This section provides some answers to basic questions about the website and how to use it. If you can't find the answer to your question here, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
A watershed is the area of land united by the flow of water that drains into a single outlet, often a stream or river. The network of drainage pathways may be underground or on the surface. Other terms for watershed include drainage basin or catchment. For more information on watersheds, see the watersheds section.
All land is part of a watershed; everyone lives and works in a watershed. Often times we live in more than watershed, since larger watersheds can contain an infinite number of smaller watersheds nested within them. These smaller nested watersheds are referred to as a subwatersheds. For example, in Dutchess County the Wappingers Creek Watershed is part of the larger Hudson River Watershed. To find out exactly which watershed you live in, contact the Environment Program at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County at 845-677-8223. On a more general scale, you can also search the USEPA surf your watershed website to find the larger watershed in which you live.
Watersheds provide critical ecosystem services and recreational opportunities, including:
Household hazardous waste includes old cans of cleansers, paint, bug spray and used motor oil. Household hazardous wastes have one or more characteristics such as reactivity, ignitability, corrosivity and toxicity that pose risks to the environment, wildlife and human health.
In order to properly dispose of your household hazardous wastes, please contact the Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency (DCRRA). They organize several household hazardous waste recovery days at the DCRRA in Poughkeepsie, Pawling, at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Millbrook, and in Amenia. You must pre-register to dispose of wastes on these days. For more information on protecting your watershed from hazardous waste and pollution, see the Resources section of this website.
There are many easy steps you can take to protect your watershed and the streams, river, lakes and creeks with in it.
For a complete list visit the Resources section of this website.
Volunteers are actively involved with watershed protection in Dutchess through monitoring, protecting, clean up projects, education at watershed awareness events and community days, and working with their local municipal officials. Click here to find out more about the local watershed groups in our area, and how to get involved.
There are several ways for kids to get involved with watershed protection. These include:
A watershed is the area of land united by the flow of water that drains into a single outlet, often a stream or river. The network of drainage pathways may be underground or on the surface. Other terms for watershed include drainage basin or catchment. More about watersheds and wetlands can be found on our Watersheds page.
A wetland, however, is an area of land consisting of soil that is permanently or intermittently saturated with moisture, such as a swamp, marsh, or bog. Wetlands support a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that are adapted to wet conditions. Wetlands can exist within a watershed along a stream or river, or they can be the drainage point for a small watershed. Check out the wetlands section of the resources page for more about wetlands.
The Hudson River Valley is extremely rich in biodiversity, or the number and variety of plant and animal species within a region or ecosystem. The Hudson River is a tidal river where salt and fresh water mix to form an estuary with a watershed that comprises four million acres. More than 600,000 acres of protected woodlands, wetlands, grasslands, and streams, about 16% of the watershed, provide refuge to thousands of plants and animals, many of them at risk. The remaining 84% of the Hudson Valley is privately owned land and provides essential habitat for fish and wildlife (Smith et al. 2001). For more information on the region’s biodiversity, including rare species and how to protect them, see the NYS DEC 2008 document “Conserving Natural Areas and Wildlife in Your Community: Smart Growth Strategies for Protecting the Biological Diversity of New York's Hudson River Valley.”
There are many factors that can cause stream bank erosion on your property. High amounts of paved surfaces upstream of your yard increase the amount of water runoff and the speed in which it reaches the stream. As a result, elevated stream levels, and rapid rises in stream levels cause frequent flooding. The possibility of erosion increases along all parts of the stream, but particularly in areas where stream banks aren’t vegetated with deep-rooted plants.
Solutions to stream bank erosion exist on-site as well as at the larger geographic level. The presence of vegetation along the channel serves to stabilize the stream’s banks and to reduce the erosive power of rain. If your property abuts a stream, be sure to plant shrubs and trees to create a healthy vegetated buffer and increase stream bank stability. For more on planting healthy riparian buffers check out the resources page.
Go to the Community Page and on the left hand side of the page there will be a sign-in. At the bottom of the sign-in will be the option to create an account. All you need to do is supply your name, your username, a valid email address and a password. You will be sent an email with a link that you must click on to verify your account. After clicking on the link you will have completed the process of creating a username for the Community Forum!
First, make sure you have a username (see above). Then all you have to do is make sure you're logged in on the Community Page. Once logged in, click on the topic of discussion you are interested in. You can either start a new thread or respond to a post that has already been made.
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