Holiday Gift Ideas & Green Gift Monday: 11/29/10

The big question this week is "Will Green Gift Monday Snare Cyber Monday Shoppers?" The Nature Conservancy is putting an environmental focus on the busiest online shopping day, TODAY. At the Watershed Agricultural Council, we partner with many Catskills Green organizations worthy of your support. Consider giving a gift membership or shopping locally at a holiday market this week:

Available online: Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm membership or 2011 CSA share

Catskill Center membership

Farm Catskills membership

Protect farmland with a donation to the WAC Easement Stewardship Fund

American Farmland Trust Seasons Sweetings Organic Gift Box

For those of you who prefer to make a gift selection in person, here are this week's Holiday Markets featuring local Pure Catskills products:

12/1-3: Maple Shade Farm Holiday Wreath Making, 2066 County Highway 18, Delhi

12/4, 10 am to 1 pm: Harvest and Holiday Forest Farmers Market, Agroforestry Resource Center, 6055 Route 23, Acra

12/4-5, 11 am to 4 pm: Duke Pottery Handmade for the Holidays, 855 County Rd. 93, Roscoe

12/4-5, 11 am to 4 pm: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and The Holiday Market at Bethel Woods, 2oo Hurd Road, Bethel

12/5, 10 am to 2 pm: Sullivan County Farmers' Market Association Callicoon Holiday Market
Delaware Youth Center, Callicoon

12/5, 11 am to 4 pm: New Amsterdam Market, Pure Catskills wood products vendors, Peck Slip, New York City

"Water: Adapting to the New Normal" by Sandra Postel

The University of California Press recently released The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises. I took a read through "Water: Adapting to the New Normal" by Sandra Postel and was pleased to find the New York City Watershed ecoservices approach to watershed protection (page 7) and the USDA CRP (Conservation Reserve Program on page 12) mentioned as exemplary best management practices for water quality.

It may not seem like we're in a water crisis; in New York, we often have too much water rather than not enough. But globally, Postel makes the case that we're collectively overtapping our water sources, generating an insurmountable water debt by squandering this limited resource under an outdated mode of thinking.

According to Postel, "Of all the water we withdraw worldwide from rivers, lakes, and aquifers, 70 percent is used in agriculture, 20 percent in industries and 10 percent in cities and towns...The average U.S. resident uses, directly and indirectly, about 2,480 cubic meters* of water per year -- about 1,800 gallons per day--twice the global average..." At that rate, it's apparent that water -- connected to everything we do, eat, live and breath -- could one day become a priceless commodity. Or is it a basic human right?

Postel poses that the answer to global water scarcity is a bottom-up-meets-top-down approach. Individuals reduce their water footprint through conservation measures. Governments address pricing and policies that clearly establish and reflect the true value of water. Private sectors in agriculture, industry and manufacturing rethink water use in creating products for mass consumption.

At the Watershed Agricultural Council, we're working with farm and forest landowners to protect water quality through Payment for EcoServices models and programs in agriculture, forestry and conservation easements. We use tools like the USDA's CRP to incentivize landowners participation; the City of New York backs our efforts by funding those programs and best management practices. Together, we're doing our part to keep drinking water clean and safe, but we all need to step up our efforts to protect water quantity.

On page 13, Postel offers "Ideas to Transition to a More Secure Water Future" in order to adapt to the new normal. I encourage you to read the chapter, then calculate your water footprint and let me know how you fare. More importantly, what are you willing to do to make a difference? Share your ideas in the Comments Section below.

P.S. My water footprint? 2105! To reduce my water consumption, I'll commit to eating less meat, drinking coffee produced in water-rich regions, and turning the water off when I brush my teeth. How about you?

*One cubic meter of water is equivalent to 264 gallons.

P.P.S. I hope to have Sandra on a Watershed Wednesday radio show in 2011.

Watershed Wednesday 11/24/10: Lissa Harris, Watershed Post

Lissa Harris, editor of the Watershed Post -- a daily blog covering news and commentary of the New York City watershed and Catskills region -- is our featured guest on Watershed Wednesday this week.
Born and raised in the Catskills, Lissa is back and based out of Andes. She'll tell us how she manages to cover so much ground in the five-county Catskill area with just herself and co-founder Julia Reischel. She'll share her top 10 story picks of 2010 and her approach to covering local news via social media blogging. And we'll compare notes with our top 10 list, and her coverage of more controversial topics like gas drilling, wood boilers, the Coalition of Watershed Towns and the DEP Land Acquisition Program.

Do you have a question for Lissa? Post it to the Watershed Agricultural Council FaceBook Page and we'll work it into the program.

Watershed Wednesday airs at 1 p.m. on November 24th to Community Radio WIOX 91.3FM in Roxbury. If you miss the show, look for the audio file posted to our website later in the month.

Turkey and the Art of Conversation

On the Watershed Wednesday radio show earlier this month, Denise Warren of Stone & Thistle Farm quizzed me on basic turkey factoids. I went 3 for 10, which isn't too bad considering in the course of our conversation about raising pastured turkeys (and the benefits of eating fresh local poultry), these tidbits were a matter of conversation.

To avoid the inevitable awkwardness of the family dinner table, lob a couple of these multiple-choice facts across the table as you pass the mash potatoes. Has your family has lost the art of conservation? These questions may finally get the kids to break lose from "texting" and join in.

So, here's to open dialogue, comments that make you think, and food that makes you go ""Hmmmm"...or in the case of Denise's Pumpkin Walnut Butter, "Yummmm"! From all of us here at the Watershed Agricultural Council, Happy Thanksgiving!

TURKEY FACTS

1. When was the first thanksgiving celebration? 1492, 1567 1621 1772
2. Where was the first turkey domesticated? US, Mexico and Central America, Canada, Israel
3. What sound does a female turkey make? Gobble, cluck, peep or chirp
4. How many commercial breeds of turkeys are there in the US? 21, 2, 20, 7
5. Which US state is the largest produces of turkeys? Arkansas, Minnesota, Kansas or Ohio
6. A male turkey is called: a tom, a larry, a clark or a dick.
7. A female turkey is called: a chick, babe, hen or dandy
8. A baby turkey is called: a peeper, chick, pipsqueak or poult
9. A group of turkeys is called: a flock, herd, gaggle or dule
10. What is the name of the skin atop a turkey’s beak? Hood, dapper, snood or cap
11. What is the name of the skin that hangs from a turkeys neck? Wattle, snark, garble, swag
12. The average life span of a domesticated turkey (not killed at Thanksgiving) is: 10, 5, 3 or 2 years
13. Approximately what percentage of American homes eat turkey on Thanksgiving? 90%, 79% or 49%
14. What percentage of American homes eat turkey on Christmas? 35% 50% 67% 80%
15. How many feathers on average does a mature turkey have? 3,500, 5,000, 2,100 or 1,650
16. Which country consumes the most turkey per capita? United States, Israel, United Kingdom, Spain
    
    DID YOU KNOW?

• Turkeys can die easily of heart attacks. When the Air force was performing test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys dropped dead.
• A wild turkey’s field vision is about 270 degrees so it seems they have eyes in the backs of their heads.
• Before the 20th century, pork ribs were the most common food consumed at Thanksgiving because most pigs were harvested in November.
• A spooked turkey can run up to 20 miles and hour. They can burst into flight approaching speeds of 50-55 miles per hour in a matter of seconds.
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird – not the bald eagle.

ANSWERS:

1. 1621
2. Mexico & Central America
3. cluck
4. 2, (Broad breasted whites and broad breasted bronze)
5. Minnesota
6. a tom
7. a hen
8. a poult
9. a dule
10. snood
11. wattle
12. 10 years
13. 90%
14. 50%
15. 3,500 feathers
16. Israel

This Week in the New York City Watershed: 11/22/10

The Thanksgiving holiday ushers forth the flurry of holiday shopping. While summer farmer market produce is not at a premium, you will find great gift ideas that support our local farm and fiber businesses at these local holiday markets featuring Pure Catskills' member products:

11/26-28, 11 am to 5 pm: Turquoise Barn & the Carriage House, 8052 County Route 18, Bloomville

11/27, 10 am to 2 pm: Pakatakan Farmers' Market Round Barn, Route 30, Halcottsville

11/27-28, 11 am to 4 pm: Duke PotteryHandmade for the Holidays, 855 County Rd. 93, Roscoe (photo above)

11/27-28, 10 am to 4 pm: Crafted, Historic Cottekill Reform Church, 167 Cottekill Rd, Cottekill, NY (between Rosendale and Stone Ridge)

The Pure Catskills blog lists holiday markets in the New York City Watershed region running through December 22.

On behalf of our staff and board of directors,

Happy Thanksgiving from the Watershed Agricultural Council

Foto Friday 11/19/10: Easement Stewardship Fund

At the annual forestry dinner held on November 5th at SUNY-Delhi, Benefits & Data Processing Administrator Edna Boroden took home the coveted raffle prize...a Hsqvarna chainsaw donated by Dave Cammer and Tom Buel. The silent auction featured donations from area Catskills wood crafters including cutting boards from Stamford, NY-based Catskills Craftsman, 10 skeins of wool yarn from Snow Hill Farm, 100 square feet of curly maple tongue-groove from Cannonsville Lumber, and wood baskets by Dry Brook Customs. The event raised $5,195 towards the Council's Conservation Easement Stewardship Fund.

The Fund's current assets (roughly $600,000) will be transferred to a formal endowment fund vehicle this year. The endowment will oversee the easement property portfolio in the future, should the time arise. The Council estimates the need to set aside approximately $88,000 per easement property in the Stewardship Fund to effectively manage that holding in perpetuity. Fundraisers such as the Forestry Dinner Silent Auction provide a venue to supplement the Council's $15-million endowment goal.

Through the Easement Program, the Council holds 21,086 acres (closed and in contract) with 118 landowners, representing a total investment of approximately $21.4 million.

Watershed Wednesday 11/17/10: New York State Agricultural Society

Today on Watershed Wednesday, my guests are Penny Heritage and Dave Tetor from the New York State Agricultural Society (NYSAS). Formed in 1832, NYSAS is one of the state's oldest agricultural advocates. The organization works to improve New York agriculture through education, leadership development and recognition programs. Along with acknowledging centennial farms, those who excel in on-farm safety, ag business of the year and excellence in journalism, the Society remains a steadfast voice for New York State farmers, researchers and educators.

On January 6th, the Society holds its 179th annual meeting and agricultural forum, "Eat Local/Feed the World-Food Production for the Future." The Watershed Agricultural Council is a business member and supporter of the annual event.

Have questions for Penny and Dave? Post your comments and questions below of visit the Watershed Agricultural Council's Facebook Page.

This Week in the New York City Watershed 11/15/10

Today (11/15/10) is the deadline for the Watershed Agricultural Council's Biomass Pre-feasibility Study Grant. Regional businesses, municipalities, non-profits and other institutions looking for heat alternatives for buildings in the 6,000 to 25,000 square-foot range should submit the two-page application. Target facilities include maintenance garages, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and offices within the following watershed counties: Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster, or Westchester. Grant applications should be submitted by 5 p.m. today at the Watershed Agricultural Council Main Office, 33195 State Highway 10, Walton. Fax is (607) 865-4932. For more information, contact Josh VanBrakle, Wood Products Marketing & Utilization Specialist, at (60) 865-77790, ext. 112.

Call today (11/15/10) for the two-day stream-based seminar, "Catskill Environmental Monitoring & Research Conference" on Wednesday & Thursday, November 17 & 18: Slated for Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, Highmount, the NYC DEP, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, NYS DEC, USGS, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies and the Catskill Institute for the Environment are hosting an informal research forum. Josh VanBrakle, Wood Products Marketing & Utilization Specialist will be speaking on Wednesday at 9 a.m. on Best "Management Practice Implementation on Family Forests in the NYC Watershed." Discover the current research efforts focused on the Catskills as it relates to:

• climate change,
• biodiversity,
• forest health,
• water quality and streams,
• monitoring and research gaps,
• discussion and collaborative efforts that address present and future environmental issues within the Catskills region.

The forum is intended mainly for regional researchers and resource managers, but the public is invited to attend. Cost is $15 for single day or $25 for both days (to help cover cost of lunch and breaks). Questions? Call/email Colleen Griffith at (845) 688-3047.

Friday, November 19-21: East of Hudson Program forester Brendan Murphy will be tabling at the Conference on the Environment, Thayer Hotel, West Point. The Council is sponsoring the event hosted by NYS Association of Environmental Management Councils, NYS Association of Conservation Commissions, and Hudson Hills and Highlands Environmental Leaders Learning Alliance (ELLA). This year’s theme is “Regional Approaches to Conservation” in New York. Cost varies, depending on how many days you attend, meals, and lodging. For more information, call Lisa Fine at (914) 243-9761.

Sunday, November 21: Farm to Market Manager Challey Comer and several Pure Catskills members will be selling Catskills fiber products at the outdoor New Amsterdam Market at 100 Peck Slip and Fulton Street Fish Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wool blankets, sheepskin throws and hand-knitted shawls are among the many holiday gift ideas ready to go. When you buy from a local farmer, you're helping support our regional economy in the process.

For more upcoming events, visit our website.

Foto Friday: The Habitat Enhancer

At the annual Watershed Forestry Program dinner and silent auction, Andes resident Jack McShane (center) accepted the Karl Connell Award from the Watershed Agricultural Council. Tom Pavlesich, the Council’s Forestry Program Manager (at left) and Craig Cashman, the Council’s Executive Director (right), presented McShane with a plaque at the November 5th event held at SUNY-Delhi. “This award is in honor of Karl Connell, a Catskill Mountain leader in conservation who helped mediate the citizen interests upstream with the New York City interests to protect its water supply,” noted Cashman. “The Karl Connell Award recognizes individuals for their wisdom, guidance, and leadership in promoting forest stewardship and protecting water quality. Jack calls himself a ‘habitat enhancer’, and as the seventh Award recipient, we recognize his contribution as a true friend of the Catskills forests.”

Watershed Wednesday 11/10/10: Farming Energy Ginny Scheer, Manhattan Country School

This week on Watershed Wednesday on WIOX, Ginny Scheer, Farm Director of the Manhattan Country School, joins me at 1 p.m. to talk sustainability: energy, food, natural resources and our future generations.

As one of the Watershed Agricultural Council's Agricultural Program participants, the Manhattan Country School is an area forerunner in energy sustainability, long-term stewardship of the land and its natural resources. For over 40 years, the School has been connecting City students with sustainability through its curriculum at the Country (Roxbury to be exact). Along with tending to a vegetable garden, beef cattle and a flock of sheep, the school raises two milk cows making them New York State's smallest licenced raw milk facility. We'll also discuss how the farm has worked with the Council's Agricultural Program to protect water quality in the New York City watershed.

Check out this YouTube video of the Manhattan Country School's ribbon-cutting ceremony in September 2009.

I'm curious...How are you improving your energy efficiency here in the New York City Watershed region? What measures are you taking to become more sustainable? Post your comments and questions to the Watershed Agricultural Council's Facebook Page.

New Report Spotlights Potential of NY Grasslands

According to Violet Stone of Cornell's Small Farm Program, the Cornell Small Farms Work Team on Grasslands Utilization has finally released “Green Grass, Green Jobs: Increasing Livestock Production on Underutilized Grasslands in NYS”. Two years in the making, the report is a statewide study by a team of extension educators, farmers, agency staff, and faculty; the report focuses on recommended actions in research, education, extension, and policy to realize the potential of our grasslands as a farming resource that will spur rural economic development, grow the regional food supply, and enhance environmental outcomes for all citizens of NYS.

Over 3 million acres of NYS grasslands are currently fallow or under-utilized, grasslands that could easily be transitioned into agricultural production. This transition presents an opportunity for the State and New York farmers. Encouraging economic development on these lands:

• Lead to job creation,
• Enhance regional and local food security, and
• Contribute to sustainable agriculture enterprises.

Several barriers exist to the increase utilization of grasslands for livestock production. Farmers’ limited access to these under-utilized grasslands and capital to develop agricultural enterprises top the list. The report addresses

• Why increased livestock utilization of NY’s grasslands makes sense;
• Livestock production and marketing opportunities;
• Barriers to increased livestock utilization of NYS grasslands; and
• Recommendations and inventory of grasslands management resources of NYS landowners & farmers.

As we turn back to agriculture as our regional economic driver, you can't help but notice the abundance of grasslands within the New York City watershed. Putting farmland back into productive use is a simple solution to many of New York State's issues including the budget deficit, lackluster job creation and a safe, local food supply. Not only does pasture-based livestock put grassland back to work, maintaining open space and land provide the natural filter for clean drinking water.

“Green Grass, Green Jobs: Increasing Livestock Production on Underutilized Grasslands in NYS” is available free, as a download from the Cornell Small Farms website at www.smallfarms.cornell.edu. Free hard copies are also available and may be requested by contacting Violet Stone at (607) 255-9227 or vws7@cornell.edu. The Work team was coordinated and report overseen by Dan Welch of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County. Pure Catskills member Ken Jaffe of Slope Farms in Meredith was Work Team contributor.

Foto Friday: Planting Trees in Westchester County

Last week, behind the barns and greenhouses at Hilltop Hanover Farm in Yorktown Heights, volunteers planted a riparian buffer -- a treeline aimed at defending a streambank from erosion and drinking water from stormwater run-off and pollution. The project was a collaboration between the Watershed Agricultural Council, Hilltop Hanover Farm, and Trees for Tribs, a natural-vegetation-planting initiative of the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program.

According to Lucille Munz, farm director at Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center, the project furthers the earth-friendly work conducted at the Westchester County facility. "We're engaging in practices that will enhance this County property, benefit the community and continue supporting our ecosystem long-term," noted Munz. "Planting trees is quite an undertaking, but in the long run, it will pay off by providing shade, improving water conditions, and establishing a safe, wildlife habitat that all add up to a healthy streamside environment."

WAC Forester Brendan Murphy noted that many studies support trees and forests as the best land use for water quality. "This single effort will make an impact on our drinking water supply. While the Croton Watershed supplies between 10% and 30% of New York City's demand for clean water, it's still a critical asset to maintain. With our plantings today, we're pro-actively addressing environmental concerns on behalf of future generations. Trees do the job best, of filtering water naturally while reducing sedimentation from erosion and water pollution from stormwater run-off."

The riparian site, adjacent to a crop field, is now part of Hilltop Hanover's outdoor educational classroom, providing landowners and workshop attendees with a practical, hands-on example of how land improvements, like basic tree plantings, can improve property values, decrease flood potential and enhance wildlife populations.
Landowners in the Croton Watershed with questions about riparian buffers and forest management plans should contact Brendan Murphy, WAC's East of Hudson Program Forester.

Have you planted a riparian buffer on your land in the Croton or Catskill/Delaware Watershed? Share your photos or story with us in the Comments Section below.

Forest Landowners' Workshop in Croton Watershed 11/12/10

On November 12th, the Watershed Agricultural Council is hosting a forestry workshop, The Future of Your Woods and Wildlife: A Workshop for Landowners in the Eastern Hudson Highlands, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Clearpool Education Center, Carmel. Sponsored by Clearpool, the Watershed Agricultural Council, Cornell Cooperative Extension's Biodiversity Program Work Team and Hudson River Estuary Program, the workshop is open to regional woodland landowners and costs $15 per person. Educational materials, morning refreshments and lunch are included.

Workshop topics include:

• why the future of your forest depends on regeneration and what you can do about it;
• surprising ways deer affect the forest and other wildlife;
• invasive plants and insects that may affect your woodlands now and in the future;
• a woods walk;
• how woods support the ecosystem health of the Hudson Highlands.

For more information,

• call Brendan Murphy, East of Hudson Program Forester, at (914) 962-6355,
• register online or
• contact Kristi Sullivan at Cornell's Department of Natural Resources with your questions.

Watershed Wednesday 11/3/10: Talking Turkey with Denise Warren, Stone & Thistle Farm

Pure Catskills member Denise Warren from Stone & Thistle Farm and I are making it a regular thing...starting today on WIOX. After all, we are two birds of a feather.

Denise will join me the first Wednesday of each month to talk about local food, clean eating, farming and what you can do to strengthen our local food system.

And we ain't just Talking Turkey either. Although this week we are...talking turkey, that is...from egg to plate. My new co-host knows a thing or two about turkeys: how to raise'em, how to cook'em, what to serve with'em, and all the local products you can incorporate into your Thanksgiving Day recipes. She's a fabulous cook.

And me, well, I really just know how to eat'em.

Join us for Watershed Wednesday at 1 p.m. on WIOX Community Radio 91.3FM. Ask us a question by commenting below or by listing your question on our FaceBook wall for the Watershed Agricultural Council! Just look for the two turkeys...

P.S. Find the recipes for Pumpkin Stuffing, Pumpkin Walnut Butter and Sausage Stuffing with Fennel and Roasted Squash on Farm & Fable Musings blog. We'll talk about those and more through the hour.

This Week in the New York City Watershed: 11/1/10

DUE TODAY Monday, November 1st:
Biomass Feasibility Grant
Watershed Bus Tour Grant

For watershed foresters and loggers, Trained Logger Certification - Adult First Aid and CPR will be offered on Friday, November 5th at the Agroforestry Resource Center, 6055 Route 23, Acra, NY. Cost is $25. To register, contact CCE-Greene County at (518) 622-9820.



You may have time to register for "You Are What You Eat" with Joel Salatin from Polyface Farm (VA) fame (but it's close to sold out). He'll be talking about farmers, consumers and the in-betweeners at the CVI Building in Liberty on Saturday, November 6th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $25 includes a luscious, local-foods lunch. Sponsored by Pure Catskills, Delaware Highlands Conservancy and others, this is a must-not-miss event.