Municipal/County News

Colonial Greenway Loop

Westchester County, the City of New Rochelle, the Village of Scarsdale, the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Mamaroneck have been working together to rehabilitate and expand the existing Westchester Greenway Trail. The new trail, the Colonial Greenway Loop, will be 12 miles long and will connect existing parks and historic sites including the Leatherstocking Trail, Saxon Woods, Weinberg Nature Center, the Hutchinson River Bridal Path, Larchmont Reservoir, Ward Acres, Nature Study Woods, Twin Lakes, New Rochelle High School and Paine Cottage. A grant of $12,000 was recently awarded by the Hudson River Valley Greenway for trail improvements, mapping, signs and trail markers. The trail will be formally dedicated during the fall of 2005.

The Westchester County Natural Resources and Water Quality Restoration Program

The Westchester County Department of Planning and Soil and Water Conservation District have completed 15 natural resources and water quality restoration projects located throughout the Long Island Sound drainage basin. These projects focused on improving water quality by restoring wetlands and wildlife habitat and stabilizing eroding stream banks. The following is a list of the 13 restoration projects that have been completed in LISWIC municipalities.

Wetland Restoration:

• Echo Bay Tidal Wetland and Coastal Buffer, Five Islands Park, New Rochelle*
• Beaver Swamp Brook Freshwater Wetland, adjacent to Park Avenue, Harrison*
• Edith Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary Tidal Wetland and Coastal Dune, Rye City*
• Hutchinson River Freshwater Wetland (Stormwater Basin), Nature Study Woods, New Rochelle
• Milton Harbor Tidal Wetland, Rye Country Club, Rye City*

Stream/Wetland Restoration:

• Blind Brook East, Rich Manor Park, Rye Brook
• East Creek, Flint Park, Larchmont Village, Town of Mamaroneck*
• Stephenson Brook, New Rochelle High School, New Rochelle*
• Blind Brook, Rye Middle/High Schools, Rye City*
• Sheldrake River, Columbus Park, Village of Mamaroneck

Pond Restoration:

• Wykagyl Country Club/Stephenson Brook, New Rochelle
• Paine Lake, New Rochelle*

Invasive and/or Non-Native Plant Species Removal:

• Edith Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary Meadow, Rye City*

* Programs implemented with county, state and federal grants and appropriations, as well as grants from private, not-for-profit organizations. Most of the projects associated with the program are in the Long Island Sound watershed, although projects in other watersheds are being initiated. The program began in 1998 with a $300,000 appropriation obtained by Congresswoman Nita Lowey and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. The first projects were completed in 1999. Today the program has received nearly $4.9 million.

More information on these projects is available at http://www.westchestergov.com/planning/environmental/default.htm

Watershed Advisory Committee (WAC) 7

Under the leadership of the Westchester County Department of Planning, Watershed Advisory Committees (WAC) were created to prepare watershed management plans for each of the seven sub-watersheds located in Westchester County. At this time, management plans have been completed for three of the WACs. The Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation has joined the Planning Department for WAC 7, which includes those municipalities located within the Bronx River Watershed. Work has begun on the Bronx River Polluted Stormwater Control Plan and Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project. Some of the goals of this project include characterizing water quality problems and the sources of water quality impairment within the drainage basin, locating and mapping stormwater outfalls and identifying potential stream, wetland and pond restoration sites.