MIANUS RIVER GORGE INC

Protecting biodiversity is a thread that runs through the collective work of Mianus River Gorge staff, student researchers, and volunteers. Much of the work to preserve and protect the Mianus River Watershed focuses on restoration projects to ensure the diversity of myriad species within the ecosystems that comprise the Gorge and the entire region.

Currently, Mianus River Gorge is working to restore and enhance native biodiversity and protect the unique old-growth forest at the heart of Mianus River Gorge Preserve and other important habitats on MRG property, MRG aims to prevent invasion by non-native species and enhance biodiversity at three levels: the meadow; the forest edge; and the younger, post-agricultural forest. Overall, the fields, wetlands, and younger post-agricultural forest act to buffer the older interior forest. Improving the health of these habitats will contribute to the overall protection of the interior forest going forward.

At the same time, MRG is engaged in a campaign to save the hemlocks from the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive pest that is killing the Eastern hemlocks in forests throughout the northeast. MRG completed treatment of over 2,000 hemlocks and is working to restore the understory vegetation that keeps the ground moist and is critical to the health of the hemlocks, especially their roots and the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil they depend on.
MRG has been monitoring the health of the hemlocks and is optimistic that the treatment is working. MRG is planning to repeat treatment beginning in 2022 while at the same time working with scientists at the NYS Hemlock Initiative to replace spraying regimen with a safe, effective biocontrol.

The Mianus River and its tributaries form a riparian corridor that is vital for wildlife and whose health and function contribute to a clean drinking water supply for over one hundred thousand. MRG aims to repair and improve the functional ability of this riparian buffer to filter and prevent water contamination by removing detrimental invasive species and replacing them with native herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees.

To stem the recent accelerated decline and to save our hemlocks now, MRG has begun a long-term regimen recommended by scientists at Cornell Cooperative Extension. This intervention program is being undertaken only after careful consideration and with thorough vetting of the methodology for safety and scientific appropriateness. It has been implemented with significant success in similarly threatened southeastern forests. MRG will use a technique known as basal bark spraying, as opposed to root drenching or injections, which prevents runoff and soil contamination by staying within the tree to target adelgids without killing beneficial predators. At the same time, and to ultimately replace the spraying regimen, the Gorge will monitor the development and availability of new biological control agents for hemlock woolly adelgid and hemlock scale.

Mianus River Gorge staff have a wealth of relevant experience that demonstrates the organization's capabilities for meeting our goals. MRG’s wildlife biologists conduct applied ecology research and work collaboratively on regional initiatives that impact the health and sustainability of our shared natural resources. Their research informs important land management decisions, such as how to safely and effectively control non-native invasive plants or keep our critical wetlands healthy and functional.

In the last 35 years, MRG has submitted expert testimony on over 300 development projects totaling hundreds of acres in the Mianus River Watershed, working with town governments to limit the impact of developments on the health of the Mianus River and the quality of its water. Mianus River Gorge also partners with a number of like-minded organizations, such as the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H RCP), a consortium of organizations throughout New York and Connecticut working together on regional land protection and stewardship for the benefit of people and nature.

In August 2010, the Mianus River Gorge Preserve was awarded Land Trust Accreditation Status by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission of the Land Trust Alliance. This distinction signifies that the Gorge met national quality standards in nonprofit management and land conservation and that the Gorge has systems in place to keep its promise of permanent land protection. The award culminated an extensive and external multi-year review of the Gorge’s mission, land stewardship, governance and internal controls. Mianus River Gorge successfully renewed its accreditation in 2015 and re-apply in 2020 (pending).

Land protection has been the focus of Mianus River Gorge (MRG) for over 67 years, starting with 60 acres in 1953 and now totaling over 2,000 acres protected throughout the Mianus Watershed. Wetlands, stream buffers, steep slopes, and alluvial plains are all key components of a healthy ecological system. With outright purchase, donations, conservation easements, or as part of complicated protection projects with multiple partners, MRG continues to target parcels critical to assuring the longevity of our shared natural resources.

Drawing on its scientific tradition, MRG has developed three innovative, interrelated research-based education programs to address real-world conservation problems brought on by urbanization. Students engaged in these programs work together to create a rich scientific learning community tasked with developing a better understanding of our local ecology through multi-year collaborative studies. MRG provides three-year grants for graduate students to perform and stimulate new research in applied ecology; a summer internship in suburban ecology program for college students; and a three-year natural science studies program for high school researchers.

The success of Mianus River Gorge’s research and education programs has been assessed in real-world accomplishments: awards and degrees received, published research papers, subsequent post-graduate endeavors of former students, and on-the-ground contributions to better management of preserves like the Mianus River Gorge Preserve.