Senator James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) touted a combined $148,554 in grant funding awarded to four area projects within New York State’s Hudson River watershed communities. Announced last week, the funding will enable:
- A regional-scale vulnerability assessment by Riverkeeper, which will define climate-related vulnerabilities to water bodies in area municipalities ($50,000)
- A county-wide natural resources inventory and municipal toolkit by Ulster County ($46,554).
- A waterfront park natural resource inventory and assessment by the Village of Highland Falls, helping to develop a master plan for land owned by Scenic Hudson ($12,000); and,
- Milton Landing Park’s accessible kayak launch, a project by the Town of Marlborough encouraging local and regional recreational enjoyment of the river ($40,000).
The grants are funded by the State’s Environmental Protection Fund and administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program.
“I am thrilled to see our local communities proactively responding to the realities of climate change through this series of innovative projects,” said Senator Skoufis. “Recent storms have reminded us of the fragility of our systems and infrastructure, and we must do all we can to prepare our communities for our new climate future, as well as building sustainable recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.”