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Freshwater Projects and Species Profiles
Hudson River Estuary
The Nature Conservancy is working with a vibrant group of partners to chart and undertake an ambitious course for continued conservation success in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed. The Conservancy will work with these partners to lay the foundation for an invasive species early detection and rapid response program in the Hudson Valley.
The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is an endangered species in New York State.
Did you know?
• The sturgeon is a bottom feeder and use an extendable mouth to vacuum up sludge worms, snails, crayfish, insect larvae, and plants.
• They are the smallest of New York’s three sturgeons, growing to 3.5 feet and 14 pounds, half the length of lake sturgeons and 180 pounds lighter than the largest Atlantic sturgeons.
• Shortnose sturgeons migrate from saltwater to freshwater to spawn, but do so entirely within the Hudson River Estuary. They spend the winter in the brackish and salt water reaches of the estuary south of Poughkeepsie and spawn in fresh tidal waters north of Coxsackie.
Zoar Valley / Cattaraugus Creek
The Conservancy is exploring dam removal and site restoration needs on Cattaraugus Creek. The Conservancy is also launching a land protection effort by acquiring 500 acres of forestland and stream buffers to be either Conservancy preserves or cooperative projects with the New York State DEC.
Cobblestone tiger beetles (Cicindela marginipennis) are rare beyond New York state borders with small populations in just 11 states.
Did you know?
• Cobblestone tiger beetles are fast moving predatory insects, with large, sickle-shaped mandibles used to feed on other insects.
• They live on gravel bars in large river systems.
• Adults are only active in the summer months.
Tug Hill
The Nature Conservancy is working to prepare a comprehensive ecological stewardship and land management plan for this area. Additionally, the Conservancy is participating in the creation of New York State's public recreation plan for the 14,300-acre Tug Hill preserve. The Conservancy is also working with partners to complete the Salmon River Watershed conservation planning process and to create additional landscape-wide conservation strategies.
Three- toed woodpeckers (Picoides tridactylusis) are rare in the Tug Hill.
Did you know?
• Having only three toes per foot, instead of the usual four, may help these woodpeckers deliver stronger blows but weaken their ability to climb.
• This species tends to inhabit trees in burned areas or those that have recently been affected by insect infestation.
• Three-toed woodpeckers tap out their short, slow -paced songs on trunks or branches using their powerful bills.
French Creek
The Conservancy will continue its partnership with the French Creek Project (a separate Pennsylvania-based organization) to expand sustainable agriculture initiatives, implement storm water management projects, conserve mussel populations, and analyze the feasibility of creating a native plants nursery.
The club-shell mussel (Pleurobema clava) is a basin-wide target species and has a federally endangered species status.
Did you know?
• Freshwater mussels have 4 stages of life: the fertilized egg, the young in the brood sac of the female mussel, the larva in the parasitic stage on a fish or salamander, and the adult, free-living stage with a shell.
• The Club-shell mussel buries itself in bottom sand and dirt as deep as four inches.
• This species can live up to 50 years.
The Finger Lakes
The Conservancy is working to pursue permanent protection of 7,100 acres of watershed land surrounding Hemlock and Canadice Lakes, owned by the City of Rochester. At the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, the Conservancy is acquiring 500 acres of wetlands and associated uplands habitat on behalf of New York State DEC and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale) is a species of special concern in New York State.
Did you know?
• The blue-spotted salamander is a member of subterranean amphibians known as "mole salamanders."
• When this salamander senses danger, its tail swings back and forth and it produces a noxious secretion from two glands at the base.
Lake Ontario
The Conservancy participating in the International Joint Commission’s adoption of a new Lake Level control protocol for Lake Ontario which includings advocating for the strongest possible ecological criteria. Additionally, the Conservancy is working with partners to complete a hydro-ecological model for Lake Ontario tributaries, including four trial U.S. watersheds. On the Eastern Lake Ontario Shoreline, the Conservancy will assist the Tug Hill Commission in preparing an ecosystem-based management plan for the Sandy Creek and South Sand Creek watersheds.
The dragon’s mouth orchid (Arethusa bulbosa) is a threatened species in New York State.
Did you know?
• The Dragon’s mouth orchid reproduces by seed, but pollination in the wild rarely occurs.
• The lip of this flower is wavy, white and yellow with dark spots. The top of the flower creates a hood resembling an open dragon’s mouth.
• This plant’s preferred habitat is open bogs fed by groundwater or acidic minerotrophic bogs.
Nature New York: Winter 2006
- Note from the Editor
- Climate Change on the Hudson
- A Blueprint for a Better Lake Ontario
- Long Island's Cleanest Aquifer
- A Visual Guide to Freshwater Species
- The Next Generation of Conservationists
- Events and Volunteer Opportunities
- International Focus
