POUGHKEEPSIE – State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens announced that $1.55 million in Hudson River Estuary grants are now available. He made the announcement at the 2015 Hudson River Summit held Thursday in Poughkeepsie.
“I just get charged up when I am with a crowd like this,” Martens said. “They are people who love a natural resource. Many of them have devoted their careers, their lives, to making it better, and that is just inspiring. That is one of the benefits of the summit is bringing people together who inspire others. We want to bring more and more people into this movement.”
The summit featured several panels of experts and involved many different private, as well as community-based organizations that are involved in the conservation, study, recreation and education of the river.
All of those in attendance, if they meet the grant recipient criteria, are now eligible for a piece of either a $750,000 Tributary Restoration and Resiliency grant or an $800,000 Local Stewardship Planning grant.
Commissioner Martens told the attendees in his keynote address, “There’s nothing better in my mind than protecting something that is both vital and beautiful. This is vital and beautiful. It’s worth all the days, the months and the years that it takes to make progress.”
The budget for the Hudson River Estuary Program has increased by $700,000 and Martens said the DEC, with the help of Governor Cuomo, will continue to offer new opportunities for the protection, accessibility and research of the Hudson River.
