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Background The Upper Esopus Creek, a popular trout-fishing and recreational stream in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, received historic flooding from Tropical Storm Irene on August 28, 2011. Streamflows approached or surpassed the 1% annual exceedance probability (>100 year) flood levels at several USGS streamgages in this basin. Short-term flood impacts on biological assemblages have been assessed in several studies, but longer-term effects, recovery, and analysis of factors affecting ecosystem resiliency have rarely been investigated. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County (CCEUC) collaborated on...
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Background Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the hereditary material in organisms that contains the biological instructions for building and maintaining them. The chemical structure of DNA is the same for all organisms, but differences exist in the order of the DNA building blocks, known as base pairs. Unique sequences provide a means to identify individual species and detect their presence within aquatic or terrestrial environments. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is shed from an organism into the environment. Sources of eDNA include feces, mucous, and gametes; shed skin; and carcasses. In aquatic environments, eDNA is diluted and distributed by currents and other hydrological processes....
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Background: The waters of the Mohawk River and its tributaries are inhabited by some of the most diverse fish communities in the Northeast. The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825, and later the Barge Canal in 1918, enabled the westward expansion of fishes from the Hudson River drainage as well as the eastward expansion of fishes indigenous to the Great Lakes drainage. Today, almost half of the fish species in the Mohawk River are nonnative (Carlson and Daniels, 2004) and George et al (2016), yet the fish community still fulfills many important economic and ecological functions. The Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive benthic fish indigenous to Ponto-Caspian region of Eurasia that is invading eastward...
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Background The invasive diatom Didymosphenia geminata (didymo) has historically been a wide-spread, but rare, micro algae found in moderately flowing cold-water streams of North America, Europe, Asia, and (more recently) New Zealand. Demographic patterns of didymo have recently changed resulting in greater spatial coverage and temporal persistence (e.g. blooms) in streams worldwide. Didymo blooms can form dense “woven fabric” aggregate up to 20 cm think, that trap algae, macroinvertebrates, detritus and other debris. The recent discovery of didymo in parts of New York State, including the Upper Esopus Creek in 2009, is concerning because blooms can affect benthic habitat, river hydraulics, the structure and function...
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BACKGROUND Watersheds of the Adirondack Mountains receive high levels of acid deposition resulting from atmospheric emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Acidic deposition has been shown to reduce acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and calcium (Ca) concentrations, and increase acidity and aluminum (Al) concentrations in soils and surface waters, and affect forest health as well as fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages across the region. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently developing secondary standards for nitrogen and sulfur emissions that will indirectly protect terrestrial and aquatic species and their communities from further adverse impacts and promote recovery of acidified ecosystems...
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Background Acidification of lotic and lentic environments has been found to adversely affect the integrity of resident biological assemblages. These effects have been particularly severe in poorly buffered regions like the Western Adirondacks. Although the Clean Air Act and its amendments have greatly reduced levels of atmospheric deposition, many streams in this region are still chronically or episodically acidified. In-stream and watershed-wide liming are two directed-mitigation techniques which could be used to accelerate ecosystem recovery and help restore the condition of biological assemblages. The costs and abilities (as well as effective duration) of these techniques to improve water and soil chemistry,...
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Problem - A variety of factors potentially impact natural resources in the Neversink River basin and in other tributaries to the Upper Delaware River along the New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey boarders in the northeastern US. Increased urbanization within most watersheds of the Delaware River has decreased forested lands and ground permeability; fractionated forests, streams, and rivers; impounded flowing waters, and discharged municipal, agricultural, and industrial pollutants into many waterways. The effects on water quality and hydrology have been quantified relatively well. The direct impacts of these perturbations on biological components of stream and river ecosystems are sometimes known, however, more...
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Background With few exceptions, the contemporary and past effects of acidification on fish populations and communities in streams across acid-sensitive regions of NY have not been documented. The pervasive lack of information only permits anecdotal insight into the spatial effects of acidification on stream-fish assemblages and essentially precludes any broad effort to quantify temporal trends and potential recovery of fish assemblages in less acidic or less toxic streams. Though the effects of acidification on fish assemblages have been qualified in several streams of the eastern Adirondacks during 1979, the 1980s, and early 2000s, (Schofield and Driscoll 1987; Simonin et al. 2005) quantitative impacts were...
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Background - Turbid waters originating in the Schoharie Reservoir allegedly impair habitat and resident trout populations in Upper Esopus Creek; however, to date no scientific studies have documented adverse affects of altered thermal, suspended sediment (turbidity), and flow regimes on survival, growth, or behavior of trout or the health of their populations. The 424 mi2 Esopus Creek watershed is a tributary to the Hudson River in the south-central Catskill Mountains of New York State and is often considered to be two systems separated by the Ashokan Reservoir. The Upper Esopus Creek is considered the reach between its source, Winisook Lake, and the reservoir. Flows in the Upper Esopus Creek are supplemented by...
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Problem - The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) Stream Management Program, in cooperation with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, is implementing stream-restoration demonstration projects to decrease channel bed and bank erosion and improve water quality (lower suspended sediment and turbidity) in several priority streams of the Catskill Mountain Region (Fig. 1). A variety of issues relating to (a) the hydraulic geometry of stable and unstable stream channels, (b) validation of underlying assumptions used to characterize channel stability and design, and (c) the effects of restoration on stream-channel geomorphology, stability, biota, and sediment transport have not been...
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Background The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation (ALSC) repeatedly surveyed fish assemblages and characterized water chemistry from 44 to 52 lakes during the periods 1984-1987 and 1994-2005, and 2008-2012 to document the regional effects of acidic deposition and potential recovery associated with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment (CAAA) under the Adirondack Long-Term Monitoring (ATLM) Project. An initial analysis of changes in fish assemblages between the periods 1984-1987 and 1994-2005 noted modest and mixed recoveries, identified five fish-community response/recovery classes, and helped to devise a fish-community index based on species acid...
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Background Forested watersheds in the southwestern Adirondack Mountains of New York received some of the most acidic deposition in North America from the 1970s through much of the 1990s (NADP 2005). Thus it is not surprising that associated effects on surface-water quality and ecosystems in lakes and streams of the southwestern Adirondack Mountains of New York were investigated to various extents over the past 35 years; first to document acidification effects and then to evaluate potential recovery. In fact, evidence of adverse impacts on water quality and aquatic ecosystems across the region provided much support for implementation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1990. Although the underlying effect mechanisms were...
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American Eel (Anguilla Rostrata) Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has worked in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) over the past 11 years to study the effects of channel geomorphology and impoundments on the distribution of common and rare mussels in the Neversink River and to characterize fish assemblages in tributaries to the Upper Delaware River in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The focus of this research and monitoring program has recently shifted toward studies of the rapidly declining American eel (Anguilla rostrata) populations in rivers of the tri-state region. There are many factors that could potentially cause the observed declines in local and continental populations of...
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Project Summary. The Western Adirondack Stream Survey (WASS), conducted in 2003-2005, showed that acidic deposition was causing toxic forms of Al to move from soils to streams in 66% of the 565 watersheds assessed in the study region. The WASS encompassed only 20% of the Adirondack region, and for the remaining 80% (referred to hereafter as the East-Central Adirondack region), there is little information on the extent of soil and stream acidification. Based on lake-chemistry data, acidification in the East-Central Adirondack region has been considered minimal relative to the Western Adirondack region. However, some lake acidification has been identified, and WASS results showed that lake acidification under...
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Problem - The Esopus Creek is located in the Catskill Mountains of New York State and is part of the New York City (NYC) drinking water supply system. The basin was dammed in 1915 to form the Ashokan Reservoir splitting the creek into Upper (upstream of the reservoir) and Lower segments. The Schoharie Reservoir, located 27 miles north of the Ashokan Reservoir, supplies water to Upper Esopus Creek via the Shandaken tunnel. Waters from the Schoharie watershed enter Upper Esopus Creek at the Shandaken portal and travel 18 km before entering the Ashokan Reservoir. The two reservoirs account for approximately 40% of NYC’s mean annual water supply. Waters from the portal have been the focus of controversy and legal action,...
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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is developing a unit management plan/environmental impact statement (UMP/EIS) for the Hudson Gorge Primitive Area, an area of Forest Preserve land encompassing a scenic stretch of the Hudson River in the Adirondack Park. Two goals of the UMP/EIS are to inventory natural resources and ecosystems and take actions to protect those resources while providing for appropriate types and levels of public recreational use. Because of the river's extensive whitewater reaches, it is the setting for a commercial rafting industry that operates during spring, summer, and fall. To increase flows in the Indian and Hudson Rivers, the Town of Indian Lake conducts...
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Problem - Geomorphologic techniques for stream channel and bank restoration are fast becoming the techniques of choice among federal, state, county, and local agencies to reduce suspended sediment loads, reduce flood damage, improve aquatic habitat, and generally stabilize stream channels. One reason for this upswing in use is that appropriate application of these techniques has been shown to reduce the need for repetitive visits to a reach to remove sediments or repair stream banks, and thus reduce long-term channel maintenance expenses. Geomorphologic restoration projects require data that define what a stable stream channel should look like in a given region. Regional hydrologic curves and regional channel-geomorphologic...
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Problem The mainstem of the Mohawk River extends from Lake Delta Dam near Rome, NY downstream to its confluence with the Hudson River near Cohoes, NY. It supports a diverse fishery that is used extensively by recreational anglers. Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and walleye (Sander vitreus) are among the most popular game species with anglers but past biological surveys have documented at least 56 fish species that inhabit the river. An extensive fish survey of the Lower Mohawk River was last conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) from 1979-1983. Some key findings of this research include: • the river supported an abundant and fast growing smallmouth bass...
    map background search result map search result map Regionalization of Channel Geomorphology Characteristics for Streams of New York State, Excluding Long Island Natural Resources of the Neversink River Watershed Response of Fish Assemblages to Changing Acid-base Chemistry in Adirondack Long Term Monitoring Lakes, 1984-2012 Geomorphology, Biology, & Stability of Catskill Mountain Streams, New York Assessing American Eel Populations in Tributaries to the Upper Delaware River Spatiotemporal trends in fish assemblages of the Mohawk River Effects of recreational flow releases on natural resources of the Indian and Hudson Rivers Didymosphenia geminata in the Upper Esopus Creek: Seasonal changes in density and distribution, controlling environmental factors, and potential ecosystem impacts Quantitative assessment of water quality in the Upper Esopus Creek using fatty acid content of periphyton Use of telemetry to assess potential effects of Schoharie Reservoir waters on trout populations in the Upper Esopus Creek Assessing Spatiotemporal Patterns in Fish Assemblages from Acid-Sensitive Streams in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains Emerging Methods for Detection and their Potential for Inventorying Brook Trout Populations in Streams of the Western Adirondacks Long-term Effects of the Clean Air Act on Water Toxicity and Brook Trout Survival in Acidified Streams of the Southwestern Adirondacks, 1984-2017 Effects of Watershed and In-stream Liming on Accelerated Recovery of Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Tributaries to Honnedaga Lake Assessment of Acidic Deposition Effects on the Chemistry and Benthos of Streams of the East-Central Adirondack Region Effect of Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene on Fish Assemblages in the Upper Esopus Creek Basin Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Monitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System Effects of Watershed and In-stream Liming on Accelerated Recovery of Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Tributaries to Honnedaga Lake Natural Resources of the Neversink River Watershed Didymosphenia geminata in the Upper Esopus Creek: Seasonal changes in density and distribution, controlling environmental factors, and potential ecosystem impacts Quantitative assessment of water quality in the Upper Esopus Creek using fatty acid content of periphyton Use of telemetry to assess potential effects of Schoharie Reservoir waters on trout populations in the Upper Esopus Creek Effect of Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene on Fish Assemblages in the Upper Esopus Creek Basin Effects of recreational flow releases on natural resources of the Indian and Hudson Rivers Emerging Methods for Detection and their Potential for Inventorying Brook Trout Populations in Streams of the Western Adirondacks Long-term Effects of the Clean Air Act on Water Toxicity and Brook Trout Survival in Acidified Streams of the Southwestern Adirondacks, 1984-2017 Assessing American Eel Populations in Tributaries to the Upper Delaware River Assessing Spatiotemporal Patterns in Fish Assemblages from Acid-Sensitive Streams in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains Geomorphology, Biology, & Stability of Catskill Mountain Streams, New York Spatiotemporal trends in fish assemblages of the Mohawk River Monitoring the Status and Expansion of Round Goby Populations in the Mohawk River/Barge Canal System Assessment of Acidic Deposition Effects on the Chemistry and Benthos of Streams of the East-Central Adirondack Region Response of Fish Assemblages to Changing Acid-base Chemistry in Adirondack Long Term Monitoring Lakes, 1984-2012 Effects of acid-base chemistry on biology of lakes and streams in the Adirondack Mountains Regionalization of Channel Geomorphology Characteristics for Streams of New York State, Excluding Long Island