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Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District 5 Park Lane Highland, New York 12528

(Phone (845) 883-7162 ext. 3 Fax (855) 401-1959)

SWCD

Board of Directors

Leonard Tantillo—Chairman A.William Wilklow - Treasurer Severyn Hasbrouck - Member

Tracey Bartels—Legislature James Delaune—Legislature

Staff

Gary Capella

Executive Director

Margarete Wagner Program Assistant

Jake Wedemeyer

Technician Specialist Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC)

Adam Doan,

A.W.S.M.P. Project Manager

Bobby Taylor, A.W.S.M.P. CSBI Coordinator

Allison Lent

A.W.S.M.P. Stream Assessment Coordinator

Tiffany Runge

A.W.S.M.P. Watershed Technician

USDA NRCS Staff

Kathleen Capella District Conservationist

Don Shortell IT Specialist

In This Issue: • NCF North American Envirothon The Mount Academy takes first. (Page 2)

• NYS Grown & Certified Grant Program. (Pages 2 & 3)

• Stream Restoration Program– Woodland Creek. (Page 4)

• Riparian Buffers-Invasive Plants Removal. (Page 5)

• How to Get USDA Funding Assistance. (Page 6)

• Soil Group Worksheets Notice. (Page 7)

• 2019 Pond Stocking information. (Page 7)

*2019 Tree &Shrub Order Form Enclosed*

Save the dates: April 17-April 20, 2019

Tree & Shrub “pick-up”

U.C. Fairgrounds Wednesday April 17-from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 249 Libertyville Rd. Thursday April 18-from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. New Paltz U.C. Highway Garage Friday April 19-from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 317 Shamrock Lane Saturday April 20-from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. Off of Hurley Ave. Kingston

Page 2

Congratulations Mount Academy, Esopus, New York HIGH SCHOOL TEAM FROM NEW YORK STATE

“MOUNT ACADEMY, ESOPUS, NY” EARNS TOP HONORS!

The Mount Academy of Esopus has completed an-other outstanding run by winning the 2018 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) North American Envirothon held from July 22-28 at Idaho State University in Pocatello Idaho. The Mount Academy represented New York State again by winning the New York State Envirothon held in May at Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Geneva.

A total 50 student teams representing the United States, Canada, and China put their skills to test at the world’s largest high school level natural resources edu-cation competition which is run and sponsored by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF).

Article by: Margarete Wagner, Program Assistant

SWCD News & Events

New York State Grown & Certified Grant Program Tailor made for Ulster County, the Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District took advantage of this one time State Funding Program and applied for two competitive grants to help local farms that are GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certified and have partici-pated in the Agricultural Environmental Management Program. This grant was available to vegetable and apple growers. Ulster County was awarded funding for both applications. (continued on Page 3)

Article by: Gary Capella, Executive Director

Jake Wedemeyer. Technician Specialist

Page 7

2019 FISH STOCKING PROGRAM

Saturday June 1st, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Check with us in March for a 2019 Order Form.

Download The NYS-DEC Application to Stock Triploid Grass Carp This permit is free, and is required to purchase Triploid Grass Carp in NY. State It should be returned to: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Fish Wildlife & Marine Resources 21 South Putt Corners New Paltz, NY 12561 (845) 256-3161 Links for further information: Freshwater Fish Species of New York Aquatic Vegetation Control Methods Fish Pond Information

SOIL GROUP WORKSHEETS Landowners filing for an agricultural assessment in 2019 must file applications with their local assessor by March 1st. To complete a new application landowners must have a Soil Group Work-sheet (SGW) prepared by SWCD for each tax parcel they intend to enroll. Landowners who have previously had a worksheet completed for a tax parcel do not need a new one unless ownership, parcel acreage or land use has changed.. Landowners participating in the program for the first time, or those who need a revised worksheet, should make an appointment with our office before Friday, February 8th. When making the ap-pointment, have tax map number, location and acreage for each parcel available. This information can be found on the most recent tax bill. A fee of $40.00 will be charged for each worksheet. There is also another form that must be filed out and given to your local assessor (RP-305).

Page 6

Conservation Service Get Started with NRCS Do you farm or ranch and want to make improvements to the land that you own or lease? Natural Re-

sources Conservation Service offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forest land-

owners.

To get started with NRCS, we recommend you stop by your local NRCS field office. We’ll discuss your

vision for your land.

NRCS provides landowners with free technical assistance, or advice, for their land. Common technical assistance in-

cludes: resource assessment, practice design and resource monitoring. Your conservation planner will help you

through the application process. To get started on applying for financial assistance, we’ll work with you: To fill out an AD 1026, which ensures a conservation plan is in place before lands with highly erodible soils are farmed. It also ensures that identified wetland areas are protected.

To meet other eligibility certifications.

Once complete, we’ll work with you on the application, or CPA 1200.

Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in differ-

ent ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking

period to ensure you turn in your application in time.

As part of the application process, we’ll check to see if you are eligible. To do this, you’ll need to bring: An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID) A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property; and A farm tract number.

If you don’t have a farm tract number, you can get one from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Typically, the local

FSA office is located in the same building as the local NRCS office. You only need a farm tract number if you’re

interested in financial assistance.

NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of

conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants.

If you’re selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done.

Once you sign the contract, you’ll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practic-

es, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected,

you’ll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

To find our more, go to: www.nrcs.usda.gov/Get Started

Page 3

Crist Brothers Orchards is a family owned, expanding New York State Grown and Certified Fruit operation that is spread across Southern Ulster and Northern Orange Counties. Their former agrichemical mixing and secondary fuel containment facilities in the Town of Marlborough were not adequate to maintain their certifications. To address these issues, the Crist family approached the Ulster County Soil & Water Conservation District and USDA-NRCS for cost share funding to construct a state of the art facility which will provide for water quality for many years to come.

Hepworth Farms – On Farm Secondary Containment Facility

The NYS Grown and Certified grant provided cost share funding for an On Farm Secondary Containment System for Hepworth Farms in Milton, New York. The farm had older single walled gasoline and diesel tanks, and Amy Hepworth had the foresight to replace the tanks with the help of the NYS Grown and Certified grant,

as well as using her own money to improve access roads to the fuel tanks installing electric service for the tanks. Many farms have older single walled fuel tanks, and over time, the tanks rust from the inside out, especially if

the tanks are on bare ground. Hepworth Farms recognized this potential hazard and went above and beyond to improve their fuel storage.

Crist Brothers Orchards

Page 4

STREAM RESTORATION PROGRAM

Woodland Creek 2018

The Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District (UCSWCD) turned its attention to Woodland Creek in 2018. Along with recently completing an update to the Woodland Creek Stream Management Plan the beginning of 2018 UCSWCD undertook a reach scale stream restoration project in the upper portions of Woodland Creek in the Town of Shandaken. Woodland Creek is a major tributary to the Upper Esopus Creek and critical to maintaining clean water for Woodland Valley residents as well as New York City. The Woodland Creek Stream Management Plan identified several sites for potential treatment and in 2018 UCSWCD contracted with Kingston Equipment Rental/Baker Brothers Excavating from West Hurley, NY to address the site most responsible for creating turbid conditions downstream. The site contained several eroding stream banks that were in contact with glacial clay deposits. These clays, when in contact with flowing water, create turbidity or muddy water. In order to achieve the goal of improving water quality, the District utilized best management practices which included: stable channel dimensions, in-stream grade control structures, and bank revetment to maintain lateral and vertical stability. Critical to the success of the project was establishment of native Catskill vegetation. The site was heavily planted with a wide variety of con-tainer and live stake material (cuttings from native dogwood and willow bushes). The project will be monitored for several years to ensure no additional work is needed and track changes both instream and along the reconnect-ed floodplains. The work was managed by UCSWCD with design/inspection by Milone and MacBroom. This is the third large

stream restoration project the District has completed with Kingston Equipment Rental/Baker Brothers Excavat-ing. As with past projects within the NYC watershed, funding was provided by a contract between UC SWCD and New York City Department of Environmental Protection for work related to the Ashokan Watershed Stream

Management Program. Article by: Adam Doan

A.W.S.M.P. Project Manager

Page 5

REMOVAL OF INVASIVE PLANTS TO ENHANCE RIPARIAN BUFFERS The main goal for the Ulster County Soil & Water Conservations District’s (UCSWCD) Catskill Streams Buffer Initiative (CSBI) grant program is helping landowners actively protect, enhance, and restore native plant communi-ties along mountain streams on privately owned streamside lands in the Ashokan Reservoir Watershed. Streamside areas are transitional zones that connect the flowing water to the land. These areas are not only vital plant and ani-mal habitat, but also contribute greatly to the improvement of water quality. One of the most common impairments of intact riparian buffers is the presence of invasive plants. Invasive plants are those that are non-native, grow aggressively, and crowd our native plants, often resulting in streamside vegeta-tion that is dominated by just a handful of species rather than a complex diversity of plants. The UCSWCD CSBI program works with interested landowners to remove and replace invasive plants in riparian areas. One project we embarked on this effort in 2018 was in the Town of Olive, Hamlet of Shokan located in Western Ulster County. This creek, a direct tributary to the Ashokan Watershed, was in a priority area for riparian buffer management. The property owner was interested in removing the thorny invasive plants that were choking out the native plants and making accessing his wet meadow nearly impossible and unenjoyable. The most common invasive plants that were on the site were Japanese Barberry, Multiflora Rose, Wild Grape and Burning Bush. For a period of approximately two weeks in September, staff from the Ulster County Soil & Water Conservation District worked with the landowner to mechanically remove invasive shrubs and vines on just under 1 acre of ripari-an land. The district rented a small excavator with a brush grapple to assist with the effort. Mature shrubs were pulled out with ease and disposed of at an approved disposal site where the material would be ground up and would-n’t pose a threat of re-sprouting. A total of 142 cubic yards of material were hauled off site making way for native vegetation in the future. As with all invasive species management efforts, continued monitoring to ensure the invasive plants don’t recolo-nize the site is important. The district and participating landowner will continue to monitor the site and hand-pull any invasives that pop up for several years. In fall of 2019, if initial removal efforts prove to have been successful, the CSBI program will restore a native plant community on the property that will be better suited for wildlife habitat and improved water quality as well as being aesthetically pleasing for the landowner .

Article by: Bobby Taylor A.W.S.M.P. CSBI Coordinator