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76-489: While the creek is not impounded for use in any local water supply, it remains a focus of regional conservation efforts as a recreational and aesthetic resource, especially since the lower Fishkill watershed has been extensively developed in the last two decades. It flows through several local parks and is a popular trout stream. Industries and mills along it helped spur the settlement of the region. Clove and Sweezy brooks, themselves fed by tributaries named and unnamed draining

152-410: A steelhead subspecies, generally accepted as coming from Sonoma Creek . The rainbow trout of New Zealand still show the steelhead tendency to run up rivers in winter to spawn. In Australia, the rainbow trout was introduced in 1894 from New Zealand and is an extremely popular gamefish in recreational angling. Despite severely impacting the distribution and abundance of native Australian fish, such as

228-451: A backbone like snails, worms, or insects. They also eat flies, and most people who try to use lures to fish trout mimic flies because they are one of trout's most fed on meals. Trout enjoy certain land animals, including insects like grasshoppers. They also eat small animals like mice when they fall in. (Although only large trout have mouths capable of eating mice.) They consume a diet of aquatic life like minnows or crawfish as well. Trout have

304-408: A condition known as physostome . Unlike many other physostome fish, trout do not use their bladder as an auxiliary device for oxygen uptake, relying solely on their gills . There are many species, and even more populations, that are isolated from each other and morphologically different. However, since many of these distinct populations show no significant genetic differences, what may appear to be

380-681: A crown grant of his own in 1703 for the lands now in the towns of Beekman and Union Vale. In 1710 the first settlers put down roots. One of them, six years later, was Zacharias Flagler, ancestor of Henry Morrison Flagler . During the Revolutionary War , the Fishkill south of the village of Fishkill was a key location for the Continental Army . Troops were on continuous alert should the British Army try to push up through

456-595: A diverse diet they follow; they have plenty of different oppositions. Compared to other salmonids, trout are somewhat more bony , but the flesh is generally considered delicious, and the texture is often indistinguishable from that of salmon . The flavor of the flesh is heavily influenced by the diet of the fish. For example, trout that have been feeding on crustaceans tend to be more flavorful than those feeding primarily on insects and larvae . Because of their popularity, trout are often raised on fish farms and then stocked into heavily fished waters, in an effort to mask

532-600: A force the native salmon and trout have to reckon with. Not only do the non-native fish drive the native fish to occupy new niches, but they also try to hybridize with them, contaminating the native gene construction. As more hybrids between native and non-native fish are formed, the lineage of the pure fish is continuously being contaminated by other species and soon may no longer represent the sole native species. The Rio Grande cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki virginalis ) are susceptible to hybridization with other salmonids such as rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) and yield

608-696: A good fight when caught with a hook and line . As trout are predatory fish , lure fishing (which use replica baits called lures to imitate live prey) is the predominant form of sport fishing involving trout, although traditional bait fishing techniques using floats and/or sinkers (particularly with moving live baits such as baitfish , crayfish or aquatic insects ) are also successful, especially against stocked trout that are hatchery / farm -raised and thus more accustomed to artificial feeds . Many species of trout, most noticeably rainbow trout and brown trout , have been widely introduced into waterbodies outside of their native ranges purely for

684-477: A large number of species is considered a much smaller number of distinct species by most ichthyologists . The trout found in the eastern United States are a good example of this. The brook trout , the aurora trout , and the (extinct) silver trout all have physical characteristics and colorations that distinguish them, yet genetic analysis shows that they are one species, Salvelinus fontinalis . Lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ), like brook trout, belong to

760-479: A large part of the diet. In general, trout longer than about 300 millimetres (12 in) prey almost exclusively on fish, where they are available. Adult trout will devour smaller fish up to one-third of their length. Trout may feed on shrimp , mealworms , bloodworms , insects , small animal parts, and eel . Trout who swim the streams love to feed on land animals, aquatic life, and flies. Most of their diet comes from macroinvertebrates, or animals that do not have

836-429: A new " cutbow " trout, which is a contamination of both lineages’ genes. One solution to this issue is implemented by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish hatcheries : stock only sterile fish in river streams. Hatcheries serve as a reservoir of fish for recreational activities but growing and stocking non-sterile fish would worsen the hybridization issue on a quicker, more magnified time scale. By stocking sterile fish,

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912-527: A research facility it ran in the area from 1931 to 2003. The dams along the upper Fishkill impound the stream into old mill ponds , such as Furnace Pond in Tymor Park, just above the site of an old iron smelter, giving the pond its name. The dams prevent the upstream movement of fish at all stages of the creek. The oldest extant bridge over the creek is Tioronda Bridge , just above its estuary in Beacon. It

988-575: A short distance, then follows the hill's base to the south. From here it meanders under the Metro-North Beacon Line south of Hopewell Junction where it receives Whortlekill Creek . It passes the Hopewell Recreation Center and then flows under NY 376 . It parallels another state road, NY 82 , through a wooded, undeveloped area for several miles to where it receives its longest tributary, Sprout Creek , at

1064-421: A short loop in a swampy area where Bruzgul Road (County Route 21) crosses twice, it receives another tributary, doubles back to the north around a hill to receive another one and then returns to its southward course to widen into McKinney Pond. Once it crosses Bruzgul Road again, it is in Tymor Park, Union Vale's major community center. At the park's south end it flows into Furnace Pond, named for an iron mine that

1140-588: A source of nutrients for scavengers , detrivores and riparian florae , making trout keystone species across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems . The name "trout" is commonly used for many (if not most) species in three of the seven genera in the subfamily Salmoninae: Salmo ( Atlantic ), Oncorhynchus ( Pacific ) and Salvelinus ( circum - arctic ). Fish species referred to as trout include: Trout that live in different environments can have dramatically different colorations and patterns. Mostly, these colors and patterns form as camouflage , based on

1216-632: A tributary that rises in Fahnestock State Park to the south and drains the Putnam County portion of the Fishkill watershed, just before it flows under Interstate 84 . Beyond the interstate it continues southwest alongside the base of the northern slopes of Fishkill Ridge, the northernmost end of the Hudson Highlands . It detours slightly to the north near Glenham and then resumes its southwesterly course as it flows into

1292-453: Is Whaley Lake , at 252 acres (102 ha) also the largest lake in the county. The next-largest lake in the watershed, Sylvan Lake , is the county's deepest. Water bodies and wetlands cover about 9.8% of the total watershed area. Forests cover 50%, the largest land use category in it. Most are concentrated in the northern, eastern and southern extremes. Residential and agricultural uses account for 21% and 10% respectively. Residential use

1368-405: Is heaviest along the lower Sprout Creek and the lower section of Fishkill Creek from Fishkill to Beacon. Agricultural use is most common on the fringes of the more developed areas near the streams. There are many parks and protected areas within the watershed. The largest is 14,086-acre (5,700 ha) Clarence Fahnestock State Park in Putnam County; however only a portion of that park is within

1444-697: Is in Pawling . In Putnam County the largest town represented is Philipstown , whose northwestern section (the Clove Creek watershed) drains into the Fishkill. A small portion is in Kent , with an even smaller portion in Putnam Valley marking the watershed's southernmost point. To the north is the Wappinger Creek watershed. The Ten Mile River basin, the only portion of New York that drains into

1520-661: Is much cheaper than the imported Atlantic salmon and the meat are indistinguishable to the untrained eyes, and the news of trout being sold as salmon triggered public scrutiny accusing seafood suppliers of bait-and-switch and unethical business practices . Also, many people believe freshwater trout are more prone to parasites than oceanic salmon (even though both live in freshwater for significant periods of their life cycles) and thus unsafe for raw eating . One fillet of trout (about 79 g or 2.8 oz) contains: Trout are very popular freshwater game fish highly prized especially by creek fishermen, because they generally put up

1596-463: Is virtually impossible to define a particular color pattern as belonging to a specific breed; however, in general, wild fish are claimed to have more vivid colors and patterns. Trout have fins entirely without spines, and all of them have a small adipose fin along the back, near the tail. The pelvic fins sit well back on the body, on each side of the anus. The swim bladder is connected to the esophagus , allowing for gulping or rapid expulsion of air,

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1672-514: The Fishkill town line. It widens into a series of large pools south of Brinckerhoff , at the foot of Honness Mountain where NY 52 crosses. From here it flows more to the west-southwest, a wide stream paralleling Route 52 and the Beacon Line. It crosses under US 9 in a developed area just south of the village of Fishkill . It then turns to the southwest again and receives Clove Creek,

1748-755: The Housatonic River , is to the east. On the southeast are the headwaters of the Croton River , an important part of New York City's water supply , with smaller tributaries of the Hudson like Melzingah Brook and Surprise Brook rising on the southeast. The creek's valley is mostly low-lying level land, with the exception of the area above its headwaters in Union Vale. Most of its descent takes place either in its uppermost 10 miles (16 km), above Poughquag, or its lowermost 5 miles (8 km), below

1824-566: The IBM facility in East Fishkill, which dumps its wastewater into Gildersleeves Brook, a tributary of Wiccopee Creek. In 2002, the company introduced a new method of chip manufacture on 300 mm silicon wafers . Within four years the plant had become the state's top water polluter by pounds of pollutants in the 3.2 million US gallons (12,000 m) the plant releases into the creek every day, as production expanded due to demand for

1900-609: The Paleozoic Era , roughly 450–540 million years ago. These rocks become modified into metamorphic equivalents as a result of the formation of the Appalachian Mountains , which left large thrust faults in the area, the further east one gets from the Hudson. Shales become schists , limestones become marbles , and sandstone become quartzites in the eastern regions of Dutchess County. These rocks create better aquifers than their sedimentary counterparts. In

1976-461: The bog turtle , wild hydrangea and live-forever . Threatened species in the creek and watershed include the bald eagle , Blanding's turtle , least bittern , pied-billed grebe , stiff-leaf goldenrod , swamp cottonwood and blazing star . Several salamander and turtle species are also species of concern . Eurasian watermilfoil , an invasive species , has been seen in some areas. The creek flows through two distinct geological regions within

2052-658: The climbing galaxias , millions of rainbow and other trout species are released annually from government and private hatcheries. The closest resemblance of seema trout and other trout family can be found in the Himalayan Region of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and in Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan . Trout generally feed on other fish, and soft-bodied aquatic invertebrates , such as flies , mayflies , caddisflies , stoneflies , mollusks and dragonflies . In lakes, various species of zooplankton often form

2128-577: The genera Oncorhynchus , Salmo and Salvelinus , all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the family Salmonidae . The word trout is also used for some similar-shaped but non-salmonid fish, such as the spotted seatrout/speckled trout ( Cynoscion nebulosus , which is actually a croaker ). Trout are closely related to salmon and have similar migratory life cycles . Most trout are strictly potamodromous , spending their entire lives exclusively in freshwater lakes , rivers and wetlands and migrating upstream to spawn in

2204-465: The Fishkill Creek basin. The largest protected area entirely within the watershed is the 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) Sharpe Reservation straddling the county line. The Fishkill Ridge Conservation Area , 1,030 acres (420 ha) on that mountain, is the largest within the area open to the public. Publicly protected areas in the watershed include 50 acres (20 ha) James Baird State Park off

2280-519: The Fishkill and instead acquired the land to build Ashokan Reservoir on Esopus Creek in Ulster County , across the Hudson. In the later 20th century, after the industrial use of the lower watershed had declined somewhat, the area saw explosive population growth. Former farmlands were redeveloped as residential subdivisions, and southeastern Dutchess County became an exurban area of New York City. This increased runoff and other discharges into

2356-401: The Fishkill itself are the former Texaco facility at Glenham, between Beacon and the village of Fishkill, and Green Haven. Chevron , which took over the former from Texaco, closed it in 2003. The Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring cleanup efforts of the volatile organic compounds at the site and considers them to be progressing according to schedule. An ongoing concern is

Fishkill Creek - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-529: The Highlands to the south and retake the Hudson Valley , a move that could have cut the colonies in half. At the junction of two major overland routes, it was also the site of a key supply depot , and a large encampment of soldiers was located on 70 acres (28 ha) on the south of the creek, about where the interchange of Interstate 84 and US 9 is located now. George Washington passed through

2508-607: The Highlands: the Mid-Hudson Valley and the Hudson Highlands . Both have different types of bedrock , impacting the nature of the stream and allowing for differences in aquifer development. The Mid-Hudson Valley region underlying most of Fishkill Creek consists of sedimentary rocks such as shales , sandstones , siltstones and dolomitic limestones that formed during the Cambrian and Ordovician periods of

2584-471: The Hopewell Junction station showed an increase. A 1992 study predicted that if current demographic and hydrologic trends continue both the Fishkill and Sprout could expect to have an annual weeklong dry period by 2035. Recent biological and chemical testing indicates water quality has been improving in the upper watershed (above the village of Fishkill) but remains low below it, particularly in

2660-533: The Hudson Highlands, the stream's bedrock is primarily metamorphic gneiss , with some granite and amphibolite . These are older rocks, formed in high temperatures and pressures more than a billion years ago in the Pre-Cambrian . These generally make poor aquifers, although individual houses can use one if they overlie a fault where groundwater collects. The Iroquois tribes of the area called

2736-603: The Taconic Parkway and the 909 acres (368 ha) Taconic-Hereford Multiple Use Area nearby. Union Vale's 500-acre (200 ha) Tymor Park near the creek's source is the largest local park. The Innisfree Garden landscape in Pleasant Valley , near the north end of the watershed, is irrigated with water pumped from Tyrrell Lake. In addition, 20 miles (32 km) of the Appalachian Trail runs along

2812-490: The advantage of being immediately to the north of the Croton River watershed in Putnam and Westchester counties already tapped by the city, so it would not be necessary to build a long aqueduct to bring water to the city from the new reservoir. "[I]ts waters can be secured more quickly than those of any other supply of equal amount" in the state, the commission wrote in its 1904 report. The city ultimately decided not to use

2888-476: The area frequently. In 2009 the graves of as many as 700 soldiers were discovered at the site. As industrialization began in the 19th century, factories joined the mills in tapping the Fishkill for waterpower. They also discharged their wastes into the stream. In 1853 businessmen in Matteawan, now part of Beacon, dammed Whaley Lake to control water levels downstream, expanding the lake to its present size. In

2964-485: The char genus. Lake trout inhabit many of the larger lakes in North America, and live much longer than rainbow trout , which have an average maximum lifespan of seven years. Lake trout can live many decades, and can grow to more than 30 kilograms (66 lb). As salmonids, trout are coldwater fish that are usually found in cool (50–60 °F or 10–16 °C), clear streams, wetlands and lakes, although many of

3040-481: The chips, which power the PlayStation 3 video game console, primarily copper , lead and nitrates . In 2004 the company settled a suit brought by local residents who argued that a contractor's dumping of perchloroethylene had led to an increase in cancer and other diseases. Researchers have so far been unable to determine if some phenomena reported downstream, such as increased lead levels in crustaceans , are

3116-586: The city of Beacon , in Dutchess County , New York , United States . It is located at 1,285 feet (392 m) above sea level in a hollow between Beacon Mountain and Scofield Ridge , in the neighboring Town of Fishkill , very close to the Putnam County line. It was created in 1922 by damming Dry Brook , a tributary of Fishkill Creek . It holds 125 million US gallons (470,000 m ). A publicly accessible dirt road, frequently used to climb

Fishkill Creek - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-502: The city of Beacon , where it passes through the eastern section of the city in a narrow valley with the Beacon Line running along its shore. There are many rapids and waterfalls as it descends more sharply to the Hudson. Here it receives its last tributary, Dry Brook, which drains Beacon Reservoir on the ridgetop. South of the Wolcott Avenue ( NY 9D ) bridge, the shores become wooded again as it flows over Tioronda Dam and under

3268-402: The creek within the city of Beacon, with an improvement just above the estuary. There are 25 State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permits issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) within the watershed, four of which are on the Fishkill itself. A further 64 permits have been issued for groundwater discharge. The largest facilities to have SPDES permits on

3344-576: The day and larger trout crowding in during morning and evening feeding periods. Fishing for trout under the ice generally occurs in depths of 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 m). Because trout are cold water fish, during the winter they move from up-deep to the shallows, replacing the small fish that inhabit the area during the summer. Trout in winter constantly cruise in shallow depths looking for food, usually traveling in groups, although bigger fish may travel alone and in water that's somewhat deeper, around 12 feet (3.7 m). Rainbow, Brown, and Brook trout are

3420-510: The early 20th century the watershed was among the many considered by a state commission for an expansion of the New York City water supply system , which was being strained by the city's rapid growth. The commission postulated that a reservoir near Stormville could be built for a cost of $ 17.4 million ($ 590 million in contemporary dollars) and provide storage capacity of 52.7 billion US gallons (199,000,000 m). The Fishkill had

3496-554: The effects of overfishing . Farmed trout are also sold commercially as seafood , although they are not saltwater fish . Trout meat is typically prepared the same way as salmon, often by smoking . In Mainland China , farm-raised rainbow trout from Qinghai was officially sanctioned to be labeled and sold domestically as salmon, which caused much controversy regarding food safety and consumer rights violation , as raw fish dishes or yusheng using Atlantic salmon are gaining popularity in southern China . Farmed rainbow trout

3572-566: The first European settlers in the Fishkill valley. She administered the subdivision and sale of the patent lands from her house , which still stands near downtown Beacon, the oldest continuously occupied house in Dutchess County. They also built the first mill on the creek in 1717. The upper Fishkill was settled around the same time. Henry Beekman, after boundary disputes with the Rombout patentees were resolved in their favor, obtained

3648-574: The highest population density in the watershed with 2,892 people per square mile. Based on weather reports from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) near Millbrook and Dutchess County Airport in Wappinger, both just outside it to the north and west respectively, the watershed has the humid continental climate typical of much of the Northeast . Temperatures tend to vary considerably over

3724-501: The highest peak of the Hudson Highlands , a few miles from the creek's estuary, which is almost at sea level. In Union Vale, near the creek's source, Clove Mountain rises to 1,400 feet (430 m). There are 338 miles (544 km) of tributaries within the watershed. The longest is Sprout Creek , which flows south 18.5 miles (29.8 km) from Millbrook to Hopewell Junction . Within the watershed, there are also around 1,575 acres (637 ha) of ponds or lakes. The largest of these

3800-470: The late 17th century, two New York City merchants, Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck , bought 85,000 acres (34,000 ha), most of it in the creek's watershed, from the local Indians. Verplanck died before the transaction could be finished, and with his share divided among his heirs the land became known as the Rombout Patent . In 1709 his daughter Catheryna and her husband Roger Brett became

3876-504: The lower watershed was beginning to accelerate, the United States Geological Survey closed the Hopewell Junction stream gauge . The Beacon stream gauge had already been shut down in 1967. There has thus been no consistent data on streamflow , a frequent measure of development's impact on a stream, since then. At the time of their respective closures, the Beacon station showed a slow decline in discharge, while

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3952-744: The most common trout species caught through the ice. By information from International Game Fish Association (IGFA), the most outstanding records are: Salmonid populations in general have been declining due to numerous factors, including invasive species , hybridization, wildfires, and climate change. Native salmonid fish in the western and southwestern United States are threatened by non-native species that were introduced decades ago. Non-native salmonids were introduced to enrich recreational fishing; however, they quickly started outcompeting and displacing native salmonids upon their arrival. Non-native, invasive species are quick to adapt to their new environment and learn to outcompete any native species, making them

4028-485: The native Gila trout will be evacuated from streams that are threatened by nearby fires and be reintroduced after the threat is resolved. Climate change is also dwindling native salmonid populations. Global warming continually affects various cold-water fish such as trout, especially as inland waterbodies are more prone to warming than oceans. With an increase of temperature along with changes in spawning river flow, an abundance of trout species are effected negatively. In

4104-532: The native salmonids can't share genes with the non-native hatchery fish, thus, preventing further gene contamination of the native trout in New Mexico. Fire is also a factor in deteriorating Gila trout ( Oncorhynchus gilae ) populations because of the ash and soot that can enter streams following fires. The ash lowers water quality, making it more difficult for the Gila trout to survive. In some New Mexico streams,

4180-537: The past, a mere 8 °F (4.4 °C) increase was predicted to eliminate half of the native brook trout in the Southern Appalachian Mountains . Trout generally prefer streams with colder water (50–60 °F or 10–16 °C) to spawn and thrive, but raising water temperatures are altering this ecosystem and further deteriorate native populations. Beacon Reservoir (Dutchess County, New York) Beacon Reservoir supplies water to

4256-658: The remains of Tioronda Bridge . Below here the creek's estuary opens up, and after being split by a small island it flows under a causeway carrying Metro-North's Hudson Line and empties into the Hudson south of Denning Point. Fishkill Creek's 193-square-mile (500 km) watershed is the second largest in Dutchess County after Wappinger Creek to the north. It includes almost the entire towns of Beekman and Union Vale, large portions of East Fishkill and Fishkill, sections of LaGrange and Wappinger and small areas in Pleasant Valley and Washington . The Whaley Lake basin, which also includes Little Whaley and Nuclear lakes,

4332-690: The result of the IBM discharges. In 2005 the Fishkill Creek Watershed Committee, in partnership with the Dutchess County Environmental Management Council, inventoried the natural resources of the stream and watershed to produce a management plan. It focused on protecting groundwater, which many residents surveyed had expressed the greatest level of concern about. Recommendations made were to expand and maintain riparian buffer along

4408-496: The sake of recreational fishing , and some of these introduced populations have even become invasive in the new habitats. While trout can be caught with a normal rod and reel , fly fishing is a distinctive lure fishing method developed for trout, and now extended to other species. Due to the high proportion of insects and small crustaceans within the trout's diet, small lures made of hand-tied hairs and threads are often used to imitate these aquatic invertebrates that

4484-758: The same fashion as a salmon run . Brook trout and three other extant species of North American trout, despite the names, are actually char (or charr) , which are salmonids also closely related to trout and salmon. Trout are classified as oily fish and have been important food fish for humans . As mid-level predators , trout prey upon smaller aquatic animals including crustaceans , insects , worms , baitfish and tadpoles , and themselves in turn are also important staple prey items for many wildlifes including brown bears , otters , raccoons , birds of prey (e.g. sea eagles , ospreys , fish owls ), gulls , cormorants and kingfishers , and other large aquatic predators. Discarded remains of trout also provide

4560-523: The shallow gravel beds of smaller headwater creeks . The hatched fry and juvenile trout, known as alevin and parr , will stay upstream growing for years before migrating down to larger waterbodies as maturing adults . There are some anadromous species of trout, such as the steelhead (a coastal subspecies of rainbow trout ) and sea trout (the sea-run subspecies of brown trout ), that can spend up to three years of their adult lives at sea before returning to freshwater streams for spawning, in

4636-503: The southern fringe of the watershed, much of it on other protected lands or corridor owned by the National Park Service . Of the municipalities predominantly within the watershed, East Fishkill is the most populous, with more than 25,000 residents as of the 2000 census . The town and village of Fishkill are the next largest with almost 22,000. Beacon, the third-most populous community in the watershed at almost 14,000, has

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4712-527: The species have anadromous populations as well. Juvenile trout are referred to as troutlet, troutling or parr. They are distributed naturally throughout North America , northern Asia and Europe . Several species of trout were introduced to Australia and New Zealand by amateur fishing enthusiasts in the 19th century, effectively displacing and endangering several upland native fish species. The introduced species included brown trout from England and rainbow trout from California . The rainbow trout has

4788-428: The steep slopes on either side of the narrow upper Clove Valley in the town of Union Vale , drain the swamps of the valley into Pray Pond just north of the hamlet of Clove. Fishkill Creek is the pond's outflow. It follows Clove Valley Road ( County Route 9 ) closely at first, flowing almost due south alongside it, then swings westward into woods after receiving Christie Pond's outlet brook opposite Clove Cemetery. At

4864-517: The stream Tioronda : "Little stream that flows into big water". Dutch settlers called it Vis Kill (Dutch for "fish creek") for the abundant fish in the stream. When control of the area passed to the English , it was Anglicized to Fishkill Creek (the addition of "Creek" creates a bilingual tautology, as kill is the Dutch word for creek, though this is not common knowledge to English speakers). In

4940-506: The stream while protecting it against encroaching land use, and to find a way to balance groundwater withdrawals and discharges. It also called for research into alternatives to the use of impervious surfaces, such as asphalt , which increased runoff at the expense of groundwater. There are also two unnamed dams in the town of Beekman. Trout Trout ( pl. : trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to

5016-447: The stream, carrying some utility pipes only. The creek and its watershed support a great diversity of species. As a fishery , it is stocked with brown trout , and has a significant brook trout population as well. The estuary supports a largemouth and smallmouth bass population. Some plant and animal species found near the creek and in its watershed are on the state list of endangered or threatened species . The former include

5092-437: The stream. The main stem of the Fishkill is not used as a water supply, although some of its tributaries are, such as Beacon's Dry Brook, impounded by the city for Beacon Reservoir . Nor is it navigable due to its many dams. It has nevertheless been a focus of local conservation efforts both as a local scenic and recreational resource and as an indicator of the health of the aquifers around it. In 1975, just as development of

5168-501: The surroundings, and will change as the fish moves to different habitats. Trout in, or newly returned from the sea, can look very silvery, while the same fish living in a small stream or in an alpine lake could have pronounced markings and more vivid coloration; it is also possible that in some species, this signifies that they are ready to mate. In general, trout that are about to breed have extremely intense coloration and can look like an entirely different fish outside of spawning season. It

5244-663: The town of East Fishkill . At the town line, south of the hamlet of Stormville, it receives the Whaley Lake outlet brook. It flows westerly through more woods and swamps to where it receives the Sylvan Lake outlet brook just east of the Taconic State Parkway . After crossing underneath, it parallels the parkway south on its west side, then turns west again and makes a northward bend around another hill to once again parallel County Route 9, now Beekman Road, for

5320-551: The trout prey upon. These ultralight fly lures cannot be cast adequately by conventional techniques, and a specialized heavy line (i.e. fly line) is needed to launch the lure. Understanding how moving water shapes the stream channel makes it easier to find trout. In most streams, the current creates a riffle-run-pool pattern that repeats itself over and over. A deep pool may hold a big brown trout, but rainbow trout and smaller brown trout are likely found in runs. Riffles are where fishers will find small trout, called troutlet, during

5396-587: The village of Fishkill, both stretches of which account for 200 feet (61 m) each of its total drop. The average elevation within the watershed is 635 feet (194 m) above sea level . To the south and east are hiller regions of the Taconic Mountains , part of the Highlands Province physiographic region of the Appalachian Mountains . The highest point in the Fishkill's watershed is 1,610-foot (490 m) South Beacon Mountain , also

5472-515: The watershed each year, with January's 10.6-inch (270 mm) snowfall being the highest monthly mean. There are 6,267 annual heating degree days and 645 cooling degree days. IES has measured precipitation acidity in the area since 1984. Rainfall in the area has an average pH of 4.27, with averages falling to 4.00 in July but rising to 4.54 in November. This means the rain in Dutchess County and

5548-460: The watershed is ten times more acidic than the natural 5.2 reading for precipitation. There are 13 dams along the creek. Five are located in Beacon, most built to serve past industry there (one is still used for hydroelectric power generation. The highest, near the city's downtown section, is 40 feet (12 m) tall. Three are in Beekman and two are in Fishkill, the latter built by Texaco for

5624-672: The year, with periods of unusual extremes of heat or cold possible. The average annual temperature recorded over a 30-year period at the airport is 49.3 °F (9.6 °C). Monthly means range from 24.7 °F (−4.1 °C) in January to 72.4 °F (22.4 °C) in July. Average annual precipitation is 43.8 inches (1,110 mm), with minimum monthly means varying from 2.6 inches (66 mm) in February to 4.8 inches (120 mm) in May. An average of 34.5 inches (880 mm) of snow falls in

5700-548: Was an iron bowstring truss bridge built shortly after the Civil War that carried South Avenue across the Fishkill. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, but it had deteriorated so much that by the end of the 20th century it had been closed even to pedestrians. In 2006 the city dismantled it, preserving the bowstring trusses for possible reuse on a rebuilt bridge. The abutments remain in

5776-522: Was once nearby, and then into the town of Beekman . It returns to the side of County Route 9, now Clove Valley Road, and crosses under the NY 55 state highway just west of its intersection with Route 9. As that road climbs the side of a hill, Fishkill Creek crosses to its east side. It continues past Beekman's main park to the hamlet of Beekman, then is impounded into a new, unnamed lake near Green Haven Correctional Facility . Shortly afterwards it crosses into

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