Science and Outreach

In the Hudson River estuary of New York State, ongoing mapping, monitoring and ecological studies of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) are giving scientists and resource managers insights into how these plants provide food, oxygen and critical habitat for fish and invertebrates. Now these studies are being used in an outreach program to increase public awareness of the importance of such vegetation.

The Hudson River SAY project has successfully implemented education and outreach programs concurrent with research efforts. In 2002, the Team was awarded the New York State Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals' Team Effort/Innovative Program Award. This award "recognizes interdisciplinary, interagency and/or other teams that have exhibited leadership and excellence in producing unique, cutting edge, risk-taking environmental/natural resources education programs."

The goal of the outreach program is to develop and deliver a series of educational activities to promote understanding and protection of SAV in the Hudson River. As data from the mapping and monitoring project are collected and analyzed, the results are translated into journal articles and conference proceedings for the scientific community and for the outreach program. Workshops, presentations, displays and flyers have been developed and presented in counties located adjacent to the estuary.

The project team includes scientists and resource managers from Cornell University's Institute for Resource Information Systems and Department of Natural Resources, the Institute of Ecosystem Studies, New York Sea Grant and the Hudson River Estuary Pro gram and Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, which are both part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The SAV team received a grant from the Hudson River Estuary Program in 2000 to promote SAV stewardship.

SAV Mapping

SAV mapping of the entire Hudson River estuary has revealed that 4,450 acres of the Hudson River estuary contain submerged aquatic vegetation beds, based on 1995 and 1997 true-color aerial photography and field verification. These rooted plants live in tidal waters up to 3 meters deep, and are found from Hastings-on-Hudson north to Troy. There are about 20 species of plants, of which water celery (Vallisneria americana) is the most common. A floating invasive plant called water chestnut (Trapa natans) covers an area of 1,420 acres. A digital database describing the extent and location of mapped SAV beds is available through the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Outreach Approach

The outreach program was aimed at environmental educators, decision makers and the boating public. Environmental educators were important to reach because they work with the general public and with school groups and can incorporate SAV information in their education programs.

Decision makers, including natural resource managers in state and federal agencies, and state conservation and public safety officers were targeted. Here the outreach goal was to inform decision makers about the SAV beds, their location and importance, and to spur protection of SAV beds threatened by habitat degradation. As a result of the outreach program, regulators are now aware of SAV habitat and are doing what they can to protect SAV through existing laws. Additional protection of buffer areas surrounding SAV habitat will require amending state conservation laws.

The SAV team next targeted groups that can directly impact SAY beds, such as Hudson River boating community leaders and the boating public. The boating community in the Hudson River includes members of Hudson Valley yacht and boat club associations, marina owners, marine trades organizations, sport fishing groups and nonprofit environmental organizations. The outreach goal was to encourage river users to become stewards of SAV beds by promoting awareness of SAV mapping and research. Information on the SAV project was presented at meetings of the boating community. Flyers and posters were distributed and displayed at marinas and boat clubs along the estuary.

The outreach goal was to encourage river users to become stewards of SAV beds...

As part of the outreach program, a volunteer monitoring program has been launched to complement the aerial photo inventory of SAV beds. Several volunteer-based organizations with kayak and canoe experience were interested in partnering with the Team and in learning how to use global positioning system (GPS) instruments for locating beds and verifying the presence or absence of plants. A small but enthusiastic group of volunteers helped to develop a training model and received training in July 2003. They independently visited and acquired data on additional SAV beds along the river. Their monitoring results indicate stability of some SAV beds and also inventory changes that have occurred between the initial monitoring period in 1995-1997 and the summer of 2003.

In September, 2003, the Team and volunteers met to discuss results of the summer's work and to begin planning for enhancing and expanding the program and recruiting additional volunteers for data collection in summer of 2004.

Gail Cashen, President of the Hudson RiverWatertrail Association, and one of the initial volunteers, found that getting to the Global Positioning System coordinates of the SAV beds was a bit tricky with currents and wind, but a big open-cockpit double kayak worked very well. She is looking forward to more outings next summer and expects that other members of the association will be equally enthusiastic. TheSAV team is hopeful that the volunteer pilot study efforts hold promise for long term monitoring of the estuary.

Funding

The SAV project has been funded through grants from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the Hudson River Estuary Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Change Analysis Program, and the Hudson River Foundation.

Information about the project is available at the NOAA website http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/HudsonRiver/ and at the New York State DEC web site http://www.dec.state.ny.us/hudson/hrnerr.html

Contacts:

Chuck Nieder: Research Coordinator, Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, c/o Bard College Field Station, Annandale, NY 12504; Phone: (845)-758-7013; Fax: (845)-758- 7033; Email: wcnieder@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Eugenia M. Barnaba, Program Leader, Resource Inventory, Institute for Resource Information Systems, 303 Rice Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853; Phone: (607) 255-0800; Fax: (607) 255-4662; email: emb6@cornell.edu.

Nordica Holochuck, Hudson Estuary Specialist, New York State Sea Grant Extension Program, 10 Westbrook Lane, Kingston, NY 12401; Phone: (845) 340-3983; Fax: (845) 340-3993; email: nch8@cornell.edu.