The Hudson River Watershed Alliance’s Annual Watershed Conference went virtual in 2021 to keep everyone as safe as possible while we continue to unite and empower communities to protect local water resources.
Our 2021 Annual Watershed Conference theme was Aligning Actions for Clean Water. The conference was held October 25-28, 2021, with a different session each afternoon. We focused on watershed planning as a process and product to help build consensus and develop strategies that inform watershed management. The conference sessions shared processes, resources, and case studies for watershed-scale planning that leads to coordinated actions that improve clean water and reduce flooding.
Each session walked through the planning process: from setting goals and engaging stakeholders, to monitoring and modeling, to implementing actions. While focused on planning, the content was also more broadly applicable to watershed work.
Participants could choose to attend some or all of the sessions, and pay for their selected sessions only. All sessions were recorded, and links to the recordings were shared with registrants after the event. If registration cost is a barrier, please contact us.
Our virtual Annual Watershed Conference was hosted on the Whova platform. If you registered, you can click the button below to access the Annual Watershed Conference. If you have not created an account, please click Sign Up Here and use the email address you registered with. For more information on how to use Whova, see the Whova Attendee User Guide.
Conference Overview
Monday, October 25, 7-8 PM: Environmental Justice
The conference will kick off with a youth-centered, facilitated discussion on Environmental Justice in watershed planning. Participating youth groups from throughout the Hudson River watershed will share their Environmental Justice work, along with their visions for the future, what they feel should be considered in the watershed planning process, and how they believe efforts could be expanded to include important and previously underrepresented stakeholders. A video recording of this session is available here.
Tuesday, October 26, 1-4 PM: Watershed Planning Foundations
This session will provide an overview of various types of watershed plans and New York State programs that support watershed planning. We will hear about best practices on initial planning steps to set priorities and engage stakeholders, with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. A video recording of the Introduction to Watershed Planning presentation by Emily Vail, Hudson River Watershed Alliance, is available here.
Wednesday, October 27, 1-3 PM: Understanding Watershed Conditions
What information goes into a successful watershed plan? This session will focus on data used to inform planning, including monitoring and modeling. We’ll hear about watershed-based flood studies, stream management plans, and the New York State Department of State’s framework to identify actions.
Thursday, October 28, 1-3 PM: Implementing the Plan
This session will discuss how to move from planning to implementing priority actions and strategies. Case studies include the Upper Hudson River Watershed Management Plan and Quassaick Creek Watershed Management Plan, two successful plans with different geographies and scales. We will also discuss leadership transitions and best practices so that programs can be sustainable.
Sponsor the Annual Watershed Conference
Interested in sponsoring the watershed conference? More information is here. Your sponsorship will help to fund the conference proceedings and enable participation by individuals and groups in need of financial support.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Conference Sponsors:
River Sponsors:
PVE, LLC
SLR (formerly Milone & MacBroom)
Creek Sponsors:
Capital District Regional Planning Commission
D&B Engineers and Architects
Delaware Engineering
Pace University
Riverkeeper
Stream Sponsors:
Barton & Loguidice
Chazen, A LaBella Company
Gordon & Svenson LLP
GroundPoint Engineering
Nelson Pope Voorhis
Rockland County Soil & Water Conservation District
Brook Sponsors:
CEA Engineers
Center for the Urban River at Beczak
SunCommon
Wallkill River Watershed Alliance
Woodstock Land Conservancy
