What's Happening
Conservation Issues
Marcellus Shale 
January 5th, 2010
As the fight concerning where to drill for gas in New York rages on, TGF continues to play an active leading role with others in the environmental conservation community. The following documents are some of TGF's recent submissions to the Governor and Department of Environmental Conservation.
For more information please read the following four documents:
1. TGF Comments on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement ( dSGEIS ) re Well Permit Issuance for Horizontal Drilling and High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop the Marcellus Shale and Other Low Permeability Gas Reserves
2. Letter to the Governor regarding Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing Gas Extraction in New York State.
3. Cover Letter for Coalition Technical Comments
4. Coalition Technical Comments on the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Regulatory Program.
Horton Brook Restoration Project
Sunday October 11th, 2009
As part of the TGF Beaverkill Restoration Project to improve the habitat for spawning trout, TGF will be working on Horton Brook as part of an ongoing restoration project known as the Horton Brook Conservation Initiative. This Initiative has optimized the resources of TGF, the NYCDEP and Trout Unlimited by addressing major erosion along Horton Brook.
Horton Brook is one of the most ecologically important tributaries of the lower Beaverkill River in New York’s Catskills region. Horton Brook provides a steady supply of cold, clean water throughout the year. In the hottest weeks of the summer, the mouth of Horton serves as the largest documented thermal refuge in the Beaverkill system. Horton Brook also serves as one of the largest spawning tributaries for wild trout in the Beaverkill. Historically wild brown trout have run up Horton from the Beaverkill in the fall. In recent years state biologists have determined that Horton Brook has become one of two primary spawning tributaries for wild rainbow trout. Over the last ten years the mouth of Horton Brook has suffered from excessive sedimentation and gravel deposition at its confluence with the Beaverkill. This has tremendous negative effects on the Beaverkill’s trout. A major factor contributing to this problem is a large landfill created by New York City known as the "tunnel muck site." At this site, Horton Brook has eroded a vertical bank at places as high as 40 feet (See attached Pictures 1 & 2). During every high water event, the stream chews off large quantities dirt and gravel creating a very high sediment load for the stream that degrades water quality and spawning habitat downstream. As a part of the Initiative, New York City has already committed resources to remediate this site.
Horton Brook's original floodplain is close to restoration with the project nearing its final stages (See attached Picture 3 - the landfill has been removed and regraded). The next phase of the project will be the planting of vegetation along the banks of the Brook to promote stabilization and reduce further erosion. TGF's work on October 11, 2009 will entail tree and vegetation plantings. We will need as many volunteers as possible. If you can help with this important project, please e-mail John L. Barone at jbarone789@aol.com or Conservation@tgf.org
The Board of Directors Announces the "TGF Beaverkill Restoration"
Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Inc. announces the launch of a large-scale initiative to restore spawning access to tributaries of the Beaverkill River. TGF is taking the lead role in this multi-year, multi-phase action to promote stream protection and self-sustainable salmonid populations.
Phase One of the initiative addresses the restoration of Horse Brook as a spawning tributary of the Beaverkill River in New York State's Catskill region. Historically Horse Brook provided important spawning ground for trout swimming up from the Beaverkill. Records show that three species of trout -- brook, brown and rainbow -- spawned in Horse Brook until 1996 when flood waters changed the riverbed and blocked the access of fish into the upper reaches of the tributary.
Horse Brook is the only tributary within a 6 mile span of the Beaverkill capable of sustaining spawning trout. According to Ed Van Put, a fisheries professional with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, restricted passage by spawning trout into this and other tributaries has contributed to the decrease of the population of wild fish in the Beaverkill.
The TGF initiative will replace a culvert located one quarter mile upstream of the mouth of the brook with a structure that will eliminate any aquatic barrier that exists. The new structure will allow passage not only for fish, but also for many other aquatic organisms necessary to complete the food chain, thus providing for a more functional aquatic ecosystem. Preliminary work on the Horse Brook Project has begun with an estimated end date in 2010.
For Phase One of the restoration initiative, TGF has partnered with Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC). USC is a network of county and regional natural resource professionals working to protect the headwaters of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.
TGF is committed to the success of the restoration initiative and to the preservation of stream conditions as related to property and life along the river. Additional potential projects have been identified and are being researched for inclusion in the initiative.
For more information on the TGF Beaverkill Restoration, contact Bert Darrow at president@tgf.org.
“Delaware River Water Releases August 06” - link to a document.