NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Scenic Byway is tackling litter along Route 97 with new signage, free reusable cloth bags, WIFI-enabled solar trash receptacles, and other initiatives.

The non-profit organization marks its 20th anniversary in 2022 in protecting the region’s character, heritage and beauty, while encouraging economic development through tourism and recreation.

Eight 24-inch round signs featuring the byway’s logo and reading “Please Keep (community name) Beautiful and Clean, No Littering” are being installed in Port Jervis, Deerpark, Pond Eddy, Barryville, Narrowsburg, Cochecton, Callicoon, and Hancock.

The organization has also ordered 5,000 American-made “ragbags” made from bio-based materials and designed to be repurposed as a cleaning cloth.

The Scenic Byway also hopes to introduce solar-powered, WIFI-enabled “Big Belly” compacting trash receptacles along Route 97, experimentally at four initial locations to include two sites in the Town of Highland, the Route 97 rest area pull-off in the Town of Lumberland, and downtown Narrowsburg in the Town of Tusten.

ALBANY – Each June, biologists from DEC’s Hudson River Fisheries Unit study the endangered adult Atlantic sturgeon when the fish return to the Hudson River to spawn.

Atlantic sturgeon, the largest fish species in the Hudson River Estuary, are anadromous, which means they hatch in freshwater, spend most of their lives in saltwater, and return to freshwater to spawn.

Atlantic sturgeon may live more than 60 years, reaching a weight of 800 pounds and a length of 14 feet.

They are armored with bony plates, evidence of a lineage extending back to the age of dinosaurs.

Sturgeon are bottom feeders, using whisker-like barbels on the underside of their snouts to find food – chiefly worms, insects, crustaceans, and small fish – that are sucked up in their tube-like mouths.

The fisheries crew set nets to catch the sturgeon, carefully moving the fish from the nets into a large pen in the Hudson, tied to the boat. Crew members then weigh and measure each fish, determines its sex, and scan them for an electronic tag, called a PIT tag (Passive Integrated Transponder Data tag). If no tag is detected, a crew member inserts one into the base of the dorsal fin. The sturgeon are immediately released back into the Hudson River as soon as they are examined.

PIT tags can be scanned to help learn more about sturgeon movement and behavior while in the Hudson, helping scientists learn what areas they use while in the river and how often they spawn. The tags also can be scanned and detected by other scientists in other rivers along the east coast. Atlantic sturgeon migrate as far south as Georgia and as far north as Canada’s Bay of Fundy, so the tags give scientists clues about where sturgeon migrate from place to place.

The Hudson River currently supports the largest population of Atlantic sturgeon along the Atlantic Coast, estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500 fish.

KINGSTON – Ulster County is allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and Opioid Settlement funding to bolster mental health supports in schools at a time of critical need.

A resolution to fund the program was unanimously passed by the county legislature on June 21.

The program will supplement mental health supports provided in the county’s nine district schools and will act as a link between school, community and family. The program was designed in partnership with local school districts to promote overall wellness, offset the effects of trauma and bolster existing mental health resources in the schools. The Mental Health in Schools program will begin in the 2022-23 school year and work with middle school aged youth.

“We know that no one has been more impacted than our young people during the pandemic, and it will take all of us working together to ensure that they once again thrive,” County Executive Pat Ryan said.

“The past two years have taken a toll on all of us, perhaps no group more than the almost 24,000 students who attend school every and day in Ulster County and their families,” said Charles Khoury, district superintendent and CEO of Ulster BOCES. “The pandemic has shaken the somewhat predictable nature of our pre-pandemic lives and our sense of security. There has been a significant uptick in the number of students and families who need mental health, social and emotional support. The Ulster County Mental Health in Schools initiative will serve to assist the already overburdened school-based student support staff.”

Ulster County will contract with a nonprofit to operate teams of one licensed master/clinical social worker or licensed mental health counselor and one care manager to support youth, families, and schools. Teams will provide face-to-face sessions with the youth, family support sessions with the youth and their parent/caregiver, ongoing communication with school staff, linkage to community resources, and coordination with other providers including but not limited to mental health, juvenile justice, social services, primary care, etc. The program will be voluntary, and youth and parents/caregivers must provide consent to participate.

KINGSTON– A $10 million upgrade at the City of Kingston’s Wastewater Treatment Plant has begun. The upgrade includes new aeration tank blowers and outfall system which will limit ammonia, nitrogen, and other emissions into Rondout Creek.

“The improvements at the Wastewater Treatment Plant is a two-part project – first, rebuilding the outfall will limit the ammonia and nitrogen that the plant emits into the Rondout Creek to prevent dead zones that could be caused by outflow and will create an overall healthier habitat. And with the installation of new blowers in the aeration tanks, we will reduce our energy at an estimated 417,000 kwh per year, a 33 percent savings,” said Mayor Steven Noble. “Not only are we making environmental improvements, we are also achieving our climate goals by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and electricity usage.”

The mayor said the plant is the biggest energy draw in all of the City of Kingston government operations, “so we are excited to kick off this project and begin to save resources for all.”

The Wastewater Treatment Plant work is being done to meet state Department of Conservation requirements and is anticipated to cost a total of $10.3 million with a 10.42 percent contribution from the Town of Esopus. The City of Kingston was awarded $2.25 million in State Water Infrastructure Improvement grants. The balance will be financed under a no-interest hardship loan from the New York Environmental Facilities Corporation.

As part of rebuilding the outfall, the Rondout Creek bulkhead adjacent to the WWTP will also be repaired.

More info at https://engagekingston.com/wwtp-upgrades

ALBANY – Federal funding will provide $38.8 million to the Hudson Valley to promote environmentally friendly modes of travel and make it easier and safer to walk, bike or hike.

Many of the projects awarded will benefit Environmental Justice Communities, helping to improve connectivity, air quality and bicycle and pedestrian access to the predominantly low- and moderate-income families living in those areas.

The Hudson Valley projects include:

• $3 million to the Village of Briarcliff Manor to construct sidewalks, traffic calming measures, and pedestrian crossing along Pleasantville Road, North State Road and Delton Lane.
• $3.6 million to the Town of Cortlandt to construct sidewalks, bike lanes and streetscape improvements along Westbrook Drive.
• $2.8 million to the Town of Crawford to construct sidewalk, curbing, ramps and crosswalks to North Street.
• $5 million to the Town of Greenburgh to construct sidewalk and pedestrian crossing enhancements and improvements to the East-West Hartsdale Avenue Corridor.
• $785,400 to the Village of Hastings on Hudson to construct sidewalk, curbs, and a pedestrian bridge adjacent to Broadway (Route 9).
• $1.1 million to the Town of Hyde Park to construct sidewalks and pedestrian lighting on Historic Main Street.
• $4 million to the Village of Mamaroneck to construct sidewalk, curbs, traffic calming measures, pedestrian crossing along Halstead Avenue.
• $958,300 to the City of New Rochelle to construct ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, pedestrian signals, and push buttons at various locations.
• $4 million to Ulster County to convert 2.5-mile Ulster and Delaware Railroad to a multi-use trail and pedestrian bridges from Highmount to Belleayre Beach in the Town of Shandaken.
• $1.8 million to the Village of Wesley Hills to construct ADA-compliant sidewalks on Willow Tree Road.
• $5 million to the Village of East Fishkill to construct off-set roundabouts at Route 82/Route 376.
• $5 million to the Mid-Hudson Region to construct a roundabout at Raymond Avenue, New Hackensack Road, and Hooker Avenue in the City of Poughkeepsie.
• $1.8 million to the Town of East Fishkill for intersection and pedestrian improvements on Route 52 within the proximity of John Jay High School.