A seminar about the science of how forests and wetlands work to help limit damage from flooding will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Desmond Fish Library, 472 Route 403, Garrison,

Admission is free, but registration is recommended.

Marilyn Wyman, team leader of the Natural Resources Program with Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties, will talk about the relationship between forests and flood mitigation: how forests slow the flood of water, increase filtration and absorption, and help to stabilize stream banks. She will also discuss some of the problems facing important forested land, including invasive species, fragmentation and the lack of regeneration.

Laura Heady, biodiversity outreach coordinator with the Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell University’s Department of Natural Resources, will share her knowledge and research about wetlands: their role in maintaining clean water, controlling floodwaters and protecting shorelines and stream banks from erosion and property damage.

This seminar is part of a series sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Cornell University, in partnership with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program and New York State Water Resources Institute.  The Hudson Estuary Watershed Resiliency Project is an educational initiative designed to help municipal officials and stream-side landowners prepare for floods and climate change in the Hudson Valley.  Educators from the Cornell Cooperative Extension associations in Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Orange and Putnam counties are teaching municipal personnel and landowners in target areas about flood preparedness.

http://northernwestchester.lohudblogs.com/2013/09/13/learn-how-forests-wetlands-reduce-flood-risks-at-sept-24-seminar/