Biodiversity Study and Maps

The Town Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and Town Board present Significant Habitats in the Town of Rhinebeck, a.k.a. the Biodiversity Study. The study and maps are available on the CAC home page (scroll down to the "Files" section).

From the Executive Summary:

Hudsonia biologists identified and mapped ecologically significant habitats in the Town of Rhinebeck during the period January 2006 through May 2007. Through map analysis, aerial photograph interpretation, and field observations we created a large-format map showing the location and configuration of these habitats throughout the town. Some are rare or declining in the region or support rare species of plants or animals, while others are high quality examples of common habitats or habitat complexes. We identified 32 types of significant habitats. Among our more interesting finds were 193 intermittent woodland pools, several wet clay meadows larger than 5 acres (2 hectares), two meadow complexes covering more than 200 acres (81 hectares), eight kettle shrub pools, and an oak-heath barren.

In this report we describe each of the mapped habitat types, including their ecological attributes, some of the species of conservation concern they may support, and their sensitivities to human disturbance. We address conservation issues associated with these habitats, provide specific conservation recommendations, and discuss the places in Rhinebeck that we believe should receive priority in conservation and planning efforts. We also provide instructions on how to use this report and the map, both to review site-specific proposals and as a guide for town-wide conservation planning and decision making.

The habitat map, which contains much ecological information unavailable from other sources, can help the Town of Rhinebeck identify the areas of greatest ecological significance, develop conservation goals, and establish conservation policies and practices that will help to protect biodiversity resources while serving the social, cultural, and economic needs of the human community.