishery, either recreational or commercial, is “sustainable” based on available data.

Three public information meetings are scheduled:

Mid-Hudson
Mid-Hudson
15 April 2010, 7-10 pm
NYSDEC Region 3 office
21 S. Putt Corners Rd
New Paltz, NY

Upper Hudson Valley
21 April, 2010, 7-10 pm
Town of Bethlehem Town Hall
445 Delaware Ave
Delmar, NY

Long Island
29 April, 2010, 7-9 pm
NYSDEC Marine Resources office
205 Belle Meade Rd.
East Setauket, NY

Objectives of the meetings:
- Outline the requirements for NY in the recently adopted Atlantic
State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Amendment 2 (river herring) to the Shad and river herring management plan.

Hudson Valley meetings:
- give a presentation on available river herring data for the Hudson
- open a discussion of how the herring fishery operates in the Hudson and the need for changes to meet this new amendment

Long Island:
- for Long Island streams- discussion of what we know about herring runs on Long Island and data needs.

All interested stakeholders are invited to attend to listen and
participate in discussions.

If you have any questions, please send a message to the Hudson River Fisheries Unit mailbox at: r3hrf@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Our gala celebration on the Hudson River at Pier 60 will honor the environmental advocacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and HBO in classic Riverkeeper style.

Advance tickets and tables can be purchased online or by calling Event Associates at 212-245-6570 X23.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Fishermen’s Ball on April 14th!

Ticket information and Reservations

Download Invite

A panel discussion, State of My Environment, will take place on Sunday March 21 at 2:00pm.
The panel will be moderated by Dan Shapley of The Daily Green.

Panelists include:
Craig Michaels of Riverkeeper
Jaime Pollack of Pew Environmental Group
Ana Paula Tavares of Rainforest Alliance

There is limited booth space available, and the event will sell out again. Please contact its CEO Bradford Rand at (212) 655-4505 ext. 223 to secure your space. If you would like to purchase discounted tickets (only $10 instead of $25 at the door), use promo-code RIVERKEEPER at www.GoGreenExpo.com.

Riverkeeper looks forward to seeing you there!

Tina Posterli, 914-478-4501 x 239

New Increased Fines Will Deter Lawbreakers

Tarrytown, NY- March 8, 2010 – Riverkeeper, New York’s leading clean water advocate, today commended the New York City Council for passing Int. 54-A, a bill substantially increasing penalties for illegal dumping in New York City Waters. The bill, passed unanimously by the City Council, creates a new civil penalty for dumping into the waterways where none currently exists, setting fines at not less than $1,500 or more than $10,000 for the first violation, and not less than $5,000 or more than $20,000 for each subsequent violation.

“The waters of New York City are a public resource that all New Yorkers have the right to enjoy,” said Riverkeeper Attorney & Chief Investigator Josh Verleun. “The passage of this bill sends a strong message to would-be-polluters that they will be held accountable if they dump in City waters.”

Riverkeeper has established a strong citizen enforcement presence on the waterways surrounding New York City through regular boat patrols and partnerships with a number of City Agencies, including the Small Business Services Dockmaster Unit, Kings County District Attorney, Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Police Department, Department of Sanitation, and others.

Riverkeeper testified before the New York City Council Waterfronts Committee on February 22, 2010 and wrote a letter to Speaker Christine C. Quinn supporting the bill; citing the need for greater penalties to act as an effective deterrent to combat illegal dumping.

“With over 570 miles of waterfront, it is imperative that we keep this precious resource clean for all New Yorkers,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “This legislation will help us do just that by substantially increasing the penalty for illegal dumping into our waterways as well as giving several other city agencies a key role in ensuring our waterways are kept clean.”

• Documents

  • Testimony
  • Riverkeeper’s Letter of Support
  • Bill, Int-54

The event features a closing keynote by U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, representatives from New York City, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the gas industry. ScheinMedia founder and CEO Jonathan A. Schein will serve as a moderator of the panel section of the event.