HUDSON — Municipal officials, including members of town boards, planning boards, conservation advisory councils, and other committees involved in planning or zoning, are invited to attend a free land-use workshop, “Using the Columbia County Natural Resources Inventory.”
This workshop is sponsored by the Columbia County Environmental Management Council (EMC), the Columbia County Planning Department, the Columbia Land Conservancy (CLC), the New York state DEC Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell.
The workshop is being offered 6-9 p.m. March 16 at the Churchtown Fire Hall, 2219 County Route 27, Hudson and again 6-9 p.m. March 24 at the Tri-Village Fire Company, 111 County Route 13, Old Chatham.
The NRI is a reference document that summarizes and analyzes information about the physical, biological, and cultural aspects of the natural environment that shape Columbia County’s landscape. Authored by scientists at Hudsonia, and with contributions from the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program, this document is one-of-a-kind reference for people wishing to learn more about important local resources and ways to conserve them.
Participants will also be introduced to an online map tool created by the Columbia County Planning Department that provides ready access to natural resource information and tax parcel data. The workshop will include presentations by Gretchen Stevens, director of Hudsonia’s Biodiversity Resources Center; Ingrid Haeckel, conservation and land-use specialist, DEC Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell; and Don Meltz, senior planner, Columbia County Planning Department.
Certificates of participation will be provided for municipal training credits (three hours).
