Esopus Creek is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
that drains the east-central
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
in the U.S. state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. From its source at
Winnisook Lake
Winnisook Lake is an artificial lake located in Oliverea, New York, United States. It is the source of Esopus Creek and the highest lake in the Catskill Mountains at above sea level.
The lake is the private property of the Winnisook Club, wh ...
on the slopes of
Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across
Ulster County
Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster.
History
...
to the Hudson at
Saugerties. Many tributaries extend its
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
into neighboring
Greene County and a small portion of
Delaware County. Midway along its length, it is
impounded at
Olive Bridge to create
Ashokan Reservoir
The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquoian languages, Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir (water), reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to New York City ...
, the first of several built in the Catskills as part of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's
water supply system
A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following:
# A drainage basin (see water purification – source ...
. Its own
flow is supplemented above the reservoir by the
Shandaken Tunnel
The Shandaken Tunnel is an aqueduct in Eastern New York State, part of the New York City water supply system. It was constructed between 1916 and 1924. The tunnel starts in Gilboa, New York at the Schoharie Reservoir, which is in the counties o ...
, which carries water from the city's
Schoharie Reservoir
The Schoharie Reservoir is a reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York State that was created to be one of 19 reservoirs that supplies New York City with water. It was created by impounding Schoharie Creek. Portions of it lie in the towns of ...
into the creek.
The creek, originally known by the
Native Americans in the area as ''Atkarkaton'' or ''Atkankarten'' and by
Dutch settlers as the "Esopus
Kill
Kill often refers to:
*Homicide, one human killing another
*cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death
Kill may also refer to:
Media
*'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto
* ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006
* ...
",
takes its name from the Esopus tribe of the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
, who were living around the lower Esopus when the Dutch first explored and settled the
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
in the early 17th century. The creek's wide valley made it an ideal trading route for the Esopus and other Lenape who harvested the
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
pelts the European traders desired. Later, under the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, it became the beginning point for contentious land claims in the mountains. After
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, the Esopus corridor became the main route into the Catskills, first by road then later by the
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was a railroad located in the state of New York. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route to the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D extended from Kingston Point on the Hudson R ...
, for forest-product industries like logging, tanning and
charcoal making. Those industries declined in the late 19th century, shortly before the creation of the
Forest Preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
and the
Catskill Park
The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...
made the region more attractive for resorts and recreation, particularly
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
fishing. The renewed Esopus also attracted the attention of fast-growing New York City, which was able to acquire land and build the reservoir and tunnel after overcoming local political opposition.
The reservoir divides the creek into an upper stretch, mostly a wild mountain stream, and a lower stretch closer to the Hudson that gradually becomes more
estuarine
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
. Above the reservoir, its
water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
is closely monitored, not only for its role in the city's water supply but to preserve its local economic importance as a recreational resource. As the upper Esopus is one of the most productive trout streams in the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
,
fly fishermen come in great numbers to take trout from its relatively accessible banks.
Canoeists
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
and
kayakers
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
have been drawn to its
whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
, which has also spawned a busy local
tubing industry in the summer months. The lower Esopus is mainly an aesthetic and ecological resource, although the estuary at Saugerties is a popular
bass fishery.
The Esopus's role in the state and regional economy has led to a concentrated effort to protect and manage it, particularly on the upper stretch. The interests of the various stakeholders have not always converged, particularly where it concerns the city's management of its water needs.
Turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
created by discharges from the Shandaken Tunnel after a 1996 flood led to a successful lawsuit against the city and a state regulation; downstream of the reservoir the city has been criticized for contributing to flooding problems by releasing too much water during heavy rainstorms since
Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 At ...
in 2011. Boaters and anglers have also clashed, and
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
are beginning to enter the upper creek as well.
Etymology
Historians agree that the first Dutch settlers named the stream for the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
band that inhabited its banks. The Lenape themselves may have called it ''Atkarkarton'' or ''Atkankarten'', meaning "smooth land" in their language, probably in reference to a meadow alongside the river near Kingston. Lenape use of that name is recorded in 1657; it later became the name of a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in the area.
From the mid-17th century ''Esopus'', sometimes ''Sopers'', was in common use. It was believed to have been derived from ''seepus'', meaning river, in the
Delaware languages
The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages ( del, Lënapei èlixsuwakàn), are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family. Munsee and Unami, spoken abo ...
.
The name was not always applied to today's Esopus. Alphonso Clearwater's 1907 history of
Ulster County
Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster.
History
...
recounts that in 1677 the local Native tribes deeded to
the English
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identi ...
the land between the Esopus, which he identifies as Saugerties Creek, and the
Rondout Rondout may refer to some places and buildings in the United States:
In Illinois:
* Rondout, Illinois
In New York:
*Rondout, New York, a village located on the north side of Rondout Creek near its mouth on the Hudson River in Ulster County
*Rondou ...
, which he calls the "Groot Esopus".
In some other accounts, the ''es'' prefix is read as a
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
, making the name mean "little river".
Another interpretation is that ''Esopus'' means "high banks", referring to the stream's history of heavy floods.
Course
The Esopus is usually discussed as an upper and lower stream divided by the reservoir. The upper portion, where most recreational use takes place, has the characteristics of a mountain stream — shallow, rocky and swift, with most of the stream's trout taken by anglers there. The upper portion is itself divided into a "small" and "big" stream by the outlet of the
Shandaken Tunnel
The Shandaken Tunnel is an aqueduct in Eastern New York State, part of the New York City water supply system. It was constructed between 1916 and 1924. The tunnel starts in Gilboa, New York at the Schoharie Reservoir, which is in the counties o ...
.
Below the reservoir's spillway the stream begins again, becoming flatter, deeper and slower to its short
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
.
![Esopus Creek source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Esopus_Creek_source.jpg)
Small upper Esopus
Winnisook Lake to Big Indian
The Esopus flows out of artificially created
Winnisook Lake
Winnisook Lake is an artificial lake located in Oliverea, New York, United States. It is the source of Esopus Creek and the highest lake in the Catskill Mountains at above sea level.
The lake is the private property of the Winnisook Club, wh ...
, at above sea level the highest lake in the Catskills,
on the northwest slopes of
Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak
in the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of
Shandaken, within 300 feet (100 m) of the West Branch of the
Neversink River
The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern Ne ...
on the other side of the
divide between the Hudson and
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
s, amid expansive forest. At the
source
Source may refer to:
Research
* Historical document
* Historical source
* Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence
* Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...
it is crossed by a small wooden footbridge,
[ Image also reproduced at right.] followed by Oliverea Road (
Ulster County Route 47), which it immediately begins to parallel through the forest.
The stream's headwaters descend from there northward into Big Indian Hollow, dropping per mile (1.6 km)
with an average slope of 13 percent, through its first three miles,
a narrow and rocky mountains stream through this section. Along it there are three waterfalls—Otter Falls, and Parker and Blossom Falls below.
At first trending westward, away from the road, a half-mile (800 m) below Winnisook Lake it returns to the road's side and receives its unnamed first tributary from the east, draining another of Slide's hollows.
![Otter Falls, Esopus Creek, Oliverea, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Otter_Falls%2C_Esopus_Creek%2C_Oliverea%2C_NY.jpg)
Bending to the west northwest, the Esopus forms part of the boundary of the
Big Indian Wilderness Area
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
to its south as it receives
Giant Ledge Stream
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gi ...
from the north, draining
the peak of that name and
Panther Mountain, the former meteor crater
whose walls determine the creek's upper course. Another half-mile further west, the Esopus receives its first left tributary, Hanging Birds Nest Brook, which drains the north face of Spruce and Hemlock mountains to the south.
From there the Esopus flows due northwest for its next mile, as the valley floor of Big Indian Hollow opens up and some cleared land begins to abut the stream. After the
Maben Hollow Brook confluence, it turns west and
braids
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair.
The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
into several smaller channels for , reuniting just before crossing under Eagle Mountain Road. It receives, another eastern tributary, the
Elk Bushkill
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
, which drains
Fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
and
Big Indian mountains to the southeast, just south of the Burnham Hollow Road bridge. The Esopus then bends back in a northward direction.
Short braided sections return during the next mile, along with gravel
bars along the banks.
Bending past more braided sections and bars, the Esopus reaches the small former hamlet of
Oliverea 0.6 mi (1 km) further north.
Here McKenley Hollow Road crosses, in a section with
retaining wall
Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides.
Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...
s on either side of the channel. Another to the north, the similarly named tributary, carrying water from the steep slopes of
Haynes Haynes may refer to:
People
*Haynes (surname)
Places
In Australia:
* Haynes, Western Australia
In Canada:
* Haynes, Alberta
In the United Kingdom:
*Haynes, Bedfordshire
** Haynes Church End
In the United States:
*Haynes, Arkansas
* Haynes, Nort ...
and
Balsam
Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...
mountains to the west, joins the Esopus from the west as the stream's main stem turns northwest, further away from the road, then curving northeast with more bars and braiding marking a wider channel.
Big Indian to the Portal
After of this gently curving course,
Hatchery Hollow Brook flows in from the east. With the valley floor widening, the Esopus flows more northward. It receives its last Big Indian Hollow tributary,
Lost Clove Creek, from the west where it drains Balsam and
Bellayre mountains, just below the Lost Clove Road bridge. At the mouth of the hollow, in the small
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of
Big Indian, from its source,
the Esopus turns east and crosses under
New York State Route 28
New York State Route 28 (NY 28) is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major r ...
, which it closely parallels all the way to Ashokan Reservoir, at in elevation.
At the bridge, it receives
Birch Creek, which drains from the small former village of
Pine Hill to the west, opposite a large gravel bar, and then bends northward. The former channel of the Esopus cuts this corner, rejoining the main stem at the site of the two streams' former confluence a thousand feet (300 m) downstream.
Through this section it widens through a valley floor with more frequent cleared areas amid forested mountains,
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
ing gently along the circular route around Panther Mountain, paralleled by Creek Side Drive on its north. Another thousand feet downstream, Fire House Road (County Route 47) crosses, after which the Esopus turns sharply to the north, then northeast at a large gravel bar, for its next mile. At the Millbrook Hollow Brook confluence, it bends eastward, with another northern tributary,
Seneca Hollow Brook emptying into the stream a half-mile further along.
![Esopus Creek above Shandaken, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Esopus_Creek_above_Shandaken%2C_NY.jpg)
The Esopus receives
Bushnellsville Creek
Bushnellsville Creek flows into Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, th ...
from the north after a mile, then crosses to the south side of Route 28 at the small former hamlet of
Shandaken to the east. Its next half-mile serves as part of the northern boundary of the
Slide Mountain Wilderness Area
The Slide Mountain Wilderness Area is, at , the largest tract of state-owned Forest Preserve in New York's Catskill Park, and the largest area under any kind of wilderness area protection between the Adirondacks and the southern Appalachians. It ...
.
At Allaben, from Big Indian,
it receives
Fox Hollow Brook from the south, just east of the Fox Hollow Road bridge, and
Peck Hollow Brook from the north 500 feet to the east, opposite another gravel bar. At this point the Esopus drops below in elevation.
The creek begins to bend southward, past Shandaken's town hall, over its next mile to where the
Shandaken Tunnel
The Shandaken Tunnel is an aqueduct in Eastern New York State, part of the New York City water supply system. It was constructed between 1916 and 1924. The tunnel starts in Gilboa, New York at the Schoharie Reservoir, which is in the counties o ...
brings water from
Schoharie Reservoir
The Schoharie Reservoir is a reservoir in the Catskill Mountains of New York State that was created to be one of 19 reservoirs that supplies New York City with water. It was created by impounding Schoharie Creek. Portions of it lie in the towns of ...
into the Esopus from the north, increasing its flow. This point on the stream is known as the Shandaken Portal or just the Portal.
Big upper Esopus
South of the Portal, what is now the "big" portion of the upper Esopus
turns southeast after Broadstreet Hollow Creek, with one smaller northern channel remaining closer to the road while the larger southern one bends closer to the base of
Garfield Mountain, forming another one-mile portion of the Slide Mountain Wilderness boundary;
the two converge at a public parking lot used to put in canoes and kayaks. Three miles (4.8 km) downstream, the creek turns to the south for another mile before turning east where
Woodland Creek
Woodland Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to Henderson Inlet Henderson Inlet is a small, southern inlet of Puget Sound, Washington state, situated between Budd Inlet to the west and Nisquall ...
, the largest right tributary of the Esopus, flows in from the south following the east side of the former Panther crater wall, from its headwaters on
Wittenberg Mountain, just east of where Woodland Valley Road crosses. Another in that direction, the Esopus reaches
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
, the first major settlement along its course. Route 28 crosses again just west of where the stream receives
Stony Clove Creek
Stony Clove Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 creek in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It is a tributary of Esopus Creek, which in turn is a ...
from the north, where it drains southern
Greene County. The creek widens but remains shallow; the
Catskill Mountain Railroad
The Catskill Mountain Railroad is a heritage tourist railroad based in Kingston, New York, that began operations in 1982.
The railroad leases a 4.7-mile portion (MP 3.6 to MP 8.3) of the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain br ...
parallels its banks.
![Ashokan Reservoir from Overlook Mountain May 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Ashokan_Reservoir_from_Overlook_Mountain_May_2021.JPG)
The stream bends into a southerly course between
Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek.
At in elevation, ...
to the east and
Romer Mountain
Romer Mountain is a mountain located in the Catskill Mountains of New York south of Phoenicia. Sheridan Mountain
Sheridan Mountain is a mountain located in the Catskill Mountains of New York north-northwest of Phoenicia
Phoenicia () ...
to the west. After two miles, more gravel bars and some islands in the channel mark a turn to the southeast. Another mile and a half (2.4 km) downstream, the Esopus receives the
Beaver Kill
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Kill (bod ...
at the hamlet of
Mount Pleasant. It then crosses under Mount Pleasant Road and, downstream, Route 28, for the last time above the reservoir, near the hamlet of
Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek.
At in elevation, ...
.
Here
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
measures stabilize the west bank.
The Esopus trends to the south southeast over its next mile and a half to the mouth of the
Little Beaver Kill
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
at Beechford, where it leaves Shandaken and enters the town of
Olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
. The shores get more developed over the next as the stream turns south and reaches
Boiceville, its largest settlement since Phoenicia, where
NY 28A crosses it at Five Arches Bridge. After a large bend that takes it below in elevation, the Esopus enters
Ashokan Reservoir
The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquoian languages, Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir (water), reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to New York City ...
, below Allaben,
the end of the creek's upper section.
Lower Esopus
Ashokan Reservoir to Kingston
Four miles (6.4 km) from where it widens into the reservoir, just before Travers Hollow Brook and the
Bush Kill drain into it,
the main stem of the Esopus flows out of the reservoir's
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...
. The reservoir continues for to its spillway near
Olive Bridge.
The reservoir's eastern section, slightly to the north, is not part of the creek's course.
The Esopus drops below in elevation as it leaves the reservoir. A thousand feet (300 m) downstream the reborn stream crosses under Route 28A again, amid a wide, forested canyon.
It turns south, then east again, through Cathedral Gorge
past the
Ashokan Center
The Ashokan Center (formerly the Ashokan Field Campus, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as the Ashokan Field Campus Historic District is an outdoor education, conference, and retreat center located in the Catskill Mountain ...
on the north, through channelized and widened sections. Narrowing again, after another bend, the stream flows into the town of
Marbletown another thousand feet east, also crossing the
Blue Line and leaving the
Catskill Park
The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...
.
From there the creek bends to the west northwest, through a narrow gorge, with few structures breaking the forest around it. One mile into Marbletown it widens suddenly and bends to the south as a result of receiving the reservoir's other outlet stream.
Gravel bars and some cleared areas on either side, still sloped steeply, mark the next mile of flow almost due south.
![Esopus Creek at Marbletown, NY, town park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Esopus_Creek_at_Marbletown%2C_NY%2C_town_park.jpg)
Over the next the Esopus bends back and forth through similar terrain, paralleling
New York State Route 213
New York State Route 213 (NY 213) is a state highway located entirely in Ulster County. It runs from the eastern Catskills to downtown Kingston.
While it is signed as an east–west route, most of its course consists of two segments run ...
for a thousand feet (305 m) below a steep bluff, to where its valley widens and cultivated fields become dominant in the surrounding landscape. Two miles (3.2 km) to the south, with the channel again widening to ,
Hurley Mountain Road (
Ulster County Route 5) crosses. Another south of that bridge, the stream bends again, reaching the southernmost point along its course at a Marbletown park just above its confluence with an unnamed tributary flowing in from the south. From there the Esopus begins flowing northeast, as portions of the stream are diverted into nearby ponds for the farms that surround it and its
riparian buffer
A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...
on the increasingly level terrain.
After the old
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
north of the park at Fording Place Road east of the hamlet of Lomontville,
the Esopus starts paralleling
U.S. Route 209
U.S. Route 209 (US 209) is a long U.S. Highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of US 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, coming within five miles of the route and making the short c ...
, meandering slightly as it widens, with farmland on its west, sometimes widening from into pools.
Two miles north of Fording Place Road, another tributary,
Stony Creek, flows in from the west at the
Hurley town line.
Another downstream, just past a wide braided bend, Wynkoop Road (Ulster County Route 29A) crosses the channel
just east of the
hamlet of Hurley and the
Hurley Mountain Inn
Hurley Mountain Inn is a restaurant/sports tavern in historic Hurley, New York.
History
The Inn began during the early 19th century as the “Suspension Bridge House.” About the beginning of the 20th century it was renamed the Hurley Hotel, ...
.
![Esopus Creek meander S of Hurley, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Esopus_Creek_meander_S_of_Hurley%2C_NY.jpg)
North of that crossing, the Esopus bends away from Route 209 through fields, with some braiding and diversions, to the
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
town line a mile downstream. Here its north bank becomes part of the Catskill Park Blue Line as well,
bending east southeast and crossing under Route 209 a thousand feet downstream. It bends to the northeast again, and after another reaches the western corner of the city of
Kingston, the largest settlement along the creek, after which it becomes the city's northern boundary.
Kingston to Saugerties
Another downstream, a bridge along the abandoned
Ulster & Delaware right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
crosses the Esopus. The stream takes a long curve to the north and back southeastward over its next half-mile to where it crosses under the
New York State Thruway
{{Infobox road
, state = NY
, type = NYST
, alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway
, maint = NYSTA
, map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...
just south of Exit 19,
where the Catskill Park Blue Line leaves the stream to run along the west edge of the highway property.
Another half-mile further downstream, Washington Avenue crosses; a state-owned public-access area with
boat launch
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
is located on the north bank along Sandy Road 500 feet downstream. After a half-mile with an apartment complex and strip mall on the south side and woodlands on the north of the channel,
Tannery Brook
Tannery Brook flows into the Mohawk River in North Western, New York.
References
Rivers of New York (state)
Mohawk River
Rivers of Oneida County, New York
{{NewYork-river-stub ...
empties into the Esopus from a buried culvert just below where Route 28, now concurrent with
Interstate 587, crosses the creek
for the last time.
A half-mile past I-587, amid woodlands on both sides, the Esopus meanders parallel to the Thruway.
Three-quarters of a mile downstream on a meandering course with a narrow channel, the Kingston city line leaves the stream on the east.
The meandering creek draws near to the Thruway in a mile and begins to run parallel to it.
Just past a turn to the northeast the
Town of Ulster maintains another public access area near the ballparks on Buckley Street on the south side of the channel.
The Esopus crosses under Route 209 near
Lake Katrine north of that point. A half-mile past that bridge, it receives another significant tributary, the
Saw Kill.
The riverside is more developed here, with homes and docks on the east bank. The channel narrows to .
![Esopus Creek from Glasco Turnpike bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Esopus_Creek_from_Glasco_Turnpike_bridge.jpg)
A mile north of the Saw Kill, the Esopus bends northeast again and Leggs Mill Road (County Route 31) crosses as the stream descends slightly over a weir and some exposed bedrock. Backyards and docks line both banks over the next half-mile, where the channel widens again to , after which the creek again turns north, the channel narrowing to ,
and the
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
River Subdivision's freight tracks parallel the Esopus on its east. The stream flows north on a straight course, trending slightly east, for until it receives its last major tributary,
Plattekill Creek
Plattekill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2020 tributary of Esopus Creek in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source ...
, from the east at the
Saugerties town line. At this point it bends eastward again and goes down
Glenerie Falls
Glenerie Falls is a waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Wat ...
, a series of five cascades that drop over the course of the next of stream,
Below Glenerie Falls, the Esopus, now below a hundred feet (30 m) in elevation, again turns north, paralleling
U.S. Route 9W
U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approache ...
for a mile through a narrow, steep valley. After Glasco Turnpike (Ulster County Route 32) crosses the 100-foot channel,
Route 9W veers off to the northeast, away from the stream, while the Esopus continues north through its narrow wooded gorge, for the next three miles (4.8 km), widening to .
Development around the stream is limited to a quarry on the east a mile downstream of the bridge, and then a dead-end residential street on the west bank during the last of the three miles; the
Esopus Bend Nature Preserve Esopus may refer to:
;In New York
*Esopus, New York, a town in Ulster County
** Esopus (village), in the town of Esopus
*Esopus Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River
* Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, a lighthouse on the Hudson River near Esopus, New Yo ...
buffers the east bank.
![Saugerties-lighthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Saugerties-lighthouse.jpg)
At the end of this reach, just southeast of the
village of Saugerties, the Esopus receives its last tributary,
Tannery Brook
Tannery Brook flows into the Mohawk River in North Western, New York.
References
Rivers of New York (state)
Mohawk River
Rivers of Oneida County, New York
{{NewYork-river-stub ...
, from the north, turns east and enters the village. A half-mile of meandering past some marshy flats on the south side, a bridge carries Route 9W and
New York State Route 32
New York State Route 32 (NY 32) is a north–south state highway that extends for through the Hudson Valley and Capital District regions of the U.S. state of New York. It is a two-lane surface road for nearly its entire length, with f ...
over the stream, its last crossing. Below the bridge it flows over Cantine Dam, creating Cantine Falls. It bends north, then south, and returns to the east, as docks and structures abound on either side. After the Esopus empties into the Hudson, north of its mouth in New York City at
Saugerties Light, a few feet (1-2 m) above sea level.
Watershed
The Esopus'
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
covers . Most of it is in Ulster County, like the stream itself; the
Greene County portion includes most of that county south of the
Devil's Path range and its southeastern corner. A very small portion overlaps the
Delaware County line west of
Pine Hill. The upper Esopus basin, above the reservoir, is with the lower basin accounting for the other .
To the south it is bordered by the combined watershed of the
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, United States. It rises on Rock ...
and
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Octo ...
. On the northeast is the
Kaaterskill Creek
Kaaterskill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of Catskill Creek in Greene and Ulster counties in New York. Via Catskill Creek, it is p ...
basin, with the
West Kill
The West Kill, an tributary of Schoharie Creek, flows through the town of Lexington, New York, United States, from its source on Hunter Mountain, the second-highest peak of the Catskill Mountains. Ultimately its waters reach the Hudson River vi ...
draining the Spruceton Valley to the northwest into
Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek is a river in New York that flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskills through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie ...
, a long tributary of the
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...
, itself the Hudson's longest tributary. On the western boundary, water drains into the
East Branch of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
; the two upper branches of the
Neversink, the Delaware's largest left tributary, rise along the Esopus basin's southwest boundary, with the Neversink's East Branch headwaters flowing a thousand feet from the Esopus' source at Winnisook Lake.
The upper Esopus watershed is rugged and 95 percent forested, with 58.5 percent part of the
"forever wild" Forest Preserve and protected from almost all harvest or clearing.
Three different types of forest predominate: montane spruce-fir
boreal forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
on the higher mountain summits, beech-birch-maple
northern hardwood forest
The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York, and Pennsyl ...
with some
Eastern hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
groves that survived the tanbarking area on the slopes, and an
oak–hickory forest Oak–hickory forest is a type of North American forest ecosystem, and an ecoregion of the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome.
Geography
It has a range extending from Rhode Island and southern New York, west to Iowa, and south to Northern ...
closer to the stream's banks. The summit of
Ashokan High Point
Ashokan High Point is a summit in the Catskill Mountains of New York. High Point is the loftiest part of a massif that includes the adjacent Mombaccus Mountain, Little Rocky and South Mountain. The summit can be accessed via the Kanape Brook Tr ...
, overlooking the reservoir, offers an anomalous pine-oak
heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
barren.
Downstream of the reservoir the forests become a mix of the lower two. The floodplain forests are a mix of
silver maple
''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...
and
elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
;
river birch
''Betula nigra'', the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tol ...
clusters around the banks. Another unusual community, a
pitch pine
''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...
-
scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to:
*the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species.
In California
*California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
barren, is found on the summits of Hallihan and Jockey hills in the
town of Kingston, just northwest of the Saw Kill confluence.
While there is some development clustered along Route 28 next to the stream, there is no significant agricultural use. Among the mountains within it or on its boundaries are 21 peaks over in elevation, including all or part of 16 of the 35
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above in elevation whose summits are separated either by ''or'' a vertical drop of at least between it and the next nearest separate summit. By usual standards, ...
exceeding .
Slide Mountain, the highest peak in the range, is also the highest peak in the Esopus watershed at about . It has the highest average elevation of any of the watersheds that feed New York City's reservoirs. Tributaries, named and unnamed, add another of streams to the watershed.
From the reservoir to Marbletown, the lower Esopus is also surrounded by forest. Downstream of that point, its
flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
becomes heavily farmed, with of worked agricultural land, mostly cornfields, abutting the stream between there and the Leggs Mills Road bridge at Lake Katrine.
The mountains continue to influence the lower stream, with one High Peak,
Indian Head Mountain, contributing to the Saw Kill and Plattekill Creek subwatersheds, much of which remain within the forests of the
Catskill Park
The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...
.
History
The history of the Esopus, like the creek itself, has several distinct eras, starting with a meteor falling on the future Catskill Mountains.
Natural history
The Esopus's upper course was set 375
million years ago
The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds.
Usage
Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...
in the
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
period, when the Catskills were still a
river delta
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...
of low
sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
beaches and the shallow channels between them to a large
inland sea
An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...
that corresponds to the location today of the
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...
. A
meteor impact
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or me ...
during this time left an approximately wide
crater
Crater may refer to:
Landforms
*Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet
*Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
whose walls correspond to the courses of the upper Esopus and Woodland Creek today. Geologist Yngvar Isachsen of the New York State Geological Survey discovered the traces of the meteor impact, including a higher fault density in the bedrock on the Esopus, in the late 20th century.
Later, the crater began to fill in with silt and became a
crater lake
Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...
. As the delta
uplifted
''Uplifted'' is the second studio album by Nigerian singer Flavour N'abania. It was released on July 20, 2010, by Obaino Music and 2nite Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Jay Dey, Oloye, Stormrex, Waga Gee, Asemstone, M-Jay, ...
into a single
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
, the stream bed began to form along the heavily jointed and weaker
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
and
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
above the buried rim of the crater wall.
As with the Catskills as a whole the newly forming streams began
dissecting
Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...
the plateau into mountains and valleys. This process led the Esopus, with its particularly deep and wide valley, to fill up its bed with the red
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
that clouds the waters of the stream in high water and floods.
More recently in geologic time, about 12,000 years ago, the
Wisconsin glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cor ...
filled the valley, carving the slopes on its sides more steeply and eroding more sediment into the river. It shaped the lower Esopus as well, as the long glacial ridges closer to the Hudson channeled the stream north to Saugerties after they melted.
As the glaciers melted slowly, they created
ice dams and
glacial lake
A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
Formation
Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
s. The most significant of the latter along the Esopus's course left behind the large plain at Shokan. In the 20th century the original lake would be recreated as
Ashokan Reservoir
The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquoian languages, Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir (water), reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to New York City ...
.
![Southern hardwood forest along Esopus Creek, Beechford, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Southern_hardwood_forest_along_Esopus_Creek%2C_Beechford%2C_NY.jpg)
The Esopus was one of three valleys that trees followed into the Catskills, as
revegetation
Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, manmade rewilding projects, accelerated process designed to repair damage to a land ...
of the mountain slopes took place in the glaciers' wake. First to come were the
boreal
Boreal may refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch
*Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...
species, such as
balsam fir
''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...
, that today persist only on the summits of the range's
higher peaks. Next were the northern
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s, primarily
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
and
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
species, that dominate much of the Catskill forests today. Last were southern hardwood species, mostly
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
and
American chestnut
The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...
, probably following the Indians as they migrated north. Most of the chestnuts died in the
chestnut blight
The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...
of the early 20th century. Catskill forest historian
Michael Kudish
Michael Kudish is an author, railroad historian, forest historian, botanist, and retired emeritus professor. He received his Ph.D. in botany in 1971 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syr ...
found that other southern hardwood species can be found in the Esopus valley all the way to Oliverea, a mile or so below the creek's source.
Prehistory–1704: Native and European use
Human habitation or use of the stream's lower reaches has been recorded as far back as 4,000 years ago. As with many other streams in Ulster County, the
Native Americans used the flat
flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s of the lower Esopus for cornfields, and there are accounts of the area around Olive, today inundated by the reservoir, planted as an apple
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
. The Natives did not settle the area permanently, and only ventured into the higher reaches of the valley to hunt as there was less arable land there.
The Esopus would be important to the area's early
European colonization
The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs.
Colonialism in the modern sense began ...
. It took its name from the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
band that inhabited its banks, some of whom entertained
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
In 1607 and 160 ...
on his voyage up the river in 1609 after possible earlier contact with fur traders.
European traders began plying the river in greater numbers, eventually establishing permanent settlements for the purpose.
Dutch settlers established Wiltwyck, today's
Kingston, on the high ground between the Esopus and the
Rondout Rondout may refer to some places and buildings in the United States:
In Illinois:
* Rondout, Illinois
In New York:
*Rondout, New York, a village located on the north side of Rondout Creek near its mouth on the Hudson River in Ulster County
*Rondou ...
in 1649. After the Esopus drove them out of
the settlement in
two wars, colonial governor
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
ordered that it be enclosed in a
stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall.
Etymology
''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived ...
so it would be safer from raids by Indians and the other contending colonial power in the area, the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. The latter took over the
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
colony in 1664, taking a more nuanced approach to the native peoples of the area.
The settlement's location above the point where the Esopus came out of the Catskills made it an ideal
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
for Indians responding to the European demand for beaver pelts to make the
beaver hat
A beaver hat is a hat made from felted beaver fur. They were fashionable across much of Europe during the period 1550–1850 because the soft yet resilient material could be easily combed to make a variety of hat shapes (including the familiar to ...
s then in vogue. In the later 17th century, with European settlement well established around the eastern Catskills, land replaced fur as the Indian-held commodity most desired by the new arrivals.
The English government in London charged local officials with
granting large chunks of land on the colonial frontier so that it might be better protected from the
French to the north and west, but those officials dallied, only making such grants when they could enrich themselves and their friends in the process. The Catskills and the Esopus Valley, with little land that could be cleared for farming, were not suitable to that end.
1704–1885: Settlement and exploitation
![Early Autumn on Esopus Creek 3 (Boston Public Library)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Early_Autumn_on_Esopus_Creek_3_%28Boston_Public_Library%29.jpg)
In 1704 a group of farmers in
Hurley petitioned the
colonial governor,
Viscount Cornbury, for some of the undeveloped land to their west along the creek to use as
common pasture and firewood, since they were getting squeezed by Kingston to their east and
Marbletown to the south. The petition was put off for several years while it was ostensibly being surveyed, and in 1706 a grant of 2 million acres (8,000 km
2) was made to
Johannes Hardenbergh
Major Johannes Hardenbergh (1670–1745), also known as Sir Johannes Hardenbergh, was the owner of the Hardenbergh patent of land in the Catskill Mountains.
Biography
He was born in Albany, New York, in 1670. He was Sheriff of Ulster County, New ...
and a group of investors starting from the same point along the Esopus near Kingston and going out to the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
, taking not only all of Ulster County to the west but much of today's
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and
Sullivan counties as well. The Hardenbugh Patent, as it became known, is the source of many of the
land titles
Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, a ...
in the Catskills today, although its legitimacy was contested from the beginning, a dispute which continued until after the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, aggravated by inadequate
surveys of the region.
Encumbrance
An encumbrance is a third party's right to, interest in, or legal liability on property that does not prohibit the property's owner from transferring title (but may diminish its value). Encumbrances can be classified in several ways. They may be f ...
s remained on many properties into the 20th century.
The complications with the land claim delayed an accurate survey of the Catskills until 1885. In the meantime, permanent settlement of the Esopus valley began in the mid-18th century and finished with the establishment of the Slide Mountain post office in 1805.
Most of these communities were supported by local forest-products industries: loggers harvested trees for
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
operators,
and furniture makers set up shop nearby.
A road, the Ulster, Delaware and Dutchess Turnpike, was improved from an old colonial path that led up the valley and then into Delaware County past
Highmount.
By the middle of the century it was paralleled by the
Ulster and Delaware Railroad
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D) was a railroad located in the state of New York. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route to the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D extended from Kingston Point on the Hudson R ...
.
Timber was not the only product taken from the mountainsides and sent down the valley.
Tanners Tanners may refer to:
* Tanners (company), a British wine company
* Tanners, Virginia, an unincorporated community located in Madison County, United States
* Jerald and Sandra Tanner, opponents of the LDS Church (Mormons)
* Leatherhead F.C., a fo ...
brought up
cowhide
Cowhide is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a cow. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a product of the food industry from cattle. Cowhide is frequently processed into leather.
Process
Once a cow has been killed ...
s via those routes to treat in water boiled in
hemlock bark,
and
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
s were more numerous in the Esopus Valley than anywhere else in the Catskills.
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:
* basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand
* dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge)
* felds ...
for city sidewalks and buildings was also quarried out of the hills, and in some cases from the stream bed itself.
In 1877 naturalist
Ernest Ingersoll
Ernest Ingersoll (March 13, 1852 – November 13, 1946) was an American naturalist, writer and explorer.
Biography
A native of Monroe, Michigan, Ingersoll studied for a time at Oberlin College and afterward at Harvard University, where he was a ...
visited the Esopus Valley and wrote about it for ''
Harper's''. He took note of the deforestation. "The Esopus, from source to outlet at Saugerties, is a brawling mountain stream, such as the painters go to Scotland to find", he wrote. "
rather it was before the forests on its banks were felled and its waters befouled by refuse from the tanneries, mills, and villages, which, attracted by its bark and lumber, have grown up on its banks." Instead, he found the tributaries relatively untouched, places where he "would seek for the love of them the inmost recesses of the wilderness."
1885–1915: Recreational development
The possibility that
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...
from eroded
Adirondack slopes could clog the
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...
had led the state's business community to lobby for the creation of the
Forest Preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
in 1885. A legislative maneuver by the Ulster County delegation later that year added the Catskills, relieving the county of
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
obligations to the state on lands it had taken by foreclosure after the tanners and loggers had harvested everything of value and absconded with the revenue. The lands transferred to the state by the legislation were required to be kept forever wild.
The legislation became Article 14 of the
state constitution nine years later, in 1894, with added provisos that prohibited their sale, lease or any other transfer without a new
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
authorizing such a transaction.
By that era most of the easily accessible woodlands had been harvested. In combination with technological advances in some fields that eliminated the need for the raw materials of the forest, most of the industries that had made such an impact on the region in the early 19th century declined.
In their place a new one arose, mountain tourism, giving the newly affluent of the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
a place to connect with nature
and get away from hot cities in the summer months. Bishop's Falls House, run by that family on the Esopus near that feature, was a popular destination, expanded to accommodate 135 guests in 1905, earning the proprietors $3,000 ($ in today's dollars) that summer
One destination resort was the Tremper Mountain House, outside
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
on the slopes of
Mount Tremper
Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek.
At in elevation, ...
. During its peak period in the 1880s, it had a small trout pond out front. The house doctor, H.R. Winter, was an avid practitioner and promoter of the new sport of
fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...
, which he believed had therapeutic effects, making "a person for a time forget he ever had any care, business, or anxiety."
Anglers of the era who ventured into the Esopus valley were advised by guidebooks and magazine articles touting the Catskills' trout populations to bypass the main stream in favor of the tributaries, since the Esopus itself was generally too warm for
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
, the favored species at that time, and still too polluted by runoff from the tanneries. In the 1880s pioneering
fish farmer
file:Loch Ainort fish farm - geograph.org.uk - 1800327.jpg, upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial animal husbandry, breeding of fish, usually f ...
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...
advocated the stocking of
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
in streams where the brook trout population was beginning to thin as a result of the fishing pressure, as they could handle warmer water better. Other anglers feared that, if introduced, the more aggressive rainbows would displace the native brooks.
In 1883 and 1884, thousands of rainbow
fry and mature fish were stocked in the Esopus between Phoenicia and Big Indian. They soon became the stream's dominant fish, and the Esopus became an angling destination in its own right. Specimens of 3–4 pounds (1.2–1.6 kg) were reported, and some were displayed in tanks at the
Big Indian Railroad Station.
![Winnisook Lake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Winnisook_Lake.jpg)
Unlike the
Beaver Kill
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Kill (bod ...
and
Willowemoc Creek
Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of Beaver Kill. It is a popular trout fishing stream near the Catskill Park in Sullivan County, New York.Francis, Austin M. , ''Catskill Rivers: Birthplace of American Fly Fishing,'' Nick Lyons Press (1983) Ch. 9.
...
to the south, the development of Esopus Creek as a fishing stream did not result in the establishment of private fishing clubs, with one exception. In 1887
Alton Parker and his friends bought the on the slopes of Slide Mountain where the stream's source was located. They dammed the stream and created the
Winnisook Lake
Winnisook Lake is an artificial lake located in Oliverea, New York, United States. It is the source of Esopus Creek and the highest lake in the Catskill Mountains at above sea level.
The lake is the private property of the Winnisook Club, wh ...
, the highest lake in the Catskills, for their exclusive enjoyment. In 1896 the members received
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
, then the
Democratic nominee for President, as a guest. His visit attracted much attention locally, with residents lining the Ulster and Delaware's rails to see him and huge crowds waiting to shake his hand at stations
1915–1973: Watershed development
![Esopus Creek near Phoenicia old postcard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Esopus_Creek_near_Phoenicia_old_postcard.jpg)
In 1861 the city of Kingston had considered buying the land around Bishop's Falls near Ashokan to dam and use as a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
. It dropped the idea quickly since the creek's waters were still fouled by tanning effluents. A quarter-century later it took a second look, and found the waters had returned to their pristine state with the tanneries gone. It eventually developed
Cooper Lake on a tributary of the Saw Kill, for its water needs instead, after the privately owned Ramapo Water Company bought the
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
.
Twenty years after that, in the early years of the 20th century, New York City's reservoirs in
Westchester and
Putnam counties were barely keeping up with the growing city's demand. The city's agents looked at land along the
Ramapo River
The Ramapo River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long, in southern New York and northern New Jersey in the United States.
Course
The Ramapo river rises in Round Lake, a small freshwater lake in the Town ...
on the other side of the Hudson, in
Rockland and
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
counties, for new reservoir sites, but found the Ramapo Water Company had gotten there first, and was locking up similar rights in Delaware and Sullivan counties as well. The city balked at rewarding this act of
speculative
Speculative may refer to:
In arts and entertainment
*Speculative art (disambiguation)
*Speculative fiction, which includes elements created out of human imagination, such as the science fiction and fantasy genres
**Speculative Fiction Group, a Per ...
profiteering,
and in 1900 engineer
John Ripley Freeman
John Ripley Freeman (July 27, 1855 – October 6, 1932) was an American civil and hydraulic engineer. He is known for the design of several waterworks and served as president of both the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Societ ...
, who had worked on the development of Boston's water supply, produced a report for the city on possible future water sources that disparaged the upper Esopus, estimating that without any precipitation or streamflow data to work from, it could provide no more than 100 million gallons () a day, half of what Ramapo had claimed and equivalent to some of the areas on the
Ten Mile River, a tributary of the
Housatonic that the city was also considering. The soil was less conducive to dam and reservoir construction, precluding the possibility of building larger storage facilities.
![Olivebridge Dam Under Construction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Olivebridge_Dam_Under_Construction.jpg)
After political wrangling the state revoked the company's rights in 1901, whereupon the city's early skepticism about the Esopus, as expressed in Freeman's report, evaporated. The creek's
soft water
Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...
was now held to be its chief virtue, as it would among other things save the city's residents almost a half million dollars a year on soap, by a 1903 report Freeman contributed to.
Two years later the state allowed the city to create its own water supply commission and granted it the exclusive right to acquire land in the Esopus and
Schoharie watersheds and construct two reservoirs.
Residents in the Esopus valley attempted to block the project, objecting to the dislocation the proposed reservoir would require, forcing out the population of seven hamlets and relocating the Ulster and Delaware. They also noted that both reservoirs would be outmoded in a decade, requiring the construction of more reservoirs, and suggested the city look further north, to the Adirondacks. They feared the dam would fail, and called the project the "Esopus folly".
The state's water supply commission ruled in the city's favor, and once the city began acquiring land most local objections faded because local lawyers, well versed in the tangled history of land claims on the former Hardenburgh Patent, were able to negotiate prices highly favorable to local landowners. The reservoir was completed in 1913 and began delivering its first water to the city via the
Catskill Aqueduct
The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system.
History
Construction commenced in 1907. The aqueduct proper was completed i ...
two years later.
![Satellite view of Ashokan Reservoir after Hurricane Irene](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Satellite_view_of_Ashokan_Reservoir_after_Hurricane_Irene.jpg)
City engineers had taken note of the tendency of the clays and silts on the beds and banks of the Esopus to cloud the water for long periods of time after heavy rain. To deal with this, they designed the reservoir with two basins. Water from the upper Esopus accumulates in the western basin, where accumulated sediment is allowed to settle. The clearer water near the surface is then allowed to flow into the eastern basin, where the aqueduct begins.
The water releases from the Portal made the sections below it into a
whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
stream with rapids of Class II-III on the
International Scale of River Difficulty.
In the mid-1960s the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York began holding an annual
whitewater slalom
Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of th ...
near Phoenicia.
Later businesses in the hamlet began offering
tubing to summer visitors;
it has become one of the most popular recreational activities on the creek despite its negative impact on angling
and occasional fatalities.
1974–2010: Stream management, flooding problems and city-local conflicts
In the late 20th century, the population of the upper Esopus valley more than doubled. Most of the increase came from residential land use, which has also more than doubled as agricultural use has decreased 80 percent. The newer residents have primarily used the area for
second home
Second Home is Marié Digby's second album and first Japanese studio album, released on March 4, 2009.
Track list
Marié Digby albums
2009 albums
{{2000s-pop-rock-album-stub ...
s.
Clashes between homeowners, recreational users and the city have been resolved with regional stream management efforts that involve all stakeholders, such as local and state government, user groups, and local advocacy groups. These began on the upper Esopus in the 1970s between anglers and the city over releases from the Portal.
In the 21st century they began to involve homeowners and their communities along the lower Esopus, asking the city to consider the effect on them in how it manages the reservoir even though they are outside its watershed.
This era of the creek's history began in the 1970s. At the time the city considered solely its own water needs in setting the Portal discharges. Regular anglers knew the stream could change greatly, from a torrent one day to a trickle the next, depending on how the city saw its needs. During the 1974 fishing season, two trout kills along the Esopus that the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...
(DEC) attributed to the Portal discharges led to anger at the city and threats of lawsuits. Angler organizations and other local advocacy groups formed Catskill Waters, an
umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
, to fight the city on the issue.
In 1976
they were able to lobby the state legislature to pass, over vigorous opposition from the city,
a new section of the state's Environmental Conservation Law permitting DEC to regulate discharges from the Schoharie and some other reservoirs.
Catskill Waters and the other organizations, later under the auspices of the
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville, New York, United States. It works to preserve the natural environment of the Catskill region an ...
, next worked to prevent the
Power Authority of the State of New York
The New York Power Authority (NYPA), officially the Power Authority of the State of New York, is a New York State public-benefit corporation. It is the largest state public power utility in the United States. NYPA provides some of the lowest-co ...
(PASNY) from building a
pumped-storage
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...
station to feed an nearby artificial lake and hydroelectric plant on Schoharie Reservoir, arguing that it would warm the Esopus too much. The authority responded that it would actually be beneficial for trout, by reducing sediment and moderating the colder temperatures that inhibit the fish from breeding in the early spring. In 1987 PASNY withdrew its application to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...
to build the project.
![Walkway atop levee next to Esopus Creek, Kingston, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Walkway_atop_levee_next_to_Esopus_Creek%2C_Kingston%2C_NY.jpg)
Flood control measures were built along almost half a mile of the east bank of the Esopus at the northwest corner of Kingston in the late 1970s, in response to the March 1951 flood that reached an estimated discharge of per second, considered to be the heaviest flooding ever in that reach. The combination of
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
s and concrete
flood wall
A flood wall (or floodwall) is a primarily vertical artificial barrier designed to temporarily contain the waters of a river or other waterway which may rise to unusual levels during seasonal or extreme weather events. Flood walls are mainly u ...
s, along with interior measures like
catch basin
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surface ...
s and a
pumping station
Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as well drilling, drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastru ...
, was designed to contain flooding up to per second, about 10 percent greater than the 1951 flood. They protect an apartment complex and strip mall immediately adjacent to the creek between what is today Washington Avenue and I-587/NY 28.
In March 1980 the upper Esopus flooded significantly for the first time in years following a heavy storm. Roads were left impassable, including a section of Route 28 at
Boiceville, some bridges were damaged or washed away, and many tributaries suffered severe damage. The gauge at Coldbrook recorded a maximum discharge of , breaking a 30-year-old record.
To avoid a federal requirement that it build a
water filtration
A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation ...
plant that would cost several billion dollars, in 1990 the city instituted stricter rules for the use of its lands in its watersheds, regulations that adversely affected the local economies. This exacerbated tensions between the city and local residents, many of whom had long resented what they considered to be the city's arrogance and lack of concern for them. After seven years of litigation and activism, the Catskill Watershed Corporation was created in 1997 to mutually manage the watershed in the city and the local communities' best interest.
It invests and facilitates economic development in the city's Catskill and Delaware watersheds that enhances water quality.
The Portal became an issue between anglers and the city again in the late 1990s. After
a heavy January 1996 blizzard was followed by a thaw and equally heavy rain, washing the melting snow into waterbodies along with the runoff, and in the process doing severe damage to streambanks in the Schoharie Reservoir's watershed. The eroded silt and clay washed into the depth of reservoir, where it was then drawn into the tunnel and released into the Esopus. The Coldbrook gauge recorded maximum discharge of , its highest since the 1980 flood.
For several years afterward the creek was often so muddy that fly-fishermen went elsewhere to pursue trout, adversely affecting the local economy.
In 2000 the angler advocacy group
Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Th ...
filed a lawsuit in federal court under the
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
arguing that the city needed a permit if it was going to continue releasing muddy water from the Schoharie basin into the Esopus. The trial court's dismissal was overturned on appeal by the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juris ...
in October 2001. In 2003, on
remand, another federal judge assessed a $5.7 million fine against the city for muddying the creek and ordered it to get a state permit. The city duly applied for and received a New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit effective in 2006.
Another heavy rain struck the region at the beginning of April 2005, delivering over 36 hours;
the Coldbrook gauge recorded a maximum discharge of per second, the third worst flood in the stream's recorded history
at that time after floods in 1980 and 1951.
The Allaben gauge recorded its all-time heaviest flow of , whose
recurrence interval was estimated to be 30 years,
and the upper Esopus experienced similar effects as it had in 1980, severely impacting the stream's brown trout population that year, since the species spawns in the spring.
Unlike 1980, this flood also affected the lower Esopus. The Mount Marion gauge recorded what is still its maximum ever amount at , an 80-year flood
and far greater a flow than that seen in any flood event there for almost a century.
Roads had to be closed in the vicinity of the creek, including Kingston Circle, the junction of Route 28, Washington Avenue,
Interstate 587 and the offramps from the
New York State Thruway
{{Infobox road
, state = NY
, type = NYST
, alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway
, maint = NYSTA
, map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...
. Businesses near the stream had to close, including several hotels, and the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
estimated that 109 houses along the creek were destroyed;
some areas reached 100-year flood levels.
Five years later, the last quarter of 2010 brought two separate storms that both reached around at Coldbrook, meaning that five of the 11 worst storms in that gauge's history had come in the preceding 30 years.
In the wake of the first storm, in October, the city began releasing turbid water into the lower Esopus from the reservoir for the first time. In the hundred days following the storm and its successor, of dark brown muddy water was channeled down the creek in order to clear the reservoir itself. DEC filed a complaint against the city seeking $2.6 million in damages and a committee of state, local and city representatives was convened to decide on a schedule for future releases.
2011–present: Hurricane Irene and after
The sixth, and worst, storm came within a year, when
Hurricane Irene struck the Catskills at the end of August 2011. At the peak of the flooding, discharge at Coldbrook was , its all-time high.
More than of rain fell all over Ulster County, and the Slide Mountain weather station at Winnisook Lake recorded nearly a foot (305 mm), a 200-year storm.
The deluge at Winnisook Lake led to concerns after the rains stopped that the dam would burst, which could have devastated much of
Shandaken even further; the problem was made more urgent since Giant Ledge Stream had washed out the bridge along County Route 47, cutting the lake and headwaters of the Esopus off from the rest of the town. Many homes and businesses downstream had suffered serious damage from the floods; in Phoenicia the popular Sweet Sue's restaurant was flooded to a depth of a foot, with five inches () of silt. The Bridge Street crossing into the hamlet from the east had to be closed and rebuilt. Further downstream on the upper Esopus, a lightly used bridge at Coldbrook was swept away,
along with most of the old railroad trestle near the mouth of the reservoir.
Two weeks later, the remnants of
Tropical Storm Lee brought another of rain and more flooding to areas still recovering from Irene.
While stream discharge on the Esopus below the reservoir remained below the levels experienced in 2005,
floods along that reach did more damage. Farmers whose fields are along the creek's
flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
in Marbletown and Hurley reported that some of their fields were under as much as of water, killing livestock, washing away buildings and ruining crops just as the harvest season began. "I don’t think I have ever seen anything on this scale here in New York", remarked Darrel Aubertine, the state's
Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets.
Downstream of that reach, the Esopus did not cause the damage it had in 2005, which has been attributed to the reservoir holding the waters back; only near the
Saw Kill and
Plattekill Creek
Plattekill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2020 tributary of Esopus Creek in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source ...
confluences was flooding severe.
The stream remained extremely muddy for several months afterwards as the city again released water from the reservoir, muddy enough for its bright orange color to be visible in satellite photos used by
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
. Ulster County and
Riverkeeper
Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water. It started out as the Hudson River Fisherman' ...
, whose complaints about similarly turbid releases earlier that year had led DEC to fine the city $2.6 million, again petitioned for the city to be required to either use the reservoir's release channel or add
alum
An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...
to the water, which it had stopped doing in 2007 due to negative environmental effects.
The DEP commissioner said that the county had a choice between "mud or flood", a dichotomy local officials saw as false.
The city's local opposition threatened litigation. Ulster County Executive
Michael P. Hein
Michael P. Hein (born July 20, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 1st County Executive of Ulster County, serving until February 10, 2019 after having first been elected on November 4, 2008. Prior to the creation of this position, th ...
, the first elected to the position when it was created in 2008, was particularly vocal, likening the city to a colonial power in the region. "They have their own police force, their own rules and regulations. They're extracting a natural resource at below-market rates and they use their powers indiscriminately,"
An early version of the city's federal Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) in 2013 showed that $2 million had been allocated to deal with the muddying of the lower Esopus, but it was taken out before the final version was approved. The city promised a
consent order later that year would separately address the issue; since the FAD only applies to water meant for drinking.
It has, but Ulster County would still prefer it be included in the FAD.
In 2017 the city released its draft FAD renewal applications. Some comments on it suggested that major discharges from the reservoir should be prohibited; the city replied that the consent order addressed this issue, which was beyond the scope of the FAD.
It also responded to a suggestion that it keep the reservoir below capacity to prevent flooding of the lower Esopus by saying that its water supply needs require the reservoir be at or close to full around June 1 each year.
At the end of that year the
state Department of Health granted the FAD through 2027. As a condition of that renewal the city had to build a new
wastewater treatment plant
Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environmen ...
for the hamlet of
Shokan, in the town of Olive just north of the reservoir. It was also required to continue existing programs that provided for streamside land conservation, best-management practices on agricultural lands, and
septic tank
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatme ...
installations and replacements at local businesses.
Recreation
Angling
![Researcher with large brown trout from Esopus Creek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Researcher_with_large_brown_trout_from_Esopus_Creek.jpg)
Trout from local streams had been a dietary staple since the earliest days of settlement in the Catskills.
[Evers, 395. "Trout still abounded in those mountain streams uncontaminated by tanneries, and during the 1830s a man could catch hundreds of them in an afternoon."] The farmers used every means they could, including
bait,
nets, and even
sledgehammers,
[Evers, 664. "Generations of mountain people had taken trout by any means that came handy: by netting; by using worms as bait; by 'fishing with a sledgehammer' (which meant stunning fish by hammering on the ledges beneath which they rested)."] to catch enough to make sure their families had plenty to eat whatever the outcome of their harvests. By the 1840s the Esopus's trout fishery was beginning to attract anglers from outside the region. Many stayed at Milo Barber's Inn in
Shandaken.
Theodore Gordon
Theodore Gordon (September 18, 1854 – May 1, 1915) was an American writer who fished the Catskill region of New York State in the late 19th century through the early 20th century. Though he never published a book, Gordon is often called the ...
, considered the father of American dry-fly fishing, did most of his angling in the
Beaver Kill
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Kill (bod ...
,
Willowemoc Creek
Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of Beaver Kill. It is a popular trout fishing stream near the Catskill Park in Sullivan County, New York.Francis, Austin M. , ''Catskill Rivers: Birthplace of American Fly Fishing,'' Nick Lyons Press (1983) Ch. 9.
...
, the
Neversink River
The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern Ne ...
and other streams of
Sullivan County, south of the Esopus watershed. But in 1913, he wrote the construction of the reservoir would give the Esopus "the finest trout fishing in America, if properly treated ... It will be stocked naturally from the Esopus with the rainbow and European trout of the finest quality."
Today the upper Esopus still attracts many
anglers who
fly-fish for
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
,
particularly because the state land around it in the
Slide Mountain and
Big Indian-Beaverkill wilderness area
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
s makes it more accessible than other streams in the region,
with a number of public parking areas
and stretches where DEC has negotiated public fishing rights on private property. In the late 19th century it became the first place in the Catskills where
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
were successfully
stocked,
and the population of that fish has since become indigenous to the point that it is considered one of the most productive wild-trout streams in the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
.
The state augments it with regular stockings of
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
as well. Because of that species' preference for later spawning dates in the fall, trout season along the Esopus extends until November 30, a month and a half later than most other streams in the state.
The Esopus is the only stream in the county with no minimum size restriction; up to five may be taken per day.
Most fish taken are thus less than in length, but in 1923 a brown trout was taken at Chimney Hole just above the reservoir that weighed , a state record that stood for three decades.
![Shandaken Tunnel south outlet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Shandaken_Tunnel_south_outlet.jpg)
Anglers subdivide the upper Esopus into four sections: the small Esopus, from Winnisook Lake to Big Indian, and the three sections of the big Esopus. These are from Big Indian to the Portal, from the Portal to Phoenicia, and from Phoenicia to the reservoir.
Trout, along with
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
,
bass and
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
are also taken in the reservoir,
where anglers must have a permit from the
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's water supply and works to reduce air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution.
Under a 1.3 billion do ...
(DEP) as well as a state license. They must use unpowered boats
stored at designated areas along the shoreline and used only in the reservoir. Here there is a 12-inch minimum with a limit of three per day.
The creek's
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
below the dam at Saugerties has also become a popular spot for
bass fishing. Several
tournaments
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
are held for both
largemouth and
smallmouths.
Striped bass
The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...
from the Hudson also spawn in the estuarine Esopus, making it a popular spot for them as well.
Boating
Canoeists and kayakers use the stretch from just above the Portal at Allaben to just above the reservoir at
Boiceville. They only run the Esopus when the Coldbrook gauge records discharge above , or water levels between ,
which usually occurs after major releases from the Portal or heavy rains. When it does, the
whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
is sufficient for the stream to reach Class II or III on the
International scale of river difficulty; the stretch accounts for nearly 30 percent of the dam-controlled whitewater in New York, ideal for both experienced and beginning canoeists and kayakers.
![Esopus Creek Paddlers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Esopus_Creek_Paddlers.jpg)
More regional whitewater enthusiasts have been paddling the upper Esopus since the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...
stopped dam releases on
Western Connecticut
Western Connecticut is a geographic region of Connecticut located in the southwest corner of the state. Numerous towns are part of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments (or WestCOG), one 9 regional councils of governments in Connecticut ...
's
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
in 2006, limiting whitewater opportunities there.
The
Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Ma ...
and the
Adirondack Mountain Club
The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1922. It has approximately 30,000 members. The ADK is dedicated to the protection and responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, wild l ...
each conduct organized whitewater trips during the four release weekends. The KCCNY has its annual
whitewater slalom
Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of th ...
race in early June after one of the former.
The
American Canoe Association
The American Canoe Association (ACA) is the oldest and largest paddle sports organization in the United States, promoting canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The ACA sponsors more than seven hundred events each year, along with safety education, in ...
has also held its Atlantic Division Championships there every fall since 1979, and the stream hosted the 1980 U.S. Open Canoe Championship.
The lower Esopus is also attractive to boating enthusiasts who prefer flatwater. Much of it outside the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve is private property; the portion near Saugerties has been open to the public only once a year when the Esopus Creek Conservancy held its annual Decks and Docks on the Esopus
fundraiser
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
.
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
s on the estuary in Saugerties shelter craft used on the Hudson.
Tubing the Esopus above and below Phoenicia has long been popular, with about 15,000 people a year taking the float.
Since the 1970s, local businesses have rented
tubes
Tube or tubes may refer to:
* ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film
* ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom
* "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show
* Tube (band), a ...
to visitors, and it has become a major draw to the Catskills in summertime.
Some residents complained about its local impact
and its negative effect on fishing. Other anglers are not as bothered by tubers, pointing out most tubing takes place during daylight hours rather than the
crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
times at which trout are most active.
The Shandaken Town Board proposed a law in 1983 that would have limited tubing to the lower stretch during prescribed hours, required bathroom facilities and levied a 10-cent
surcharge on each rented tube to cover the expenses to the town. It was not adopted, but later the town required a special use permit under its
zoning
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
code. That requirement was dropped after one of the tube-rental businesses challenged it in court.
Currently, two companies in the area rent to visitors, who can choose between the wilder but more dangerous stretch north of the hamlet (not recommended for children) or the calmer stretch below it. Tubes are rented only when the stream gauge at Coldbrook indicates a level of .
Hydrology
Water quality
New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rates the
water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
of Esopus Creek in different sections.
Most of the lowermost of the stream, from Cantine Dam in Saugerties to the Tannery Brook confluence near Kingston,
is rated Class B, suitable for primary and secondary contact recreation and fishing.
Weed growth along the banks between the mouth and the dam has led DEC to downgrade that reach to Class C,
with limited recreational prospects.
From Tannery Brook to the
Ashokan Reservoir
The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquoian languages, Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir (water), reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to New York City ...
dam, the Esopus remains Class B, albeit slightly impacted, with equivalent weed growth in many portions. The releases from the reservoir, and the stream's low gradient, are also seen as factors.
The reservoir itself is considered impacted, due to pollution from atmospheric
mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, but not to levels that affect its use for drinking water, since mercury does not dissolve much in water.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
is also present, but within acceptable levels. Those pollutants have resulted in the state's
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
issuing an advisory to anglers that they should eat no more than one
smallmouth bass over long taken from the reservoir per month.
The stretch of the upper stream from the reservoir to the Portal at Allaben is rated Class A by DEC due to its use as a trout fishery. It is also considered impacted due to the turbidity of the waters released from the tunnel as well as
Stony Clove Creek
Stony Clove Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 creek in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It is a tributary of Esopus Creek, which in turn is a ...
and
Broadstreet Hollow Brook.
From Allaben to Winnisook Lake the upper Esopus is class C water due to emissions from
Pine Hill's wastewater treatment plant via Birch Creek. DEC's assessments found that the stream does have thriving aquatic life.
Discharge
![Esopus Creek hurricane irene usgs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Esopus_Creek_hurricane_irene_usgs.png)
The
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
(USGS) maintains five
stream gauge
A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...
s along Esopus Creek. The station in Coldbrook, upstream from Ashokan Reservoir, had a maximum discharge of per second on August 28, 2011, as
Hurricane Irene passed through the area. Minimum discharge has not been recorded. In 2019 it averaged per second.
Two more stations are further upstream. The one in Allaben, in operation since 1963 between Fox Hollow and Peck Hollow creeks, had a maximum discharge of per second on August 28, 2011, during Irene and a minimum discharge of per second in September 1983. It recorded an average flow of in 2019. A station at the Lost Clove Road bridge near
Big Indian has been in operation since 2016. It recorded a maximum discharge of per second in August 2018, and a minimum of per second in October 2016; average discharge in 2019 was per second.
![Streamflow gauge on Esopus Creek at Big Indian, NY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Streamflow_gauge_on_Esopus_Creek_at_Big_Indian%2C_NY.jpg)
Downstream, there are two more stations. Lomontville, in operation since 2013, below the spillway, had a maximum discharge of per second in September 2015 and a minimum discharge of per second in October 2014.
Its 2019 average flow was per second. Mount Marion, at the Glasco Turnpike Bridge between Kingston and Saugerties, recorded its maximum during the 2005 flood, with a minimum of coming in 1999.
Average flow for 2019 was per second.
During Irene, up to of rain fell in some locations of the watershed over a 12-hour period. Streamflows on the creek met or surpassed the 100-year flood levels. On the upper Esopus, floodwaters filled the streets of Boiceville and Phoenicia, destroyed homes in Mount Tremper, and washed out numerous roads and bridges in Oliverea. In the 2005 flood, to almost fell in some locations, including at the Slide Mountain station near Winnisook Lake. This along with that fell a few days before produced extensive flooding on the Esopus. The DEP recorded over of rainfall at Ashokan Reservoir. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
studied 25 sites along the Esopus, and found that most sites were near the 50-year flood level. The peak level at Bushnellsville Creek in Shandaken surpassed 100-year levels.
Turbidity
In 2014 the USGS released a report on
turbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
in the upper Esopus, both above and below the Portal, in light of the ongoing controversy between the city's DEP and local communities over it. The study took in data both from ''in situ'' instruments on the creek and the analysis of samples in the laboratory over the three years prior, the former of which it found better at measuring
suspended sediment
The suspended load of a flow of fluid, such as a river, is the portion of its sediment uplifted by the fluid's flow in the process of sediment transportation. It is kept suspended by the fluid's turbulence. The suspended load generally consists of ...
concentrations (SSC) in the water. Instruments were placed both on the Esopus and several tributaries above the reservoir.
The study sought to determine if it was possible to discern what the sources of turbidity in the Esopus might be, and if possible what those sources were. It found that
Stony Clove Creek
Stony Clove Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 creek in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It is a tributary of Esopus Creek, which in turn is a ...
was the largest source of turbidity and suspended-sediment concentration, accounting for more turbidity than the rest of the upper Esopus watershed combined, with those two quantities varying directly with each other and also correlating with discharge. Those loads were markedly higher in 2012, which the authors attributed to the work done to
channelize that stream near its mouth in Phoenicia that year in the wake of the flooding caused by Irene.
Woodland Creek
Woodland Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to Henderson Inlet Henderson Inlet is a small, southern inlet of Puget Sound, Washington state, situated between Budd Inlet to the west and Nisquall ...
, which also empties into the Esopus at Phoenicia, was the second-largest source.
![Rainbow trout from Esopus Creek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Rainbow_trout_from_Esopus_Creek.jpg)
Another USGS study, in 2015, considered what effect the turbidity might be having on fish populations in the upper Esopus. The authors collected data from 18 reaches, 10 on tributaries from the Birch to the Little Beaver Kill, and the others on the main stem from Oliverea to Boiceville annually between 2009 and 2011, primarily counting the
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
,
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
,
slimy sculpin
The slimy sculpin (''Cottus cognatus'') is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the family Cottidae, which is the largest sculpin family. They usually inhabit cold rocky streams or lakes across North America, ranging from the Great Lakes, so ...
and
cutlips minnow
:''"Cutlips minnows" is also used for the genus ''Exoglossum'' as a whole.''
''Exoglossum maxillingua'' (cutlips minnow) is an olive-green medium-sized minnow (average 6 inches) of North America with a distinguishing lower jaw. Isolated f ...
. They found some effects downstream of the portal, such as lowered density and
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...
, but none significant and none that they considered negative. Another 2015 study, that took in the effect of the Irene-induced floods found that
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
were the only species in the stream to have been negatively affected by them, for at least two years after the storm, although populations had been trending down for two years before. A fourth study that year which also considered that species population found that that species' density and biomass were higher in the upper Esopus than they had been since before 2010.
The USGS station along the creek near
Mount Marion, between Kingston and Saugerties, collects turbidity data every 15 minutes. The maximum daily SSC mean was 439 mg/L in July 2014, and the minimum was 1 mg/L over four days seven months later. In September 2015 the maximum and minimum daily suspended sediment discharge was recorded: 6,200 tons () on September 30, and 0.23 tons () on September 8–9, respectively.
Since 2013 the Lomontville station, above Kingston along the lower stream, has also been collecting turbidity data. Its maximum daily mean for SSC was 210 mg/L in March 2014, and the minimum was less than 1 mg/L on many days from 2014 to 2015. Maximum daily suspended sediment discharge was 770 tons () on September 30, 2015, and the minimum was .01 ton () in October 2014 and May 2015, respectively.
[
]
In 2011 a study of the lower Esopus found no significant effect on benthic macroinvertebrates
Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community (ecology), community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a seabed, sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone. (BMI) at several points in the stream over the previous four years, the period when complaints about the turbidity caused by the reservoir releases began. Samples were taken both under normal flow conditions and storm discharges. In addition to BMI, they showed no effect on other metrics such as turbidity, total dissolved solids
Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a measure of the dissolved combined content of all inorganic and organic substances present in a liquid in molecular, ionized, or micro-granular ( colloidal sol) suspended form. TDS concentrations are often repor ...
or dissolved oxygen
Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It ca ...
that correlated to distance from the reservoir. A 2019 study of the BMI population in the upper Esopus found that although it had declined severely after the floods from Irene and Lee, it had mostly recovered within a year.
Geology
Bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
of the upper Esopus is generally sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
of the middle to late Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
period, deposited when today's Catskills were a river delta
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...
and alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
360-390 million years ago. The stream's uppermost headwaters are underlain by bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
of the Slide Mountain Formation, a Frasnian
The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage.
Major reef-building was under way during th ...
cross-bedded yellowish-gray conglomerate layer with quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
pebbles found at the uppermost in the Catskills. It is the youngest of the sediment layers in the mountains, deposited shortly before the entire region uplifted to form the dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, me ...
it is today.
Not far below Winnisook Lake, the Slide Mountain formation gradually gives way to the Upper Walton Formation
Description
Stratigraphy
The West Falls Group is a geologic group in New York. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian period.
The West Falls formation is bounded above by the Java Formation and below by the Sonyea Formation. It ...
, characterized by gray and greenish-gray fine-grained sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
with some pebbles like those seen in the stratum above. The Upper Walton soon gives way, by the point the creek receives Giant Ledge Stream, to the Lower Walton, with fine-grained sandstone and some gray shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
. This layer remains the Esopus's bedrock all the way to the Bushnellsville Creek confluence.
At that point the Oneonta Formation takes over for the rest of the upper Esopus. The Oneonta's bedrock is more coarse-grained cross-bedded lighter gray sandstone with some red shale beds. Siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
s and claystone
Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone, slate, and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too sm ...
s are also present.
Below the Ashokan Reservoir, the Catskill sediments continue to underlie the lower Esopus, this time in the form of the region's lowest and oldest layer, the Givetian
The Givetian is one of two faunal stages in the Middle Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Eifelian Stage and followed by the Frasnian Stage. It is named after the town of Givet in Fra ...
Plattekill Formation. It is characterized by grayish-red claystone and shale interbedded
In geology, interbedding occurs when beds (layers of rock) of a particular lithology lie between or alternate with beds of a different lithology. For example, sedimentary rocks may be interbedded if there were sea level variations in their sedimen ...
with medium dark gray shale and cross-bedded sandstone.
Just above its bend to the northeast at Marbletown, the Catskill sediments end, giving way to the limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
underneath the broad flood plains to Kingston. This reach continues north of the city, with oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
s and meander scroll indicating the occurrence of many active floods in the recent past. North of Leggs Mill Road the bedrock changes again to tightly folded shale as the Esopus drops through a fault at Glenerie Falls and into the narrow valley, itself a fault between shale and the limestone layers on the adjoining ridges, that takes it to its mouth at Saugerties.
The Esopus's surficial geology
Superficial deposits (or surficial deposits) refer to geological deposits typically of Quaternary age (less than 2.6 million years old). These geologically recent unconsolidated sediments may include stream channel and floodplain deposits, beach ...
reflects the effect of past glaciations on the Catskills. It begins with glacial till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
covering the bedrock at the stream's steep uppermost reaches, giving way to kame
A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...
deposits on the north bank for another short stretch and then till again. At Allaben outwash
An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ca ...
sand and gravel takes over. The streambed rocks are generally imbricated, keeping them stable except in heavy floods.
Below the reservoir, the outwash gives way in some areas to sand barrens. The fertile soils of the many farms alongside the creek characterize the surface of the floodplain reach. The lower reach, once part of the glacial Lake Albany Glacial Lake Albany was a prehistoric North American proglacial lake that formed during the end of the Wisconsinan glaciation. It existed between 15,000 and 12,600 years ago and was created when meltwater from a retreating glacier, along with water ...
, still has the clays and silt from its days as a lake bottom.
Conservation and management
The upper and lower Esopus have different conservation and management issues as a result of the reservoir's intervention. Management of the upper stream is more hands-on due to its major role in New York City's water supply system, its importance as a recreational resource and its location amid the Forest Preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
. Below the reservoir it is not a source of drinking water, and its surrounding land is more heavily farmed. Conservation efforts on that stretch primarily focus on its aesthetic and ecological role.
Upper Esopus
The upper Esopus, located within both the Catskill Park
The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...
and the New York City watershed, is closely monitored by both the state DEC and the city DEP. Between the DEC's Forest Preserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
holdings, city-owned buffer lands and privately held forested parcels, 99 percent of the land in the upper watershed is forested. Trout fishermen are also active through groups like Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Th ...
in working to keep the creek's water clean, although their interests sometimes clash with the city's.
According to the 2007 Upper Esopus management plan compiled by DEP, the Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
Cooperative Extension
The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, ...
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
for the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program, a joint program run by DEP, Cornell and the Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District, water quality
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...
in that part of the stream is generally good. Property owners and other stakeholders in the stream expressed concern about flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
risks and attendant erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
problems. The plan did not find any evidence that floods have become more common in the last century (before Hurricane Irene
Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 At ...
four years after the report, the record flood for the stream occurred in 1980, with discharges of recorded above the reservoir and was calculated to be a 40-year flood), despite two heavy floods in the preceding decade. It recommends that new construction on the creek's flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
be avoided wherever possible and that flood control measures and warning systems be improved along the length of the upper creek.
The Portal's effect on the creek's fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
is a continuing source of friction. For a long time after its construction it was believed to have a positive effect on the trout, but after the floods of 1996 some fishermen began complaining that the waters from Schoharie have been too turbid
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Fluids can ...
and warm (some calling it " Yoo Hoo Creek"), with the rainbow trout population declining as a consequence. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says it has found no sign of that, but in 2000 the Catskills chapter of Trout Unlimited, Riverkeeper
Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water. It started out as the Hudson River Fisherman' ...
and some other groups sued the city, arguing the Portal releases into the creek violated the federal Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...
. After lengthy litigation the city was eventually required to get a state permit for the discharges. Environmental groups have said the problems would be solved if the Schoharie, like all the other city reservoirs, had a multi-level discharge structure, allowing water to be taken from the less turbid surface as well as the cooler depths.
Boater and tuber user groups depend on releases from the Portal, which can add up to to the creek's flow, to make those activities possible. Their interests also sometimes differ with the stream's angling community on the question of large woody debris (LWD), such as trees or limbs loosened from the banks during floods. Those usually come to rest in the stream, sometimes at bridge abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
s, creating habitat for trout and other aquatic life but creating navigational hazards. In 2002 a kayaker and tuber were killed in separate instances as a result of LWD in the stream; both deaths led to lawsuits against property owners. The management plan has recommended clarifying the liability issues.
Riparian buffer
A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality i ...
s are another issue to be addressed. Most of the upper Esopus has at least 100 feet (30 m) of buffer on either side, but there are portions with or less and have no buffer at all, with revetment
A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water
...
s shoring up the sides next to the highway or the railroad. The buffers are mostly closed- canpoy floodplain forests, with mowed lawns making up the remainder.
Invasive species
In recent years colonies of Japanese knotweed
''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
, an invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
, have been observed along the banks and in buffer areas. They are considered detrimental to the stream's health since they do not provide shade, are less effective at controlling erosion and, since they grow in thick clusters, impede access to the stream.
Oriental bittersweet, a vine which kills the trees in buffer forests by wrapping itself tightly around them, has also been observed in some areas. The stream management plan recommends that a comprehensive plan be developed for controlling and eradicating both species, and any others that may be found in the future.
In 2009, the invasive species problem in the buffers was complicated further by the confirmed arrival of ''Didymosphenia geminata
''Didymosphenia geminata'', commonly known as didymo or rock snot, is a species of diatom that produces nuisance growths in freshwater rivers and streams with consistently cold water temperatures and low nutrient levels. It is native to the nor ...
'', an algae
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
species commonly referred to as "rock snot", in the creek's waters between Shandaken and the reservoir. It was the third stream in the state where it has been found, after Batten Kill
The Batten Kill, Battenkill, or Battenkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 river rising in Vermont that flows into New York and is a tributary ...
in Washington County and the East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
and West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
branches of the Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
in Delaware County, just to the west of the Esopus valley. The species can clog water intakes but poses no threat to human life. Trout are more at risk because it often grows over river bottoms, smothering the insect hatches they depend on as a food source. There is no way at present to eradicate the species; the state has instead advised fishermen to thoroughly clean and disinfect their waders after trips in order to slow its growth and prevent it from reaching other streams.
Research done by the USGS's New York Water Science Center in 2015 found that ''D. geminata'' had not appeared to impair the creek's fishery and aquatic life in general significantly, based on periphyton
Periphyton is a complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems. The related term Aufwuchs (German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") refers to the col ...
samples taken from 6–20 locations along the upper Esopus on five occasions during 2009–10. The algae was most abundant during that period at sites just downstream from the Portal. The authors speculated that the suspended sediment and phosphate
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...
s in the water may limit blooms.
Lower Esopus
Conservation and management efforts in the lower Esopus are not as coordinated as they are in the upper stream, and there is no stream management plan. Most efforts have been spearheaded by local municipalities. In the wake of the 2005 flood, the towns of the lower Esopus and the city of Kingston began holding an annual Esopus Creek Lower Basin Watershed Conference. One of its chief concerns was the effects of that flood on the region: it took some farmers several months to recover.
Much of the farmland affected by the flood was located in the town of Marbletown, first along the stream's lower course. Silt and other eroded materials piled up on the land and had to be removed, and some of the farmland was lost permanently. Marbletown has planned to work with its farmers to acquire development
Development or developing may refer to:
Arts
*Development hell, when a project is stuck in development
*Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting
*Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped
*Photographi ...
rights to at least outside the creek's flood plain, which cannot be developed, and further protect the rare plant and animal communities along the creek in addition to minimizing the effect of any future floods.
Flooding concerns in the lower Esopus have also led to criticism of the DEP for maintaining the reservoir at capacity levels that may be higher than necessary, requiring releases during periods of heavy rain that aggravate flooding. In 2010 the city began implementing new computer software that more closely monitors water levels in all its reservoirs as well as data that allows it to estimate near term water availability. Local officials praised the move but said they would keep working for DEP to be more conscious of its impact on downstream property owners.
Further downstream, in the Saugerties area, conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
efforts have been led by the Esopus Creek Conservancy, a non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that works to conserve the landscapes and ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s around the creek. It was created in 1999 from a local citizen's efforts to protect a section of creekside property from development. Five years later, with the help of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville, New York, United States. It works to preserve the natural environment of the Catskill region an ...
, the land was purchased and the conservancy formed. It is now the Esopus Bend Nature Preserve Esopus may refer to:
;In New York
*Esopus, New York, a town in Ulster County
** Esopus (village), in the town of Esopus
*Esopus Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River
* Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, a lighthouse on the Hudson River near Esopus, New Yo ...
, just outside the village of Saugerties, that protects a long stretch of crucial habitat along the south shore of the creek. Trails within it lead to views over the creek to the Catskill Escarpment
The Catskill Escarpment, often referred to locally as just the Escarpment or the Great Wall of Manitou, and known as the Catskill Front to geologists, is the range forming the northeastern corner of the Catskill Mountains in Greene and Ulster cou ...
beyond. Nevertheless, in January 2013 the EPA directed the state to act on the muddy lower Esopus, which it classified as "impaired".
In 2007, the Lower Esopus Watershed Partnership (LEWP), a coalition of several municipalities, was founded "to foster appreciation and stewardship of the Lower Esopus Watershed."
Tributaries
* Birch Creek
*Bushnellsville Creek
Bushnellsville Creek flows into Esopus Creek
Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, th ...
*Elk Bushkill
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
* Fox Hollow Brook
*Giant Ledge Stream
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gi ...
* Hanging Birds Nest Brook
* Hatchery Hollow Brook
* Seneca Hollow Stream
* Maben Hollow Brook
* McKenley Hollow Brook
* Lost Clove Creek
*Shandaken Tunnel
The Shandaken Tunnel is an aqueduct in Eastern New York State, part of the New York City water supply system. It was constructed between 1916 and 1924. The tunnel starts in Gilboa, New York at the Schoharie Reservoir, which is in the counties o ...
* Peck Hollow Creek
* Broadstreet Hollow Creek
*Woodland Creek
Woodland Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to Henderson Inlet Henderson Inlet is a small, southern inlet of Puget Sound, Washington state, situated between Budd Inlet to the west and Nisquall ...
*Stony Clove Creek
Stony Clove Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 creek in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It is a tributary of Esopus Creek, which in turn is a ...
*Beaver Kill
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Kill (bod ...
*Little Beaver Kill
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
* Bush Kill
* Saw Kill
*Plattekill Creek
Plattekill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2020 tributary of Esopus Creek in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. From its source ...
*Tannery Brook
Tannery Brook flows into the Mohawk River in North Western, New York.
References
Rivers of New York (state)
Mohawk River
Rivers of Oneida County, New York
{{NewYork-river-stub ...
(Saugerties)
*Tannery Brook
Tannery Brook flows into the Mohawk River in North Western, New York.
References
Rivers of New York (state)
Mohawk River
Rivers of Oneida County, New York
{{NewYork-river-stub ...
(Kingston)
* Stony Creek
See also
*List of fly fishing waters in North America
The articles listed below on specific bodies of water—seas, lakes, rivers, etc. have significant content on the subject of fly fishing for the fish that swim in them or are notable fly fishing destinations in North America.
United States
* Alaba ...
*List of rivers of New York
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of New York.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries indented by order of confluence with their main stem, from mouth to source.
Long Island Sound (nort ...
Notes
References
External links
Esopus Creek Conservancy
Upper Esopus Creek Stream Management Plan
Conservation Plan
{{authority control
Rivers of New York (state)
Tributaries of the Hudson River
Catskill/Delaware watersheds
Rivers of Ulster County, New York