Biodiversity of the Moodna Creek Watershed - Orange County Water ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Moodna Biodiversity L. Heady, 19 June 2008 DRAFT decline when urban/suburban development within 1600 ft (500 m) and 3200 ft (1000 m) of the marsh exceeds 14% and 25%, respectively (DeLuca et al., as cited in McElfish et al. 2008). Such impacts can be reduced by maintaining and restoring effective buffers, and by educating visitors and landowners about marsh bird ecology. (See Appendix A.) • Citizen science. Pursuit of opportunities to engage local residents in citizen science and conservation of the Moodna mouth system is encouraged. Partnerships with the Hudson River Estuary Program can be formed to engage high school students in eel monitoring, provide continuing volunteer opportunities for herring monitoring in the tidal creek, and plan riparian buffer restoration through Trees for Tribs. • Public outreach. Exploration of the Hudson shoreline and tidal creek through public canoe and kayak programs is recommended to help connect watershed residents to their rich local resources. Streams and Riparian Corridors Written by Leslie Zucker, NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell University Streams and the vegetated corridors around them (called “riparian areas”) make a critical contribution to the health and overall biodiversity of the Moodna Creek Watershed. Plants and animals create the environmental conditions necessary for many of the water quality and hydrologic functions of streams. Plants allow groundwater to infiltrate the soil and recharge aquifers, streams, and reservoirs. Plants hold soils in place and contribute to processes that filter contaminants and excess nutrients from runoff. Vegetated, low-lying areas near streams absorb storm waters and lessen flooding and erosion downstream. Ultimately, these benefits save local governments money and protect private property. Riparian areas are also unique habitats that support a high abundance and diversity of plants and animals. Because they are transition zones between the wet, aquatic environment of the stream channel, and the drier and higher terrestrial uplands, they are highly biodiverse. Some aquatic and semi-aquatic animals that must be near water, are found only in riparian corridors, while other wildlife are found in greater abundance in riparian corridors. Stream corridors contain other unique habitat features. When flooded during high flows, riparian corridors become stream channel habitat and are used as refuges for larval fish. Riparian areas often contain wetlands that provide habitat for the Hudson Valley’s globally important amphibian and reptile diversity. And, streams corridors are used by wildlife as transportation routes if suitable habitats remain connected across the landscape. Some of the unique fish and wildlife of the Moodna Creek and its tributaries are described below. Birds A variety of songbirds can be found nesting and rearing their young in wide, forested bottomlands of the Moodna Creek, including a few that prefer to nest near streams such as the yellow-throated vireo, warbling vireo, and Louisiana waterthrush. The cerulean warbler and least flycatcher are likely stream corridor birds that have declined throughout their ranges in recent decades, but are still found in the Moodna Creek Watershed. Other birds that might be seen in stream corridors of the watershed include the wood duck, great blue heron, green heron, belted kingfisher, and in the deeper forests, the red-shouldered hawk. Birds are found more abundantly 8
Moodna Biodiversity L. Heady, 19 June 2008 DRAFT in stream corridors than in other portions of the landscape and bird diversity increases as the width of stream corridors increase. Bats An abundance of insects and forest openings make stream corridors prime foraging habitat for bats. Large trees with peeling bark, such as shagbark hickories and dead standing snags are used as maternity colonies or summer roosting sites for bats. In addition to foraging and roosting, bats use stream corridors as travel routes. Bats that might be seen in stream corridors of the Moodna Creek and tributaries include the big brown bat, little brown bat, and the rare Eastern smallfooted bat (NYS Special Concern). The Eastern small-footed bat has been observed in the Mineral Spring Brook and Trout Brook stream corridors. The watershed and its stream corridors are also home to the federally endangered Indiana bat (NYS Endangered). Amphibians and Reptiles Several turtle, frog, and salamander species rely heavily on stream corridor habitats. The wood turtle is particularly interesting, not just because its angular shell looks like a wood carving, but also because the wood turtle spends its entire life in stream corridors. Wood turtle populations are found in stream corridors of the Otter Kill, Seely Brook and Woodbury Creek. Stream salamanders are lungless and must obtain oxygen through their skin. As a result, they can be found in the moist areas of streambanks, seepages, and both intermittent and perennial streams. The most abundant headwater stream salamander in the Hudson Valley region is the northern two-lined salamander followed by the northern dusky salamander. The longtail salamander is rare in Orange County and declining within New York State. Fish Fish communities of the Moodna Creek range from anadramous fishes that use the tidal creek and mouth for spawning, to inland warmwater and coldwater fish communities. Little comprehensive monitoring of the Moodna Creek fish community has been conducted. The historical warmwater fish community includes the following species: white sucker, creek chubsucker, rock bass, redbreast sunfish, pumpkinseed, black crappie, blueback shad, American shad, cutlips minnow, Eastern silvery minnow, golden shiner, bridle shiner, common shiner, spotfin shiner, spottail shiner, fallfish, longnose dace, blacknose dace, creek chub, redfin pickerel, chain pickerel, brown bullhead, fourspine stickleback, and tessellated darter (NYS Museum 1936). Of these, the creek chubsucker, Eastern silvery minnow, bridle shiner, spottail shiner, spotfin shiner, fallfish, and fourspine stickleback have not been observed in recent times (NYSDEC Bureau of Fisheries 2007). However, additional surveys would be needed to confirm the presence or absence of these species. Coldwater fishes of the Moodna Creek Watershed include the native brook trout, and the stocked rainbow trout and brown trout. Stream reaches supporting coldwater fishes, invertebrates, and salamanders are usually fed by cold-cool groundwater. Brook trout and slimy sculpin are the dominate fish of small coldwater streams of high quality. These streams have shallow margins, woody debris, canopy shading, and boulders. Blacknose dace, creek chub, and white sucker might also occur at coldwater sites. Both brook and brown trout are found in the Trout Brook and Woodbury Creek tributaries. The DEC annually stocks the Moodna Creek mainstem with brown and rainbow trout and the Woodbury Creek with brown trout. 9
Page 1 and 2: Biodiversity of the Moodna Creek Wa
Page 3 and 4: Moodna Biodiversity L. Heady, 19 Ju
Page 9 and 10: Figure 1. Ecological Communities of
Page 11: Moodna Biodiversity L. Heady, 19 Ju
Page 15 and 16: Figure 3. Analysis of Riparian Buff
Page 37 and 38: Appendix A. Flagship Species of the
Page 43 and 44: Appendix B. Birds of Conservation C
Page 45: Appendix C. Reptiles and Amphibians

Biodiversity of the Moodna Creek Watershed - Orange County Water ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?