Dutchess Land Conservancy & the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Hudson River Estuary Program
Thursday, May 15, 5:30 PM EDT Online Event
Join us in this Zoom training to learn how to monitor the eel ladder in the Crum Elbow Creek and protect the water quality of Dutchess County
So many things contribute to a healthy environment and support the reasons why it's important to protect land. One of these is water quality and stream health.
American Eel populations are directly attributed to the health of Dutchess County streams, which in turn has a significant impact on the drinking water quality that we all rely on. Each year, hundreds of thousands of juvenile American Eels - known as "glass eels" - migrate from the Atlantic Ocean and up the Hudson River to Dutchess County streams, including the Wappinger, Fishkill, Fallkill, and Crum Elbow Creeks, and many others. There, the eels play an important role within each stream's ecosystem.
American Eels are a key indicator species for the health of the Hudson River and its tributaries due to their sensitivity to environmental changes. Monitoring eel populations can help scientists assess the impacts of habitat changes, pollution, and other factors on stream health. The eels also play a dual role in the food chain, serving as a food source for shorebirds, birds of prey, and larger fish. As the eels age and grow, they in turn become predators, reaching the top of the food chain and keeping the ecosystem in balance. Unfortunately, due to threats such as loss of land due to overdevelopment, habitat degradation, overfishing, and dams, American Eel populations are declining. Monitoring these eel populations is crucial to understanding the factors contributing to their decline.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Hudson River Estuary Program relies on observations made by people like you at Eel Monitoring Stations to provide crucial data that can help them track the health of American Eels and the role they play in our waterways. That's why the Dutchess Land Conservancy is excited to support their volunteer and community science eel monitoring program. It's a unique public opportunity to track the number of young eels in the Hudson River tributaries that flow through Dutchess County. Trained volunteers will check the eel ladder at the Crum Elbow Creek in Hyde Park twice a week for eels from June through October. The project provides crucial baseline data on young eel populations in the watershed and supports data for aquatic and terrestrial habitat health needs in Dutchess County. Attending this training session will put you on our list to help monitor the eel ladder in Hyde Park. Please consider helping the stream health of our area by signing up for this important volunteer opportunity.
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