Hudson RiverNet
News from the Hudson River Estuary Program

Creating and Maintaining Hudson River Views: Handbook Now Available

Creating and Maintaining Hudson River Views: A Handbook for Landowners is now available on DEC’s website. The handbook is designed to help historic sites, land trusts, and owners of other large properties along the Hudson create engaging river views using best practices for environmental stewardship. These practices include methods of creating and maintaining scenic vistas that balance aesthetic and historic goals with the protection of habitat and natural areas.

Creating and Maintaining Hudson River Views was developed and produced by Saratoga Associates, through a NEIWPCC contract in partnership with the Hudson River Estuary Program. Funding for this project was provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). Throughout the development of this handbook, input and guidance was received from a group of stakeholders, including representatives from state agencies, historic properties, environmental groups, municipalities, educators, and design professionals.

To illustrate these practices in the field, Saratoga Associates also created two new views of the Hudson River that will serve as demonstration sites of best practices for creating scenic vistas. These scenic vistas are located at The Point at Mills-Norrie State Park in Staatsburg and at the Blithewood Estate on the Bard College campus in Annandale-on-Hudson. Saratoga Associates also produced a three-part training series, which is now available for streaming on YouTube.  Find a link to Creating and Maintaining Hudson River Views: A Handbook for Landowners on the Estuary Program’s website.