Bill Wegner, a staff scientist at Riverkeeper, emailed with me about the DEC’s plan for Croton River and has reassured me that the herbicide will not have adverse affects on anything except for the target hydrilla. He pointed to the fact that without this treatment, it is unlikely the the invasive hydrilla will be stopped, and the… Continue reading DEC’s Croton River Hydrilla Project: Update
Tag: Hudson River
DEC Plans to Use Herbicide to Kill Hydrilla in Croton River, Swimming Ban to be Put in Place
Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic weed, has been overtaking the Croton River and has the potential of spreading into the Hudson. It clogs boat motors, reduces oxygen levels, and chokes local plants. A survey was conducted last summer by the DEC and Allied Biological and found that hydrilla has not yet spread into the Hudson, but that… Continue reading DEC Plans to Use Herbicide to Kill Hydrilla in Croton River, Swimming Ban to be Put in Place
Clean Water for Kids
From tacking around to pick up floating remains of potato chip bags and mylar balloons to explaining why the river water is dirtier after it rains, I have learned a lot about explaining water quality to kids through teaching at EAST Sailing. Ages 8 to 15, they all understand a lot more than you’d think about the… Continue reading Clean Water for Kids
You Are What You Eat, and Lather, and Wear, and Wash, and…
Every time I shower or use a sink on the boat I live on, that “greywater” gets dumped directly overboard. As I inspect the ingredients on the back of the shampoos and dish soap, my eyes scan words that I can’t even begin to pronounce. I Google “methylaparaben,” and find that its a preservative (also used in… Continue reading You Are What You Eat, and Lather, and Wear, and Wash, and…
Sturgeon Surprise
“Docks to base. Come in base. Over.” “This is base. Go ahead. Over” “Uh, there’s a three foot long live sturgeon in this boat. How do you want me to handle this? … Over. ” At 0940 this morning, one of my coworkers at Croton Sailing School found a young sturgeon swimming in the cockpit of… Continue reading Sturgeon Surprise
Taking a Dip
When I was growing up in Cold Spring, New York, my friends and I would walk down to the river on humid, August afternoons and swim. We’d go in off the beach at Little Stony Point, or jump off the rocks near Garrison; one unbearably hot day we jumped off the pier at the waterfront and… Continue reading Taking a Dip
Riverkeeper Boat Log: Norrie Point to Waterford
Friday, June 17th: I arrived at Norrie Point Marina at 0700 to meet the Riverkeeper boat and cast off for Catskill. We passed the DEC sturgeon tagging team and waited to see what they would reel in. We drifted alongside for a little over an hour, watching them cast and reel in four times with no… Continue reading Riverkeeper Boat Log: Norrie Point to Waterford
Beginnings
As summer solstice approaches, the hot days get longer, the river gets warmer, and the boat ramps are bustling with trailers and people eager to launch and go play. The marina gets busier each night, boats dodging each other in the narrow channels between the docks. I see more trash in the river, as sunset… Continue reading Beginnings
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