civilized ku # 1129-33 ~ it's a fine mess
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 12:30PM 
Stream erosion repair ~ Keene, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Stream erosion repair ~ Keene, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Stream erosion repair ~ Keene, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Streamside debris ~ Keene, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Stream erosion ~ Keene, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenSimilar in fashion to what happened on our street, a very small stream in Keene jammed up with debris when the high waters encountered a bridge, resulting in a tremendous amount of damage. Although we did not sustain the extreme damage they did in Keene.
In the aftermath, county work crews are filling in eroded river/stream/brook banks with earth and boulders in an attempt to stem the next water event which will arrive during the spring rain and thaw. However, since they are doing so without any kind of river-dynamics plan or oversight, several environmental groups have sued the towns and counties in order to obtain cease and desist orders.
The groups' concerns are based around the fact that there is absolutely no supervision over the crews doing the work. Individual bulldozer and excavator drivers are making on-the-spot decisions without any regard to river dynamics and fish habitat* amongst other concerns. There is also the very distinct probability their river "sculpting" may actually allow the rivers and streams to flow faster with the result of increased flooding downstream.
Our neighboring town supervisor readily admits that neither he nor anyone else involved in the work are "experts" on the subject. Add to that factor, the fact that his town highway superintendent is being pressured by local residents to do things in the rivers they think are "good" - hey, everybody's an expert, right? - and what you have is a recipe for future disasters.
The situation calls for demands supervision and control by "big government". That is to say, government above and beyond the expertise and abilities of local government. As much as many of my big government hating neighbors might be unable to admit, this situation is well beyond their and their locally elected officials ability to do the right thing.
*fish habitat - there are lots of people and enterprises in the Adirondacks deriving large parts of their income from there being fish in the waters.
Reader Comments (1)
Agree 100%. I could go on but you said it perfectly. In addition to the fact that livelihoods depend on fishing, the future of native trout in this state depend on the repairs. So much natural fish habitat has been lost in this state already. Attempts to bring back habitat that has been lost or on the verge of being lost is a key goal of groups like Trout Unlimited. Let's not let more of this prime habitat slip through the cracks. Your attention to this issue is appreciated.