Environmental Commission

Amie Worley
Susan Gillespie
Darrell Hamlin
Sean Nixon
Penny Coleman
Jennifer Sturiale

Town Board Liaison: Councilmember Wykoff

The Rosendale Environmental Commission is a nine-member commission appointed by the Town Board to advise on matters affecting the health of the environment and the natural resources of Rosendale. This includes:

• Identifying any potential threats to environmental quality and making recommendations for addressing those threats.
• Identifying sustainable, environmentally-sound land use policies and practices that can be adopted to prevent the emergence of costly environmental problems.

The Environmental Commission also works to raise public awareness about environmental issues of concern to the community and to provide information on the kinds of actions residents can take to address them. The Commission sponsors informational workshops for residents and businesses on a variety of topics, such as forest management, stormwater management, and energy efficiency.

The Commission maintains an up-to-date Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) of the town, and conducts studies and surveys to promote sound land-use management. A display of NRI maps is located in the Rondout Municipal Center and the full report is available online (see “Resources” on this page).

Rosendale Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) Update:

"The Environmental Commission began work on updating the Rosendale NRI in late 2019.  Updated information:  Click here for the updated 2023 Rosendale NRI .

NRIs gather and compile information describing important naturally occurring resources such as forests, wetlands, surface and groundwater, and farmland.  Some NRIs also include cultural resources, such as historic sites, scenic places, and recreation areas. This information is presented in a series of maps and an accompanying report with narrative descriptions, supporting data tables, and recommendations.

An NRI can be used for comprehensive land-use planning that proactively considers a community's land and water resources, and provides the foundation for open space planning and protection, zoning updates, conservation overlay districts, critical environmental areas, and other municipal plans and policies. The underlying premise of an NRI is that a town cannot protect what it has if it does not know what that is.

About 30 new maps are expected to be completed by fall 2021. The final report, which will include those maps, is anticipated to be complete by summer 2022. All materials related to this project will be posted in the coming months. Click here to View Project Information

If you would like more information on the efforts of the Environmental Commission, please contact us at [email protected]"