Since December Larry Kadish and Tony LaSalvia (both of Taghkanic) have been serving on a committee focused on creating a plan for the lands and waters that drain to the Upper Taghkanic Creek. The Upper Taghkanic Creek watershed includes portions of the stream furthest from the Hudson River and encompasses large areas of the towns of Copake, Hillsdale, and Taghkanic, and a small area of Claverack.
Today, the lands in the watershed of the Upper Taghkanic Creek are largely forested, which is highly important to both water quality and quantity in local streams, as well as for clean and plentiful groundwater. Because forests and streams are so important for people and wildlife, the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC) initiated this effort to bring together stakeholders from all the watershed communities to plan for the future of these resources.
“Forests are essential for protecting our water,” says Beth Mills, Director of Conservation Programs. “We are grateful to the volunteers and their communities for helping plan for a future where Columbia County has clean and plentiful drinking water and our beautiful forested landscapes are intact.” Forests in this area are vital to wildlife in the broader region because of their large extent and the low density of roads and developed areas. Some of the forests in the area have been identified as part of a forested corridor – a relatively broad area of connected forests, extending from the Appalachians to New England. This corridor, if maintained, will allow plants and animals, over the course of many years, to find favorable habitats in the context of the changing climate. The goal is to create a plan that can be used by residents, landowners, and local decision makers to protect natural areas, including forests, streams, and wetlands. To learn more, visit the Upper Taghkanic Creek page at www.clctrust.org. This project is funded in part by a grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund through the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program.