Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District 2016 Activity Highlights

Transcription

1 Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District 2016 Activity Highlights

2 During 2016 the Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District leveraged $624, in funds for the $114, investment from the County. This represents a $5.47 return for each dollar in County appropriation funds to help meet the conservation needs of Albany County. *Funding Goes Directly To Agricultural Producers Technical Assistance The Albany County SWCD strives to improve local land management practices and provide technical assistance to county residents, landowners, municipal staff, county government staff, and others. Conservation District Staff provide a variety of information and permit assistance on stormwater management, erosion and sediment control practices, Agricultural Environmental Management, drainage, pond site evaluation and management, wetland identification, wildlife habitat improvement and restoration, native and invasive/exotic plants identification and management, identification of soil types and characteristics, and other natural resources management. In 2016 staff responded to over 325 requests for technical assistance. Resources made available to the public include but are not limited to soils maps and interpretation, USGS Topographic maps, Historic Aerial Photography, and NYS & Federal Wetlands maps.

3 Road Ditch/Road Bank Soil Stabilization Program To help shoulder the burden of routine road ditch maintenance, the Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District applied for and received funding, provided from the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, to conduct a program to control soil erosion from road banks and road ditches in Albany County. Funding was used to purchase a hydroseeder and materials that will be used to establish vegetated road ditches. Hydroseeding involves combining seed and mulch to create a slurry that is sprayed on bare soil to establish vegetation. This project will reduce the amount of sediment, nutrients and metals entering the water of Albany County. The District will be able to assist the Towns, Villages, Cities and County highway departments when road projects are completed. The intent is to make hydroseeding a standard operating procedure in a road ditch or road reconstruction/paving operation in order to stabilize the banks and ditches. The project is a shared services approach to improving water quality in Albany County. District staff members will operate the machine and municipalities will benefit from the use of the shared machine. This will allow the District to achieve the goal of reducing nutrient enrichment and silt/sediment loads to the local waterbodies. In 2016 staff worked with the County Department of Public Works as well as the Town of New Scotland to seed multiple road ditch projects. Agricultural Environmental Management Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) is a voluntary program, led by the local Soil and Water Conservation District, designed to help farmers protect soil, water and other important natural resources. Using a five tiered approach Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff work with farmers to gauge interest, document existing stewardship and identify potential environmental concerns. Farm-specific conservation plans are developed in partnership with the farmer and the District provides technical assistance to help implement best management practices identified in those plans. District staff host on farm trainings and workshops to help increase farmers awareness of practices that are available to use in their operations that benefit the environment. The Agricultural Environmental Management program in Albany County is in its 12th year. The Conservation District currently has a database of 239 participants in various stages of the tiered process. The NYS Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Grant Program was established to assist farmers in implementing the plans that are created under the AEM framework. Conservation Districts are the only entity eligible to apply for these competitive grants on behalf of farmers and coordinate funded projects. The grants can cost share up to 75% of project costs for planning or implementation. In the last 16 years, the Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District has been awarded over $785,000 in State Funding to implement or plan for Best Management Practices to protect the State s natural resources.

4 Annual Conservation Field Day Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District, along with assistance from, City of Albany and Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County, hosted our 2nd Conservation Field Day with students from City of Albany Elementary Schools. The event was held at the Normanskill Farm. The purpose of this event is to give students in 5 th and 6 th grade an opportunity to become acquainted with the world of nature and some of the issues that affect their environment and their lives. A variety of environmental groups and individuals presented a 20 minute program to each group. The students rotated through eight different learning stations throughout the day. Presentation topics range from Safety in the Woods, Beekeeping, Plastics in the Landscape and Lyme Disease Prevention. Potter Hollow School Days In June, approximately 100 fifth grade students from Greenville Central School District visited the restored one room schoolhouse in Potter Hollow to learn lessons about history, physical education and science. A staff member from the District provided students with a presentation on macroinvertebrates and how they are beneficial to the health of the nearby Catskill Creek bed. Students were tasked with identifying samples of macroinvertebrate organisms to determine the diversity within the local waterbody. Students also played a game, Macroinvertebrate Mayhem (from Project WET) to simulate the changes in a stream when an environmental stressor, such as a pollutant, is introduced. Outdoor Conservation Events The District staff takes great pride in a vast range of educational opportunities reaching young students and citizens alike. We strive to educate the conservationists of tomorrow. The Conservation District participated in the Village of Voorheesville Green Cleanup event in April. This event provided the District staff with an opportunity to talk with landowners about services that we can provide. The District continues to participated in the Altamont Fair to provide information about District programs. This year we were able to have a children's activity table where fair goers made their own grass friends. SWCD staff assisted the USDA NRCS with a soil health table at the Cut Flower Workshop held at the Rensselaerville Institute. The District also utilizes its website and Facebook page to educate the public and sends out a newsletter to over 3,500 county residents.

5 Conservation Tree and Shrub Program Each spring the Soil and Water Conservation District conducts their annual Tree and Shrub Program, offering a wide variety of tree seedlings, ground covers, and wildflower seed mixes at reduced prices. All species, available for purchase, are ideal for conservation practices such as erosion control, windbreaks, shade, wildlife food/cover as well as backyard homesteading. Staff members offer advice and maps on soil types, which can help determine what to plant and where. Over eight thousand seven hundred tree and shrub seedlings were distributed to Albany County residents during the District s 2016 Program. This program has been offered in Albany County for over 20 years with more than 324,000 trees being planted for the conservation of natural resources in Albany County. Fish Pond Stocking Program Popular among sportsman and kids alike is the District s Annual Spring Fish Sale. Private pond owners across the region had the opportunity to stock their ponds with Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Triploid Grass Carp and forage fish, which are available to purchase at low cost. Adding a diversity of fish life is a great way to improve the overall health of a homeowner s pond. Creating the proper balance of predator and prey fish will help limit the amount of bothersome issues that most often require chemical treatments such as algae, weeds and nuisance insects. Through the spring fish sale approximately 8,225 fingerlings and minnows were stocked into ponds across the county. This includes 77 Triploid Grass Carp, a herbivorous fish that provides environmentally friendly, low-cost control of nuisance aquatic weeds. The carp sold fish sale provide an alternative to chemical controls for many species of pond weeds in twenty one ponds. Lawson Lake County Park Restoration Assistance In early 2016 the Albany County Recreation Bureau began work on a Visitor Center for Lawson Lake County Park. During the reconstruction project soil was brought in to level off the lawn area leaving 10,000 square feet of exposed soil. A new pavilion was built on the shore of the lake by the Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council leaving approximately 9,000 square feet of exposed soil within 75 feet of the shoreline. Once these projects were completed the Conservation District came in and stabilized the soil by hydro seeding the areas with a native grass seed mix. At the Visitor Center the District along with a staff member from Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County created and installed a 175 square foot pollinator garden. This garden has a dozen different native species of pollinator friendly herbaceous plants. The garden will be used to teach visitors the importance and beauty of providing forage to our native pollinators.

6 Albany County Sewer District Revegetation/Wildlife Habitat Project The Conservation District partnered with the Executive Director and Permit Compliance Manager at the Albany County Water Purification District to conduct a project on the North and South Plants. Over the last year the Water Purification District has been removing large, previously established trees from the two treatment facilities as they began to impact operations when the leaves fall and buildings and electrical transformers as they were originally planted too close to structures. When the sites were originally designed the tree heights and presence of seed pods were not taken into consideration. Many trees have grown too large and were creating maintenance issues. In an effort to revegetate the sites and provide continued wildlife habitat the SWCD worked with the staff to plant 224 trees and also provided them with bluebird boxes to be placed throughout the grounds of both facilities. Tree tubes were provided as an added safety measure to prevent deer and rodent damage on the seedlings. For more information contact the Albany County SWCD at: 24 Martin Road, Voorheesville, NY Tel: Website: ACSWCD@gmail.com Board of Directors : John Santacrose (Chairman - At Large Member), Edward Kleinke (Vice Chairman - Farm Bureau Rep), Jo Downey (Grange Rep), L. Michael Mackey (County Legislature Rep) and Richard Touchette (County Legislature Rep) Staff : Susan Lewis (Administrative Manager and Technical Assistant), Peter Bayzon (Natural Resource Specialist), and Polly Festa (District Technician) The mission of the Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District is to advance comprehensive natural resource management on a voluntary basis to residents, landowners and units of government. The District leads by providing science based technical and educational assistance and coordination of resources from Federal, State, Local governments and other sources