Performing Department
Environmental & Forest Biology
Non Technical Summary
The Mohawk River Basin has faced a number of challenges over the last century caused primarily by population expansion, economic growth, and changes in land use. As a result, ecological integrity (i.e., structure and function) of the Mohawk River and many of its tributaries has declined. Despite improvements in water quality in recent decades, modern-day impacts such as invasive species, urban development, and climate change and their potential effects on stream quality and natural resources, remain largely unstudied in the Mohawk River Basin.Assessments of biotic integrity have become a common and effective method for assessing stream condition, and are often relied on by resource managers and scientists to guide restoration efforts (Johnson 2013). Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages are a commonly used resource for effectively and relatively inexpensively assessing stream condition.Macroinvertebrate surveys in the Mohawk River demonstrate varying levels of stream impairment (Bode et al. 2004), with a noticeable downstream decrease in pollution-sensitive taxa and inve1iebrate biomass at select stream segments (Smith et al. 2010). Currently, routine surveys of macroinve1iebrate composition and stream assessments by the NYSDEC Stream Biomonitoring Unit are restricted to a five-year cycle at 8 locations in the Mohawk River, with the next rotation scheduled for 2015-2017.Annual surveys of macroinvertebrate communities at select locations in the Mohawk River that builds upon existing data would help scientists and resource managers better understand long-term trends in biodiversity and changes in water quality that will help achieve the goal(s) identified in the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda (MRBAA). Additionally, concurrent sampling at locations in the United States Geological Survey project titled Status and Trends for Fish Assemblages in the Mainstem Mohawk River would complement their assessment of stream condition and could be used to help address their objectives, particularly Objective C: "evaluate potential causes (and/or develop testable hypotheses) for observed shifts in species distributions or abundances."Awarded Start Date: 4/1/14Sponsor: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
Goal 1: Fish, Wildlife and HabitatsConserve and protect fish, wildlife and their habitats in the Mohawk River watershed while communicating to the public about their value to human communities and natural processes so that people can enjoy the unique natural character of the watershed and its living ecosystem.Examples of Goal 1 Targets:Mohawk River FisheriesBegin to implement the Lower Mohawk River Fisheries Management Plan including; improving angler access to the river, updating the river-wide survey of Mohawk River fisheries, and determining current angler use of the fisheries, including subsistence fishing by low-income populations. Expand river-wide fishery surveys to the tributaries and determine the current status of blue back herring and American eel in the river.Recommend management strategies for Mohawk River fisheries.Natural System InformationConduct a review of historical data and literature regarding fisheries, wildlife, and natural systems within the Mohawk River Basin. Synthesize the information in a "white paper" addressing the current and historical state of the Mohawk River ecosystem and make recommendations for management.Habitats and SpeciesRestore and protect critical habitats and species of concern including grasslands, wetlands, and riparian buffers. Monitor restoration projects to measure the success and colonization of grassland and wetland birds, and conduct census studies to determine the distribution and health of populations of species of concern throughout the basin such as freshwater mussels.Invasive SpeciesTrack and monitor the movement of invasive species in the watershed. Support and assist the State Invasive Species Council in monitoring and managing new and existing invasive species. Cooperate with the Capital Mohawk Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) and other PRISMs that intersect the basin for invasive species monitoring and management. Implement achievable and targeted invasive species eradication projects in the Mohawk River Watershed. Develop local action plans for invasive species management using the data and knowledge of local stakeholders and special interest groups.Goal 2: Water QualityProtect and improve water quality in the Mohawk River watershed and communicate the issues so that people are protected from health hazards, drinking water supplies are conserved, aquatic communities flourish and natural processes are sustained.Examples of Goal 2 Targets:Ambient Water Quality MonitoringContinue to support DEC's ambient surface-water quality monitoring program; reduce the number of unassessed waters by 40% giving priority to trout spawning and water supply waters in the basin. Expand assessment methods to include algal sampling and the tracking of invasive aquatic species. Continue to coordinate assessment efforts with other organizations to increase the number of assessed waterbodies.Mohawk Basin Monitoring SystemLong-term scientific information is important to support good resource management decisions and adaptive management. Evaluate gaps in existing data collection programs funded or operated by DEC, Ag & Markets, USGS, and others that are necessary to understand changing conditions and trends. Expand the current network as needed. This may include additional river gages, sediment monitoring stations and expanding the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) or similar monitoring networks into the Mohawk.Sedimentation MonitoringA network of sediment monitoring stations should be established to identify subwatersheds with the greatest amount of erosion. Key tasks include the quantification of the source areas and assessment of relative sediment loads from each tributary. This would enable agencies to best target potential land-use management, remedial measures, best management practices and limited resources to address the greatest achievable and cost­ effective improvements in water quality and reduction in sediments.Establish Critical Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) for the Mohawk RiverCritical Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for affected portions of the Mohawk River should be established. This effort would regulate the types and quantities of pollutants allowed to be discharged from current sources and should include consideration of the effects of warmer temperatures and increased severity of weather events.Best Management PracticesDevelop and distribute a list of Best Management Practices for water quality management for municipalities, landowners, and industries as part of an educational effort in the watershed. Work with local partners such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts, NRCS, county and regional planning and local watershed organizations, to facilitate the adoption of best management practices by landowners and management agencies.Legacy ContaminationIdentify remaining sources of legacy contaminants (e.g. PCBs) to the main-stem Mohawk River. Expand legacy target contaminants to include studies of mercury. Continue to identify and correct sources of both mercury and PCB contamination with a goal of eventually eliminating restrictive health advisories for :fisheries. Work with the DEC Office of Environmental Justice to identify areas where fish consumption advisories should be printed in Spanish and other languages.Trees-for-TribsEncourage and provide incentives to communities to inventory conditions of imp01iant stream segments, and develop programs and incentives to encourage communities and landowners to enhance green infrastructure. Included in these programs and incentives would be planting of riparian buffers through the DEC's Trees-for-Tribs program.Polluted PrecipitationImplement a monitoring network of sampling locations throughout the headwaters of the Mohawk River Basin to fully document the levels and extent of acidification and mercury contamination. Study the effects of these contaminants on the pristine headwaters of the Mohawk and their wildlife populations. Supp01i federal and state actions to affect controls on non-state sources of emissions that contribute to mercury and acid precipitation.Stormwater RunoffStudy stormwater inputs and associated contaminant loads to the Mohawk River and its tributaries. Develop and implement methods to decrease and slow stormwater runoff from urban and suburban areas to surface waters in the watershed, including installation of green infrastructure.
Project Methods
A 3-year investigation in the Mohawk River (and tributaries such as West Canada Creek and Schoharie Creek, permitting field, laboratory, and budget considerations), sampling macroinvertebrate communities, collecting in-situ water quality data, and performing site assessments of in-stream physical habitat, riparian zone habitat, and subcatchment land use. Sampling includes the use of multiple techniques for collecting biota (refer to Work Elements Section // Goals).