Please join us for this important event to bring attention to the Wallkill River, one of the Hudson’s largest tributaries.
The Future of the Wallkill River event is designed to build public support for restoration efforts on the Wallkill. It will help define both a publicly supported vision for the future of the river, and steps that can be taken in the short and long term to achieve that vision.
The Wallkill River begins in New Jersey and flows north through Orange and Ulster counties to Kingston, where it meets the Hudson after joining with the Rondout Creek. Together, they are the largest tributary in the tidal Hudson River estuary.
Riverkeeper has been working with citizen scientists to sample water quality on the Wallkill River since 2012. The data is available in the Water Quality section at riverkeeper.org. The event will also build on the work of many others throughout the watershed, including the Wallkill River Watershed Conservation and Management Plan.
In addition to Riverkeeper, event organizers of the event include the Village of New Paltz; SUNY New Paltz’s Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach; DEC Hudson River Estuary Program; Town of New Paltz Clean Water and Open Space Protection Commission; Hudson River Watershed Alliance, and Mohonk Consultations.
Confirmed speakers include Dennis Doyle, Director of the Ulster County Planning Department; David Church; Orange County Planning Commissioner; Amanda LaValle, director of Ulster County Department of the Environment; Kevin Sumner, District Manager of Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District; Dan Shapley, Riverkeeper Water Quality Program Manager; Emily Vail, Watershed Outreach Specialist, and Laura Heady, Conservation and Land Use Coordinator, for the Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell University; and Mike Flaherty, Fisheries Manager, Department of Environmental Conservation Region 3. (Download a full event program.)
A $10 fee, due on the day of event, covers a delicious locally sourced meal. Registration is requested. Please join us on April 23.
Please register. Your answers to a short registration survey will help us ensure the program meets the public’s expectations.