96228000

DESCRIPTION:THE AGREEMENT PROVIDES FUNDING TO THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION. SPECIFICALLY, THE RECIPIENT WILL CONDUCT RESEARCH TO PROTECT AND MANAGE WETLANDS UNDER NEW STATE REGULATIONS AND ADDRESS A CRITICAL GAP IN THE NEW YORK STATE WETLAND CONDITION ASSESSMENT. NYC PARKS PROPOSES TO ASSESS FRESHWATER WETLANDS IN NYC PARKLAND, WITH FOCUS ON NEWLY MAPPED AND REGULATED WETLANDS. ACTIVITIES:1. EVALUATE THE ECOLOGICAL HEALTH AND CONDITION OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS ON NYC PARKLAND.
A. FRESHWATER WETLAND ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL UPDATED TO REFLECT URBAN CONDITIONS
I. DEVELOP AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY
KNOWLEDGE GAPS, DEFINE NEEDS, AND ESTABLISH MONITORING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
II. EVALUATE A RANGE OF WETLAND MAPPING RESOURCES AND DATASETS TO SELECT SITES
III. IDENTIFY QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE METRICS BASED ON MONITORING GOALS.
POTENTIAL METRICS INCLUDE FLORISTIC QUALITY, SPECIES RICHNESS, HUMAN USE SIGNS
IV. DRAFT A MONITORING PROTOCOL THAT IS ADAPTED FOR URBAN WETLANDS FROM THE
NYSNHP'S NEW YORK STATE WETLAND CONDITION ASSESSMENT (2016)
V. PILOT DATA COLLECTION ON A RANGE OF SITES (HIGH-, MEDIUM-, AND LOW-QUALITY)
VI. FINALIZE ALL PROTOCOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION AND OBTAIN AND APPROVED QAPPS
B. COLLECT ASSESSMENT DATA TO DETERMINE CONDITIONS AND INFORM MANAGEMENT NEEDS
I. CONDUCT DESKTOP ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF ANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORS
II. COLLECT FIELD DATA ON ECOLOGICAL CONDITION
2. IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE NYC WETLANDS MAP (LOCATION, EXTENT, AND CLASSIFICATION) TO GUIDE
PROTECTION, AND ESTABLISH COMPLIANCE WITH NEW STATE REGULATIONS.
A. COMPLETE RAPID VERIFICATION OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS ON NYC PARKLAND AND CONTINUE ON
OTHER PUBLIC PROPERTY (~ 200 AND 1,200 ACRES, RESPECTIVELY, REMAIN UNVERIFIED) BASED
ON PREVIOUSLY-APPROVED QAPP (EPA WPDG CD#96275815)
I. MAPS WILL COMPLY WITH FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMITTEE STANDARDS
B. UPDATE AND DISTRIBUTE WETLAND MAPS AMONG KEY PARTNERS, STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE PUBLIC
3. UTILIZE ASSESSMENT DATA TO DETERMINE WETLAND CONDITION AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR
RESTORATION AND PROTECTION, PRIORITIZING SITES IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES TO SUPPORT
CLIMATE RESILIENCE
A. ANALYZE DATA TO DETERMINE CONDITION
I. CALCULATE FLORISTIC QUALITY USING THE NORTHEAST REGIONAL FLORISTIC QUALITY
ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR WETLAND ASSESSMENTS (FABER-LANGENDOEN ET AL. 2018)
II. ANALYZE DATA TO DETERMINE THE CONDITION OF AND THREATS TO FRESHWATER WETLANDS
B. IDENTIFY RESTORATION AND PROTECTION ACTIONS AND PRIORITIZATION
I. IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AND TARGETS BASED ON ASSESSMENT DATA
II. CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES WHEN PRIORITIZING WETLANDS FOR
RESTORATION AND PROTECTION, USING CEJST (PRIMARILY), NYSDEC POTENTIAL
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AREAS, AND NYC HEAT VULNERABILITY INDEX DATASETS
III. DEVELOP A DETAILED REPORT AND SUMMARY DESCRIBING THE CONDITION OF WETLANDS
IV. INCLUDE PRIORITIES IN OUR MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS AND LOCAL AND REGIONAL PLANSSUBRECIPIENT:A SUBAWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $65,000 WILL BE AWARDED TO THE NATURAL AREAS CONSERVANCY. PRIMARY TASKS TO BE CARRIED OUT UNDER THE SUBAWARD AGREEMENT INCLUDE IN-FIELD DATA COLLECTION AND PROJECT SUPPORT. OUTCOMES:THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERABLES (OUTPUTS) INCLUDE:
1) FRESHWATER WETLAND ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL UPDATED TO REFLECT URBAN CONDITIONS ON NYC PARKLAND
2) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF BASELINE CONDITION USING INDICATORS SUCH AS HYDROLOGY, SOIL, PLANT COMPOSITION, STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND/OR ANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORS
3) APPROVED QAPPS
4) FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO NYC'S WETLANDS MAP
5) UPDATED NYC WETLAND MAP
6) REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE CONDITION ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND PRIORITIES FOR SHORT- AND LONG-TERM RESTORATION AND PROTECTION ACTIONS.

THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES INCLUDE:
1) IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF BASELINE CONDITIONS OF URBAN FRESHWATER IN NYC PARKLAND TO INFORM MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
2) BETTER UNDERSTA

City Of New York

66.461 - Regional Wetland Program Development Grants

EPA Region 2: New York City [EPA - RO]

New York, New York United States

City-Wide

Region 2 Fiscal Year 2023 Wetland Program Development Grants (EPA-REG2-WPDG-23-24)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have decreased 100% from $405,294 to $0.