SENATOR BRUNO, GOVERNOR PATAKI OPEN SCHODACK ISLAND STATE PARK

Senator Bruno secured $2.6 million in state funds to help create a park on the peninsula.

Rensselaer Waterfront Property Increases Public Access to Hudson River

Wednesday, June 19, 2002

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Governor George E. Pataki today opened New York�s 165th State Park in the Town of Schodack. The 1,052-acre Schodack Island State Park will offer the only public boat launch on the east side of the Hudson River between the Cities of Rensselaer and Hudson. In addition, Governor Pataki designated a portion of the park as a State Estuary and Bird Conservation Area (BCA).

"Today we make it possible for Capital Region residents to enjoy access to an area of the Hudson River that was previously inaccessible. For more than seventeen years I have been committed to creating a park on this peninsula," Senator Bruno said. "I am proud to have obtained $2.6 million in state funds to support this project from inception right on through to the actual construction of facilities. The opening of this park is a culmination of many years of hard work. I am grateful to Governor Pataki for his commitment to this project through each phase of its expansion."

"The spectacular new Schodack Island State Park, with its scenic location, unique natural resources and rich history, will provide countless recreational and educational opportunities for families and visitors to the region," Governor Pataki said. "In addition, designating a portion of Schodack Island State Park as a Bird Conservation Area will ensure that its variety of bird species and habitats are protected for future generations to enjoy."

The total cost of the Park is $7.4 million. The first phase of the Master Plan for Schodack Island State Park is complete and includes the installation of a double-lane boat launch with a riverside promenade, the construction of a new bridge, and the creation of an access road on the island to the developed area. Park amenities include parking areas for day use, boats and trailers, a comfort station, interpretive information displays, and a new bike trail.

"Schodack Island State Park is a tremendous asset for the Town, and I am pleased to have worked with Governor Pataki and Senator Bruno to create this new resource that will provide opportunities for families to enjoy the great outdoors right in their own neighborhood, while attracting new visitors to our community for many years to come," Town of Schodack Supervisor Eileen Natoli said.

"Once again, I commend Governor Pataki for his dedication to establishing new parklands throughout New York State and increasing public access to the Hudson River," State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Bernadette Castro said. "Schodack Island State Park will provide New Yorkers and visitors to the region expanded access to the Hudson River, and will help preserve the area�s unique environmental and historic assets, as well as provide interpretive information of these lands, habitats, and waterways. State Parks is proud to be the steward of such an extraordinary property."

"Promoting public access to the Schodack Island State Park means bringing another valuable access point to the Historic Hudson River," Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino said. "This newest asset to Rensselaer County and the State of New York will showcase an abundance of wildlife and other natural resources in an area full of cultural and recreational significance."

"Governor Pataki and Senator Bruno are to be commended for expanding recreational opportunities in the Capital District with the opening of the Schodack Island State Park," Chair of the Rensselaer County Legislature Neil Kelleher said. "They should also be congratulated for helping preserve an important area along the Hudson River, one of the greatest waterways in the world."

State Parks acquired the property several years ago, which today includes approximately seven miles of Hudson River and Schodack Creek shoreline. The park�s abundant biodiversity includes habitat for rare plants, threatened and endangered species, and a number of ecological communities, including fields, shrubland, dredge spoil forest, freshwater intertidal mudflat, floodplain forest, and freshwater tidal marsh and swamp.

Future developments for the park include the construction of additional day use facilities including picnic shelters, an informal playfield area, a 36-unit camping loop, the expansion of the existing trail system, additional parking, a maintenance facility for park office staff, and the development of a Native American interpretive area. In addition, hunting will be allowed in designated areas of the park as regulated by the DEC.

Management of the new park will be consolidated with the Hudson River Islands State Park, Athens Boat Launch and Coxsackie Riverside Park and Boat Launch located on the west side of the river in Greene County, and Peebles Island State Park at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers in both Saratoga and Albany counties.

The Schodack Island Bird Conservation Area is located on an 864-acre portion of the state park and is a concentration site for a variety of wading bird species and home to a number of bird species that are at risk. It is the 19th BCA that Governor Pataki has designated in New York State and the seventh BCA within the State Park System. The site is within a Department of State (DOS) Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat and a DOS Significant Scenic Area.

New York�s BCA Program, the first of its kind in the United States, is designed to protect bird populations and their habitats by integrating bird conservation into agency planning, management and research. The BCA Program, modeled after the National Audubon�s Important Bird Area Program, was enacted by the New York State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Pataki in 1997. State Parks and DEC worked closely in preparing the management guidelines for the BCA, which provide a framework for protection and environmental education on birds and their habitats.

"From Bald Eagles to Cerulean Warblers, Schodack Island State Park is a birder�s paradise on the Hudson River," David J. Miller, executive director of Audubon New York said. "Governor�s Pataki�s vision in the designation of Schodack Island State Park as a Bird Conservation Area will ensure that its diversity of bird species and habitats are properly managed for all future generations of park visitors to enjoy."

The $7.4 million in funding for Schodack Island State Park includes $4 million from the Hudson River Estuary Action Plan, through the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. These funds were designated for Schodack Island State Park as part of the plan�s objective to increase public access to the river. Also included is $2,100,000 from the State Department of Transportation to support the creation of a new separated grade crossing along a rail corridor.

The Schodack Island State Park peninsula was originally six islands. At the turn of the century, as part of the construction of a deep-water channel to Albany for ocean-going vessels, the federal government built dikes along the river side of the islands. The dredge spoil created by the project eventually formed the present-day peninsula, the southern portion of which is still used by the federal government for placement of dredge spoils.

Prehistoric Native Americans as well as historic Mohicans (called Mahicans) occupied the islands on both sides of the Hudson River as far south as Catskill. During the 1600�s and 1700�s, the valuable land attracted Dutch traders and farmers who eventually purchased the land from the Mohicans. Today, the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans is the only descendant tribe of the original native people of this area. They currently have a reservation in east-central Wisconsin. The name Schodack Island, traditionally the location of the Mohicans� central council fire, came from the word "ishoda" meaning "fire plain" and "akee" meaning "land."

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