Agawamuck Creek Watershed Management Plan
The Village of Philmont, in partnership with Philmont Beautification, Inc. and community stakeholders, are developing a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) component as a watershed management plan for Agawamuck Creek. This plan will develop management recommendations for improving water quality and restoring critical natural resources throughout the watershed, as well as identify measures to address invasive species.
The project is funded by the New York State Department of State under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund with a grant awarded to the Village of Philmont.
The watershed boundary includes towns and villages of Columbia County, including the Towns of Claverack, Ghent, Austerlitz and Hillsdale. The watershed is approximately 14,656 acres (22.9 sq miles) in size. The project is intended as a collaboration with participating towns located in the watershed.
This Agawamuck Creek Watershed Plan will develop management recommendations for improving water quality and restoring critical natural resources throughout the watershed, identify measures to address invasive species, and incorporate information identified in the watershed analysis (e.g. waterways, stormwater runoff, invasive species, onsite wastewater treatment systems, road weather management best practices, watershed data compilation and baseline monitoring).
A Watershed Advisory Committee includes governmental agencies, participating towns of Claverack, Ghent, Hillsdale, and Austerlitz, stakeholders, non-profit watershed organizations, and other members of the community affected by the watershed.
The goals of the Agawamuck Creek Watershed Plan are to better understand watershed conditions and public accessibility to waterbodies in the watershed.
01/09/2023
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Village of Philmont, NY awarded the contract to LaBella Associates on 1/9/23 to provide planning, environmental, and engineering services to facilitate the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) Watershed Management Plan for an intermunicipal planning project with the participation of the Towns of Claverack, Ghent, Hillsdale, and Austerlitz. Click here to see the RFP
Watershed Management Plans enable communities to:
- Establish a mechanism for long-term watershed management, often through the creation of an intermunicipal watershed organization;
- Describe and understand existing water quality and watershed conditions, current impairments and anticipated threats to water quality, and recognize the key problems and opportunities in the watershed;
- Identify and describe priority actions needed to address water quality impairments or threats;
- Create an implementation strategy identifying stakeholder roles and the financial and institutional resources needed to undertake these priorities;
- Develop a means to measure success, track implementation, and monitor performance; and
- Network with other communities, agencies and organizations with experience in the successful preparation and implementation of watershed management plans.
The Agawamuck Creek Watershed Management Plan project officially kicked-off with a Project Initiation Meeting held on November 10, 2021.
Agawamuck Creek Watershed Management Work Plan - PDF
Watershed Advisory Committee (WAC)
Barbara Sagal, Chair of WAC (former Village of Philmont Trustee 2002-2021)
Brian Johnson, Mayor of Philmont
Bob Macfarlane, Chair of Philmont Planning Board
Clifford “Kippy” Weigelt, Supervisor Town of Claverack
Craig Simmons, Supervisor Town of Ghent
Greg Vogler, Deputy Supervisor Town of Austerlitz
David Lewis Esq., Chair of Conservation Council Town of Hillsdale
Gretchen Stevens, member of Conservation Council Town of Hillsdale
Cathy Zises, farm owner, lands in Philmont, Claverack and Ghent
Emily Vail, Hudson River Watershed Alliance
Patrick Knapp, Columbia Land Conservancy, (Public Lands & Stewardship Coordinator)
Julia Sedlock, community lead of BOA Subarea 4 Working Group, Philmont
Rob Fitzsimmons, Esq., attorney Village of Philmont
Project Management - Sally Baker, PBI.
Summary Notes of Watershed Advisory Committee meetings:
November-December Selection of consultant meetings (RFP) - Summary Notes - DOS approved
October 12, 2022 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
September 28, 2022 -Summary Notes - DOS approved
September 14, 2022 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
August 10, 2022 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
June 8, 2002 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
May 4, 2022 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
March 19, 2022 - Summary Notes - DOS approved
March 19, 2022 - DOS webinar presentation "Watershed Planning Basics" presented at the Watershed Advisory Committee meeting - recording
March 19, 2022 - DOS presentation slides pdf - Basics of Watershed Management Planning
January 31, 2022 Agenda and Summary Notes - DOS approved
December 28, 2021 Agenda and Summary Notes - DOS approved
November 10, 2021 Agenda and Summary Notes - DOS approved
a) Project Initiation Meeting - DOS power point presentation pdf
Agawamuck Creek Watershed Project Reports:
Site-specific Biological Survey Study for Summit Lake and Adjacent Areas authored by the Hawthorne Farmscape Ecology Program, 2021
The Agawamuck Creek watershed is a part of the Hudson Estuary watershed. What we do in our watershed has direct impact on the Hudson River and the Hudson Valley.
The DEC video Future of the Hudson: Develop a Climate Resilience Vision won 3rd place in the PSA/Marketing category of the Association of Conservation Information's 2021 Annual Awards competition. Creating a community-led climate resilience vision is a key step in adapting to climate change. The annual awards competition recognizes excellence in communicating about the natural environment.
Watch the video to see how communities along the Hudson are envisioning the future in the face of the climate crisis and how New York’s Climate Smart Communities certification program can help. Everyone, including low-income and communities of color, must be meaningfully represented in a vision for the future and the process for creating it.
Useful Documents and Resources:
Overview: Watershed Planning - What is a Watershed Management Plan?
These primers are essential reading for understanding why watershed planning is so essential to be taking place in the Agawamuck Creek Watershed.
Here's a quick except from the Watershed Planning Guidebook guidebook.
"Communities and individuals across New York State have a strong connection to the water. New York’s landscape holds a diverse array of water resources, ranging from salt marshes, estuaries, and coastal beaches to freshwater lakes, streams, and wetlands. New Yorkers take pride in their water resources, for they help shape communities and provide us with drinking water, economic activity, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and a place to just relax and enjoy the scenery.
With all these benefits, it is no wonder that communities throughout New York are searching for ways to protect and restore these resources while balancing the need for economic growth and development.
Many communities are recognizing that a comprehensive watershed planning approach can help them to protect and restore their water resources. Communities throughout the State are already implementing local watershed plans with great results."
Watershed Plans: Protecting and Restoring Water Quality - video
The video highlights communities benefiting from watershed planning.
Funding Watershed Plans & Implementation – Stephanie Wojtowicz, NYS DOS
Presentation highlights intermunicipal watershed planning and implementation.
Case Study: Wappinger Creek Watershed Plan – Matt Alexander, Village of Wappingers Falls
