Town of Clinton Selected for 2023 Natural Resources Inventory

In January, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the selection of three municipalities to receive conservation technical assistance from DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program. Through a competitive application process, the Dutchess County towns of Clinton and Washington and village of Millbrook were selected to work collaboratively with conservation professionals to create natural resources inventories for their communities. A natural resources inventory (NRI) compiles maps and descriptions of natural areas and provides a reference for planning in a community.

To prepare NRIs, the municipalities will receive assistance from the Estuary Program’s Conservation and Land Use team and the program’s partner, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County. NRIs typically include information about topography, geology, soils, water resources, habitats, wildlife, farmland, and climate, and often include cultural resources such as scenic areas, recreation sites, and historic properties. By knowing the locations of resources like forests, streams, wildlife habitats, and aquifers, municipalities are better able to identify conservation priorities and create land use plans and policies to protect what they care about.

Over many years, Clinton has gathered extensive information on its natural resources and commissioned detailed maps that will greatly facilitate this current project. Volunteers from the Conservation Advisory Council and Climate-Smart Task Force are assisting in the preparation of the NRI. As the year goes on, they will be sharing their findings with the residents of the town and asking for feedback and contributions such as photographs. For more information, contact: Jack Persley, kins@peoplepc.com