Schroon River Habitat Improvement Program
The District completed twenty root wad installations in the 2015
season. The first project locations were upstream of the “County
Home Bridge” on the Warrensburg side of the river. Seven
structures were installed in the bank of the river and 3 double
trunks were installed nearby, just north of an oxbow in the
Schroon. These installations supplement fish nursery conditions.
The last project location was located on the Bolton side of the
river, approximately one mile North of the County Home Bridge.
This location was chosen after a site visit for a failing stream
bank. Although the root wad installations are point driven, they will certainly curb the amount of
material that is being eroded and transported down stream. Seven structures were installed at this
location ( picture on the right). The District will fulfill the installation of the last eight structures and
looks forward to involvement from the local high school to record observations at these locations.
Agricultural Environmental Management
and the Regional Conservation Partnership
Program
This was a great year for the District’s Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Program! The number of
farms in the AEM Program has grown, plus we received
funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership
Program (RCPP) to assist in addressing natural resource
concerns for Warren County’s agricultural producers.
This was the first year of the competitive cost share grant program, through the Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS), that is aiding to fund farms with high tunnels and cover crops. High
tunnels have been the popular choice among the nine applications received. Currently, the District is assisting the five eligible farms with site layout, sizing, permitting and best management
practices for the high tunnels. RCPP is a program that allows farms in Warren County to compete
for funding locally, instead of competing for funding statewide. The District would like to thank
Scott Fitscher and Kate Teale of the NRCS for their assistance to our office and farmers.
Roadside Stabilization
A record breaking 1 million square feet of disturbed surface was
covered through our hydromulching program last year. The District closed out a grant with the Lake Champlain Basin Program,
and initiated the first of a three year grant with the NYSDEC.
2015 was another tremendous year of working with our local
municipalities as well as state and county crews. The value of
our program has become well known and is a valuable tool for stabilizing disturbed areas. Two full
days of working with the State DOT and traffic crews to shore up 9N shoulder maintenance and
working with county crews along Bay Road in the Lake George Watershed and along the Warrensburg Road in Thurman to protect the Hudson River, are just a few examples of the work that
gets done throughout the growing season.