Morning mist rising above the rocky Wallkill River at Gardiner
Wallkill River Watershed Alliance · New York & New Jersey

One river.
One community.
A healthier future.

We’re working together to restore the Wallkill River and protect the waters that connect us. There’s a place for you in this work.

Explore our work Get involved
THE WALLKILL RIVER AT GARDINER
Our river. Our responsibility.

A voice for the river.
A future for all of us.

A river we can swim in and eat from is both our right and our responsibility.

The Wallkill River Watershed Alliance brings neighbors, scientists, and local communities together to restore the river through stewardship, science, and advocacy.

Read our full mission

There is no life without water, and the water that flows through our communities is our responsibility. A river we can swim in and eat from is both our right and our responsibility. The Wallkill River Watershed Alliance was founded to restore the Wallkill River to its prime, to act as the voice of the River, and to advocate for the restoration of its entire watershed.

Watch the Alliance’s story

One watershed.
So much worth protecting.

785
Square miles
48
Municipalities
69
Tributaries
Meet us by the river

Good things happen together.

Gather, learn, and lend a hand. Here’s what’s coming up across the watershed.

2026 Wallkill River Summit flyer; event information and registration follow
River photograph: Jim Green · Select the flyer to view full size.
Featured gathering · Free & open to all

2026 Wallkill
River Summit

· 4–8 PM

SUNY Orange · Rowley Center / Gerry Forum
Middletown, New York

Join neighbors, scientists, and local officials for an evening on river health, harmful algal blooms, and the past and future of the Black Dirt region.

Register for free View the program

Light dinner snacks & beverages · Donations welcome
3 PDH-CEUs available for architects, engineers, and municipal officials.

Summit program, speakers & partners
  • Status of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Wallkill — Tony Prestigiacomo, NYSDEC Division of Water
  • Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Wallkill River — Bobby Howe, WRWA HABs Monitoring Coordinator
  • Agricultural Flood Mitigation & Riparian Restoration in the Black Dirt Region — Kevin Sumner, Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • History of the Black Dirt Agricultural Region — John Ruszkiewicz, Drowned Lands Historical Society
  • Black Dirt Futures — Anne Weber, Cornell University CALS
  • Catalyst for Rewetting Black Dirt: Bringing Paludiculture to the Wallkill’s Peatlands — Orion Russell Blake, Flooded Farm

Co-sponsored by WRWA, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance, and SUNY Orange Cultural Affairs.

Full Summit details

Tree planting & monthly meeting

· 2 PM planting · 5:30 PM meeting

Location & meeting details

Join us at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge at 2 PM for tree planting, followed by our hybrid board and advisor meeting at 5:30 PM to finalize Summit preparations. Email for the planting location, meeting details, or Zoom link. Monthly meetings take place on the fourth Monday and are open to everyone interested in helping the river.

Get the details
Science into stewardship

A healthier river
starts with us.

From community observations to watershed planning, we’re connecting knowledge with action.

Community science · HAB Watchers

See the river.
Help tell its story.

Our HAB Watchers program trains residents to spot and report harmful algal blooms from land, bridges, and boat launches. Explore community reports alongside weather, USGS flow data, and NYSDEC NYHABS alerts.

Open the HAB dashboard Become a watcher
01 / RESEARCH & COMMUNICATION

Understanding
harmful algal blooms

A decade of bloom data is informing a regional communications framework, a watershed report, and tools for riverfront communities.

Inside the project

Supported by the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program, WRWA, Hudson River Watershed Alliance, Riverkeeper, Bard College (CESH), and Strong Outcomes are synthesizing 2015–2025 bloom data across 12 hydrologic reaches.

Deliverables include Harmful Algal Blooms in the Wallkill River (2015–2025), a regional communications guide for non-bathing-beach access sites, the WRWA HABs Communications Toolkit, and the interactive ECO HABIT identification platform.

The work aims to connect sightings and NYHABS reports with local alerts, equip municipalities with signage and access-site guidance, and direct monitoring and phosphorus reduction efforts.

Explore HAB resources
02 / CLEAN WATER

Reducing phosphorus.
Restoring balance.

NYSDEC’s Wallkill Clean Water Plan focuses on phosphorus sources, a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), and priorities for agricultural and municipal reduction projects.

Follow watershed progress
03 / HABITAT & TRIBUTARIES

A closer look at
the Shawangunk Kill.

With Hudsonia Ltd. and a SUNY Cobleskill freshwater mussel survey, we’re developing a Watershed Characterization Report and convening a Shawangunk Kill Summit.

How volunteers can help

Volunteers are needed for stream sampling, habitat assessment, and an advisory committee. Contact the Alliance to learn about current opportunities.

Help with the project
Wallkill River watershed map showing the river, tributaries, and communities in New York and New Jersey
The Wallkill River watershed · Explore boundaries, monitoring stations, and access points in the interactive map.
Get to know your watershed

Every stream
connects us.

Our work reaches beyond the riverbank. Explore the communities, tributaries, and places that make up the Wallkill watershed.

Explore the watershed map Find places to paddle Learn about harmful algal blooms
Still Waters, a film about harmful algal blooms on the Wallkill River
A Marist College student production · An environmental justice documentary
Stories from the Wallkill

Still Waters.
A story worth hearing.

Marist College students explore recurring harmful algal blooms on the Wallkill and the people working to understand them. Hear from Martha Cheo and Bobby Howe of the Alliance.

Watch the documentary
Meet the filmmakers
Director
Emma Stuber
Editors & cinematographers
Carter McDavitt, Emma Gaecklein, and Emma Stuber
Featuring interviews with
Martha Cheo and Bobby Howe, Wallkill River Watershed Alliance
Drone cinematography
Jeffrey Basinger
Looking back · 2026 highlights

Community, in action.

Completed · Summer 2026 · Art & ecology

Imagining the Wallkill’s future.

Wallkill Futures brought community art to the river through an NEA Our Town grant, with floating wetlands, river-trash printmaking, and riverside performances. The Unison Arts exhibition ran July 17–August 22, 2026.

Artists & the Future Water Commons

Participating artists included Lize Mogel, FICTILIS, Matthew Friday, sTo Len, and Nancy Nowacek. The program included nature painting and the launch of the 8×20-foot vessel Future Water Commons, celebrating the river’s ecology.

Visit the project archive
Completed · Spring & summer 2026 · Stewardship

Showing up for our river.

Following our April 27 Annual Membership Meeting, volunteers joined Riverkeeper for May’s River Sweep and riparian buffer plantings, and completed NYSDEC-led training for the HAB Watchers monitoring season.

Find your next volunteer opportunity
Be part of what comes next

The river needs
all of us.

Your time, your voice, and your support help move watershed projects and community science forward. Join us in caring for the Wallkill and the waters that feed it.

Become a member Make a donation

Stay connected to the river. Get Alliance updates and monthly meeting information.

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