Habitat Mapping Is Proposed for North East

NORTH EAST — The town of North East has the chance to learn about its environmental resources, and to have those resources mapped out, all free of charge, thanks to the group Hudsonia.

Hudsonia is a small, nonprofit, non-advocacy environmental research group based out of Annandale. It made a presentation before the Town Board last Thursday.

The mapping proposal for North East is all part of a series of habitat mapping started in 2001. Hudsonia just completed mapping in neighboring Amenia, and is set to complete mapping in Rhinebeck this summer. The group just received funding to map the town of Poughkeepsie as well. Funding for the projects is mostly provided by private foundations. In the case of North East, funding for the mapping would be provided by the Millbrook Tribute Garden and the Dyson Foundation.

But it’s more than dollars that dictates what towns should be selected to be mapped. According to Hudsonia biologist Gretchen Stevens, it’s about which municipality will make use of the information.

"We want to choose a town to map next that is interested in having the information and that will use the information," she said, adding that the mapping process usually takes about one year to complete.

That process can and usually does include the search for habitats that are rare or that support rare species, like a fen, or bog turtles, respectively. But the study also includes the search for other, more common habitats that provide "best examples," like marshes or upland deciduous forests, etc. Stevens said that she is also "very interested" in habitats that are contiguous to each other.

In terms of the types of methods that Hudsonia utilizes, there are many. The group uses topographical maps, geology maps, soil maps and aerial photos to put together preliminary maps. Then members of the group field check the information, all of which contributes to the final recommendations prepared by Hudsonia.

"We map all of these habitats wherever we find them, if they’re of good quality," Stevens said. "The reports we prepare with these maps ... give fairly detailed conservation recommendations for the area."

The reports also create priority conservation areas that delineate special areas worth special conservation. A detailed report is also provided that describes all of the habitats identified by Hudsonia.

The benefit of having such information, according to the group, can be seen when it comes time to do town-wide planning, or to redraft a town’s comprehensive plan, or to review site specific proposals for landowners. The information can also be used by agencies like the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC), the Planning Board or the Zoning Review Committee.

"One great advantage of these maps is it’s one way to get perspective on these lands that you don’t get from other sources," Stevens said. "This will help you see where important areas are connected to other important habitats and where they’re not connected."

"It would also help eliminate some of the judgment calls on whether we should do a long form environmental review or a short form, because you can see it right there," said Councilman Carl Stahovec. "This will give you a much better idea of where your wetlands are than any other maps."

Sherman asked whether the maps, which have no legal authority in terms of delineating property lines, etc., would be a help or a hindrance.

"Anything that’s being developed, unless it’s being redeveloped, is invading some form of habitat," he said. "How would this be of greater assistance to us rather than creating another layer of bureaucracy?"

"Our report is not saying that everything mapped here needs to be protected," Stevens replied. "Our recommendations are aimed at directing those developments away from areas that are most sensitive, deep in the interior of the habitats."

The question Stevens put before the Town Board following her presentation Jan. 4 was, would the town be likely to make use of the maps and the report, were Hudsonia to do the work. Town Supervisor Dave Sherman said that he would speak with his board and the Planning Board and hope to have a response by this week.

Planning Board Chairman Henry Klimowicz was was at the Town Board meeting, said, "Any information is always better than none, so I’m always in favor of this kind of thing. It could be very valuable for subdivisions, this is going to give us that information for when it is important and when it isn’t. I would hope you guys endorse this and in a timely manner so they can move on with it."