The Onesquethaw-Coeymans Watershed Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving and protecting the quality of the Onesquethaw-Coeymans Creek and its watershed for the benefit of people, wildlife, and the environment.

The council's goal is to improve and protect the quality of the Onesquethaw-Coeymans Creek by:

• Collecting data and monitoring the Creek and its watershed
• Evaluating information about the Creek and its watershed
  Implementing projects that will improve and protect the Creek and its watershed
• Conducting outreach and education in the community
• Developing and improving educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities along the stream corridor and within the watershed consistent with the preservation of the Onesquethaw-Coeymans Creek.

Founding   Organizations

Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy
Albany County Water Quality Coordinating Committee
Trout Unlimited
Audubon Society of New York State

Onesquethaw-Coeymans Watershed Council ACTIVITIES

The Onesquethaw-Coeymans Watershed Council (OCWC) was incorporated in 2000 as a not-for-profit organization. Founding member organizations include Trout Unlimited, Audubon Society of NY, Albany County Water Quality Coordinating Committee, and the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.

The purpose of the OCWC is to protect and improve the quality of the creeks and their watershed for the benefit of people, wildlife, and the environment.

These were further refined in 17 specific issues contained in a matrix which is currently being used by participants to evaluate and compare existing uses and practices to WMP recommendations.

In 2009, members of Trout Unlimited and the OCWC negotiated opportunities for purchasing public fishing easements on a mile of stream in the Town of Bethlehem.  In 2011, with the encouragement of Supervisor Sam Messina, OCWC began active pursuit of funding to purchase the easements.

In 2010, the OCWC in partnership with Trout Unlimited, US Fish & Wildlife Service, NYSDEC Trees for Tribs Program, Albany County Soil & Water Conservation District (ACSWCD), NYS Department of Transportation, the land owner, and others, arranged for a significant bank stabilization project near NY Route 396, using natural stream design.  Stream instability was threatening a private home and the highway.  These structures have withstood the 2011 spring flood events, as well as tropical storm Irene, and can be used as a prototype for future stabilization projects.

In 2011, the Franciscan Ecology Center at Siena College partnered with OCWC to have faculty and college students conduct additional social science research on Onesquethaw-Coeymans watershed communities, and to participate in hands on ecological restoration projects.

In 2011, the OCWC received a grant from the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and HREP to 

§         Sample and monitor Upper Coeymans Creek water to identify and address existing stresses.

§         Collaborate with the Franciscan Ecology Center at Siena College to use student interns to physically examine and map portions of the stream to vegetate high priority areas, and identify and begin to address illicit discharges and erosion.

§         Construct a kiosk at the entrance to the public fishing access currently being negotiated to provide the public with information about the watershed, creek, partners, and recreational opportunities.

§         Purchase and assemble outreach materials, including a portable display and lap top computer, to undertake a community outreach program.  The website will also be upgraded and will include maps and watershed information.

§         Establish a rain garden in collaboration with the ACSWCD to increase community awareness of storm water run-off and mitigation practices.

Further upcoming activities include:

§         A "listening" or "town hall" type meeting for a larger audience to discuss and share their storm Irene flood stories.

§         The OCWC seeks to connect watershed leaders from around the region to increase information sharing and collaboration.  We will be attending the Annual Conference of the Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities at College of St. Rose in Albany on November 11-12, with an agenda to discuss means of accomplishing goals, involving community, and increasing membership. 

§         Discussion is beginning about forming a county-wide coalition of watershed organizations, and developing with Siena College a concept proposal for community-based watershed governance for Albany County.

§         Municipalities within the OCWC continue to evaluate their respective town comprehensive plans and other documents to evaluate to what degree the OCWC Watershed Management Plan (WMP) recommendations are or are not covered.