In order to make sound recommendations in the management plan, the Stony Clove field crew has conducted a series of inventories and assessments on the creek.  Since the last plan update, we have met with Town, County, and State Highway Departments to document and examine infrastructure concerns in the watershed.  We have also been  collecting historical information from Catskill natives to help us understand how past stream management decisions have influenced and are still influencing the creek.  Another project underway is the documentation of NYS Department of Environmental Conservation  (DEC) stream disturbance permits issued on the creek.   This will allow for the identification of historically unstable sections of stream.

The project team will use all of the gathered information to report on current conditions and to make management recommendations for each management unit.  Upon completion of several contiguous management units, the units will be mailed to streamside landowners within the units for review.  Throughout this summer, as landowners review the unit in which they live, we plan to set up small meetings at which the landowners can share their views with the project team.  This process is being used to maximize landowner input to the stream management plan. 

Comments and recommendations will be incorporated into a comprehensive draft stream management plan. The draft will be distributed to the public and discussed at a public forum.  This will provide landowners with another chance to contribute input before the management plan is finalized.  The final Stony Clove Creek Stream Management Plan is scheduled for completion by December 2003.

measures.  The new stream channel will follow a natural meander or curving pattern, which slows stream flow as the stream moves around each bend and reduces the slope.  The design includes the construction of four cross vanes and five rock vanes to deflect the stream away from the banks.  After construction of the new stream channel is completed streamside planting will begin.  A combination of dormant plant materials, conservation seed mixtures, and plantings of live trees and shrubs will be planted on the floodplain.  Native willow and dogwood species will be planted on the streambanks.

Construction of this project is expected to begin the first week of August 2003.  Construction duration is estimated at 5-7 weeks for primary channel construction activities, including rock structures.  The bioengineering  component will be installed beginning in October, 2003 and is expected to be completed in November, 2003.

As we have surveyed the condition of the Stony Clove over the past few years, the Stony Clove Project team has witnessed a wide range of stream problems. Some of these problems are serious - huge bank failures where the stream is eroding the base of a high bank, causing trees and boulders to fall into the stream (see the article, "The Lanesville Demonstration Project"). Most of these situations will require additional funding and time to develop and implement restoration designs, and the Stream Management Plan, currently being prepared, will make recommendations for how to handle these sites.

But many of the stream bank erosion problems we have observed are simpler, and so can be treated with simpler, less expensive and less time-consuming solutions.  One of the most cost-effective solutions is for landowners to maintain or replant a healthy buffer of trees and shrubs along the bank, especially within the first 30 to 50 feet or so of the stream.  The dense mat of roots under these riparian buffers binds the soil together, and makes it much less susceptible to erosion during floodwaters. These buffer zones can significantly increase the working life of rock rip-rap placed on streambanks for erosion protection.

So in March 2003, the Stony Clove Project team applied for a grant from the Watershed Forestry Program of the Watershed Agricultural Council to fund a program designed to offer streamside landowners help in improving the stability and integrity of those sections of stream which have minor erosion problems, or which are more likely to develop erosion problems in the near future if conditions are left as they are. This Spring, we have identified locations where plantings of trees and shrubs on and near the stream banks can help reduce the threat of serious bank erosion, and can help improve the fish habitat as well. In some cases, eligible locations include stream banks where rock rip-rap has already been placed, but where additional plantings could significantly improve the stream channel stability in the long-term, as well as the biological integrity of the stream and floodplain. Areas with serious erosion problems, where the stream channel requires extensive reconstruction to restore long-term stability, have been eliminated from this effort.

Landowners whose properties qualify for this program will shortly receive a notice inviting their participation in the Streamside Planting Program. If they are interested, we will discuss with them the options for different plantings along their stream, and develop a planting plan. Then in late Summer or Fall, a landscaping professional will do the plantings. The responsibility of the landowner will be to help maintain the plantings, and to manage their streamside area in accordance with the agreed upon plan.