Blank

The Project Advisory Committee (PAC) was set up to facilitate the development of the Schoharie Creek and East Kill Stream Management Plans and their implementation. The PAC is made up of those agencies, landowners, and organizations with direct interest in Schoharie Creek and East Kill watershed issues and is coordinated by Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District (GCSWCD). Members include representatives from NYCDEP, highway superintendents, planning board members, code enforcement officers, and town board members from watershed towns, Trout Unlimited, NYSDEC, US Army Corps of Engineers, Catskill Watershed Corporation, Hunter Chamber of Commerce, Hunter Foundation, Greene County legislators, and private landowners.

Text Box: PAC Meeting Minutes March 2007 January 2007 November 2006

Francine Barbet (Streamside landowner)

Judith Brown (Hunter Chamber and Planning Board)

David Burns (DEP, Stream Management Program)

Lynn Byrne (Lexington Town Board)

Amy DeGaetano (GCSWCD, Schoharie Project Coordinator)

Christine Delorier (US Army Corps of Engineers)

Paul Dibbell (Town of Hunter Councilman)

John Farrell (Town of Hunter Highway Superintendent)

Mike Flaherty (Town of Jewett Supervisor)

Jerry Fraine (NYS DEC Region 4)

Keith Griffin (Town of Hunter Code Enforcement)

Guido Giuliani (Hunter resident)

Mark Hyer (Town of Hunter Planning Board Chair)

Jim Hitchcock (GC Legislator, GCSWCD Board of Directors)

Charlene Holdridge (Hunter Foundation)

John Jacobson (Catskill Watershed Corporation)

Barbara Joyce (Streamside landowner)

Catherine Legg (Streamside landowner)

Dennis Lucas (Town of Hunter Supervisor)

William Maley (Village of Hunter, Mayor)

Michael McCrary (Hunter Chamber of Commerce)

Candy McKee (Catskill Mt. Foundation)

Keith Mellot (Town of Lexington Councilman)

Richard Morse (Town of Prattsville Supervisor)

Elizabeth Reichheld (DEP, Stream Management Program)

Jeanette and Mike Siatkowski (Streamside landowners)

David Slutzky (Streamside landowner)

Gary Slutzky (Co-Chair Hunter Foundation)

Paul Slutzky (Village of Hunter Planning Board)

Rene VanSchaack (GSWCD, Executive Director)

Marilyn Wyman (Greene County CCE)

Michelle Yost (GCSWCD; Watershed Assistance Program)

Project Advisory Committee Members

The stakeholder survey information was further expanded upon at a facilitated workshop in November 2006, where the primary goal of the PAC were decided to include:

1) building consensus among the key stakeholders on the goals, process and expected outcomes of the SMP process, based on broad public input;

2) engaging key stakeholders in reviewing information about the current conditions of the Schoharie Creek and East Kill and its management, and gathering new information if necessary;

3) facilitating joint development of options for improving management, especially options that can contribute to multiple goals (environmental, economic, recreational and social);

4) prioritizing and integrating those options into a balanced management plan that says how resources will be allocated, who will do what and by when, and how to implement the preferred options;

5) mobilizing key stakeholders and the public to work together to generate the resources needed to implement the plan.

Following the workshop a PAC was initiated that met several times prior to completion of this stream management plan. In should be noted that “completion” is a relative term. The stream management plans are designed to be updated with new assessments, knowledge or recommendations. Project advisory members have an interest in maintaining the Schoharie as a well-functioning natural resource, and many of them have direct management influence over it. With the completion of the plan, the next phase will include review of the plan’s recommendations by the community, stakeholders and the Project Advisory Committee. The plan will then be revised to ensure that it adequately reflect stakeholders’ concerns, and then presented to the various municipalities and agencies for formal adoption and implementation. In the future, the PAC will develop annual action plans to prioritize recommendations. Therefore, the management planning process is not a stagnant process that concludes with the development of this stream management plan, but rather begins.

Schoharie Creek/East Kill Informational meeting, June 3, 2006.

The Schoharie project team, and a professional consultant from the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), completed a survey of potential Project Advisory Committee (PAC) members to start gathering public input for the management planning process. Most interviewees described the stream as picturesque and aesthetically pleasing, historic and of great potential value. At the same time, it was also described as “out of control”, in need of attention, and unstable. CBI summarized their findings in the Schoharie Creek and East Kill Stream Management Plan Assessment Summary of Stakeholder Interests and Concerns Final Report and recommendations.

Next Meeting

Sponsored by the Greene County Watershed Assistance Program

Saturday June 16, 2007

9am to 1pm

CD Lane Park, Maplecrest, NY

Join us for an educational forum designed to showcase “on the ground” watershed protection projects and concepts relation to erosion & stormwater control and stream management. Tour a stream restoration project to learn about stream dynamics and how we can better manage streams as well as a stormwater site where a innovative retrofit project is planned.

RSVP to Michelle Yost requested by June 1, 2007

Phone (518) 734-6026 or E-mail michelle@gcswcd.com

Saturday, June 3, 2006, marked the official start of stakeholder involvement in the Schoharie Creek and East Kill Stream Management Planning Projects. Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District (GCSWCD) and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) representatives presented information on water resource programs and the various components of the stream management plans to the 100 participants. Presentations were followed by a question and answer session that included passionate stream management discussions that should lead to active participation in the planning process.

Discussion from this session reinforced the belief that public support and input for the project should be a critical component of the stream management planning process.