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Duncan and Julia Brine and the Brine Garden

Good News for Our Great Swamp

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Oblong logoOblong Land Trust, Accredited

The Oblong Land Conservancy (OLC), the Putnam County Land Trust (PCLT) and Friends of the Great Swamp (FrOGS) are pleased to announce that they have formed a collaboration and jointly entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will lead to increased focus on conservation efforts in the Great Swamp Watershed.

The Great Swamp, one of the largest wetlands in New York State, covers some 6,678 acres and drains a watershed of approximately 62,343 upland acres. The 20-mile long Watershed lies in the Harlem Valley that extends from Brewster to Dover and occupies parts of Putnam and Dutchess Counties in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut.

Conservation of this natural resource is vital for a number of reasons:

  • It provides the sole recharge facility for the aquifer that serves over 40,000 people in the Watershed
  • It forms the headwaters of the Croton Reservoir System that provides New York City with some of its drinking water, and
  • It provides critical habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna, some of which are endangered.

The MOU identifies two specific initiatives that will raise public awareness of the importance of the Watershed.  The first involves the creation and placement of signage at the points of entry on the principal roads to the Watershed so that everyone can become familiar with the Great Swamp’s existence and boundaries.  The second initiative involves the development of an educational program called Swamp Smart.  This will inform watershed residents about the importance of the Great Swamp and what each individual can do to protect its quality.

Financial support for this collaboration was provided by a grant from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program (NYSCPP) a unique program of the Land Trust Alliance and the New York State DEC .Funding for priority conservation projects and land trust initiatives around the State help communities protect water quality, wildlife habitat, community gardens, working forests and farmland.

OLC and PCLT jointly applied for a Catalyst Grant to initiate local and regional partnerships and community initiatives that will lead to greater engagement in, and increased public support for, the protection and stewardship of environmentally significant lands. Conservation Catalyst projects for land trusts should engage multiple partners and stakeholders, have clearly defined outcomes, and advance the land trusts’ missions, strategic goals, and programs. Funded projects typically involve collaboration with local municipalities, other land trusts, or other conservation partners and to that end FrOGS has joined the collaboration to build on the work they have undertaken in conserving large areas of the Great Swamp.

Tree logo of the Oblong Land Conservancy

OLC is an all-volunteer organization based in Pawling that undertakes conservation in the greater Harlem Valley.  It was founded in 1990 and now has approximately 1,100 acres under stewardship.

Putnam County Land Trust

PCLT is an all-volunteer organization based in eastern Putnam County.  Its mission is to preserve and maintain for the public, open spaces and the natural resources within, for the purpose of conservation, education and recreation.  PCLT’s fee properties total 1,058 acres and it holds easements on another 138 acres.

FrOGSBWx150

FrOGS is an all-volunteer conservation organization dedicated to promoting stewardship of New York’s Great Swamp. FrOGS pursues this mission through Education, Scientific Research, and direct Conservation Action.  They provide science based information for local issues and focus on protecting habitat and species of conservation concern through collaborative coalitions with other organizations.

For further information please contact:

OLC at (845) 855 7014 – www.oblongland.org
PCLT at (845) 278 2808 – www.pclt.net
FrOGS at (845) 878 0081 – http://frogs.ny.org

FrOGS Annual Great Swamp Celebration and Art Show Returns to Pawling, NY

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A wonderful community experience:

October 22, 11am-5pm and October 23, 1pm-4pm, at the Frances Ryan Thomas Memorial Center of Christ Church on Quaker Hill in Pawling, NY.

Join the Brines and other FrOGS to celebrate the diverse beauty of our local, majestic wetland. Enjoy work by local artists and artisans, educational displays, food, and activities.

The Great Swamp Watershed, Pawling, NY by Stancy Duhamel
© Constance Duhamel

FrOGS (Friends of the Great Swamp) is an active voice for the protection of the Great Swamp, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in New York State.

 

Exemplary Biodiversity Habitat Mapping in Dutchess County, NY by Hudsonia

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Erik Kiviat’s Hudsonia is an important resource for environmental research and education in the Hudson Valley.

Get an eyeful of his perspective here.

http://www.townofdover.us/HudsoniaPresentation.pdf

First World Wide Water Map

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  • Global Freshwater Team – World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy Release Map of Freshwater Systems

    • Freshwater Ecoregions of the World divides the world’s freshwater systems into 426 distinct conservation units, many of which are rich in species but under increasing pressure from human population growth, rising water use, and habitat alteration.

      • This is the first study to compile data on freshwater species — including fish, amphibians, crocodiles and turtles — for nearly all of the world’s inland water habitats
      • Almost 18,000 species have been mapped and placed into freshwater ecoregions. This species list includes 13,400 fish, 4,000 amphibians, 300 turtles, and 20 crocodile species and their relatives.
      • About half of all freshwater fish are endemic, or found in only one ecoregion.

      • Excessive water use for agriculture, industry, drinking and livestock are placing freshwater ecosystems in 55 ecoregions under high stress, threatening the species and habitats.
      • In another 59 ecoregions more than 50 percent of their area has already been converted from natural habitats to cropland and urban areas.

    • Until now there were no data on global freshwater biodiversity synthesized in a way that was useful to conservation.

    • The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

    • Known in the United States as World Wildlife Fund and recognized worldwide by its panda logo, WWF leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats and to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. Now in its fifth decade, WWF, the global conservation organization, works in more than 100 countries around the world.