SUNY Cobleskill gets flood mitigation funding

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Sep. 6—The Research Foundation for the State University at New York Cobleskill will receive a grant for flood hazard risk reduction along Cobleskill Creek.

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos announced in a media release $600,000 in grants were awarded to implement the goals and objectives of the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026. The five-year plan will conserve, preserve and restore the Mohawk River and its watershed and the grants will support local partnerships and initiatives throughout the region.

SUNY Cobleskill will receive $50,000, the release said.

"The College will be working over a two-year period to develop and implement mitigation plans for two areas of campus where the creek is eroding its banks," Jason Politi, director of communications at SUNY Cobleskill, said in an email. "These areas are a section of creek near the athletic fields and a section near our agricultural fields near the Cobleskill Creek trail."

The goal of the project "is to stabilize the streambank to prevent flooding, minimize erosion and protect our campus resources — athletic fields for sports and agricultural land for labs and maintaining our animal herds," he said.

The Mohawk River is the largest tributary to the Hudson River and its watershed encompasses 14 counties, including most of Schoharie and small portions of Otsego and Delaware, and 172 municipalities, the release said. DEC developed the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda to bring together local, state and federal agencies and other stakeholders committed to the conservation and preservation of the Mohawk River, its watershed and communities.

It is designed to mirror and complement DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and "fosters partnerships regionwide to manage and protect the natural resources of the river and its watershed for a sustainable future," the release said. The Mohawk River Basin Program acts as the coordinator of watershed-wide activities, assisting in the development of partnerships throughout the area to provide a framework for collaboration.

According to the release, other area projects that received grants were:

—Schoharie River Center, Mohawk Watershed Riparian Education Program, $50,000: Continuation of the Schoharie River Center's Environmental Study Team, a comprehensive watershed education program, engaging local youths in the Mohawk River Basin, building partnerships and community capacity to improve the quality of Mohawk River and its tributaries through citizen science.

—New York Folklore Society, Along the River — A Blue Way Marking Program, $32,165: A project to connect residents and visitors to the Mohawk/Schoharie watersheds through place names and indigenous cultural heritage that is replicable across the state. The project will focus specifically on place-making within the Mohawk and Schoharie watersheds through creation and installation of signage, development of an interpretive audio and video guide and teacher training materials to make curricular connections to signage.

For more information on the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026, visit https://tinyurl.com/3jtjtasv.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.