Hudson RiverNet
News from the Hudson River Estuary Program

In This Issue

• Climate-Adaptive Communities: 2021 Highlights
• Building Adaptive Capacity Across Our Communities
• Helping Communities Envision Their Future
• Climate Action Council Releases Draft Scoping Plan for Public Comment
• Climate Resources for Communities

Climate-Adaptive Communities: 2021 Highlights

Hudson River waterfront communities face myriad social and infrastructure risks, and the climate crisis is introducing new and uniquely compounding challenges. The resiliency of these communities to changing climate conditions and how well they manage and reduce these risks is central to their well-being and to the health of the Hudson River estuary.

The Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2021-2025 establishes a vision for Hudson River Valley communities as thriving, resilient models for adapting to climate change using natural, nature-based, and socially equitable solutions. Through partnerships, funding, policy development, education, and technical assistance, DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program helps local governments adapt to environmental shifts, including intense precipitation, sea-level rise, heat, and drought. For two decades, we have collaborated with the NYS Water Resources Institute at Cornell University to help achieve this vision.

To learn more, visit Climate-adaptive Communities on DEC's website or our Cornell WRI partnership website, and check out our latest research collaboration brief: Responding to Risk from Floods and COVID-19: Beyond Partisanship, Through Experience (PDF).

Building Adaptive Capacity Across Our Communities

The Estuary Program supports climate resilience and equity action through the NYS Climate Smart Communities (CSC) certification program. In the Hudson Valley region, 15 local governments became newly certified Climate Smart Communities in 2021. Our Climate Resilience Partnership  supported Cornell Cooperative Extensions across six counties to complete 21 resilience actions in 15 local governments, and CSC certification in 12 communities. In 2021, over 4,000 municipal officials, residents, consultants, students, and other stakeholders attended our climate outreach and training programs.

Resilience is deepened when communities come together to tackle climate adaptation. Fourteen local governments are receiving technical assistance and other resources by participating in the Estuary Program’s Flood Resilience Network, led in partnership with the Consensus Building Institute, Hudson River Watershed Alliance, NYS Sea Grant, and Scenic Hudson.

Helping Communities Envision A Resilient Future

The Climate-Adaptive Design (CaD) Studio links Cornell University students in landscape architecture with high flood-risk Hudson Riverfront communities to explore design alternatives for a climate-resilient and connected waterfront. The design program has taken place in Kingston, Hudson, Catskill, Piermont, and Ossining. Through an open application process, the City of Poughkeepsie was selected to host the 2021 studio.

Along with the local effects of climate change, students in the program took into consideration Poughkeepsie’s history, ecology, economy, and community needs in creating their designs. Community stakeholders are engaged throughout the semester-long studio to inform the student design process. Resident interests included enhancing public waterfront access, increasing connectivity along the waterfront, and creating a clear path for pedestrians and bikers to access the waterfront from Marist to downtown Poughkeepsie. Outreach staff from the Estuary Program and partners conducted new forms of stakeholder engagement for the Poughkeepsie studio, including Zoom meetings with community-based organizations, tabling at farmers markets, handing out flyers to users on the waterfront, and a Social Pinpoint interactive map and public survey.

The CaD Studio was led by Associate Professor Joshua F. Cerra at the Cornell Department of Landscape Architecture, in partnership with DEC's Estuary Program, Resilience Communications and Consulting, Scenic Hudson, and Dutchess County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Climate Action Council Releases Draft Scoping Plan for Public Comment

The Climate Action Council released the Draft Scoping Plan, which describes recommended policies and actions to help New York meet its ambitious climate directives as part of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). The Draft Scoping Plan is now available for public review and public comment. The Draft Scoping Plan is available at the New York State Climate Act website. New Yorkers are encouraged to submit comments via the online public comment form, via email at scopingplan@nyserda.ny.gov, and via U.S. mail to Attention: Draft Scoping Plan Comments, NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-6399. The public comment period will also include at least six public hearings across the State. Details and information about how to participate in the public hearings will be announced in early 2022.

Climate Resources for Communities

Inclusive Planning, Tools, and Project Funding

• The Funding Climate Adaptation & Resilience webpage is a roundup of annual state and federal funding opportunities. In 2021, New York State offered over $170 million in assistance to local governments and non-profit organizations to build resilience and adapt to flooding, sea-level rise and other climate risks. Sign up for the Estuary Program’s Climate Adaptation newsletter for future funding updates.
  
  
• Hudson Dynamic Shorelines, a Storymap created by NYS Sea Grant, focuses on flood and shoreline resilience by exploring the topics of land, water, and people; big storms and rising waters; living with floods, and best practices for managing shorelines.
  
  
• Part 1 of a new video series takes a look back at the History of the Hudson (with Spanish captions ) and how much has changed along the river. Part 2 takes a look forward to the Future of the Hudson (with Spanish captions) and the importance of creating an inclusive and resilient vision for our communities.
  
  
•  The new Inclusive Planning for Community Resilience webpage summarizes best practices for engaging a diversity of stakeholders.