Water resources management plan: Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, and the Home of Franklin D, Roosevelt National Historic Site: New York

National Park Service

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, and the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site are commonly grouped together as the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt national historic sites. Primarily managed to preserve and interpret cultural resources, these national historic sites exhibit a regionally-important array of water resources including 4.35 miles of streams, 13.75 acres of ponds, 38.8 acres of freshwater wetlands, 25 acres of tidal freshwater wetlands, and 1.1 miles of frontage along the lower Hudson River all contained within 682 acres. While water quality appears to be good, based on Roosevelt-Vanderbilt national historic sites' monitoring program ( 1994 to present), the knowledge base for all water resources remains virtually unknown; e.g., surface and ground water quantity and general hydrology including aquatic biology, wetland delineation and mapping, wetland species composition and structure, and pond sedimentation rates. Compounding this lack of knowledge about the parks' water resources, is the continued residential and commercial growth either adjacent to park boundaries or within the watershed. Potential nonpoint sources of pollution to park waters include: industrial wastes like toxic compounds; nutrient loading ofnitrogen and phosphorus from municipal and residential wastes and fertilizers; road salt and auto exhaust by-product runoff from roads; gasoline and oil product contamination from residential and commercial runoff; and bacterial and infectious agent contamination from septic systems. Units of the national park system are not required to develop a water resources management plan. However, where water resource issues or management constraints are particularly numerous, complex, or controversial, a water resources management plan is useful in providing an identification and analysis of water-related information and issues, and presenting a coordinated action plan to address them. The primary purpose of this water resources management plan is to provide information on potential threats to water resources of the park and guidance on immediate actions that can prevent or mitigate water resource degradation. It is designed to serve as a management implementation plan to guide park water-related activities over the next 10 years. This water resources management plan is complementary to, and consistent with, other existing park management documents, including general management plans and resource management plans. In particular, the summary of water-related information and issues and the proposed management actions that address these issues can be incorporated into the current resource management plan. The water resources management plan is similar to the park's resources management plan, but includes a more thorough review of existing information, an in-depth analysis of water resources issues, and the development of an implementation plan to address them. Water resources issues identified as most pressing include: 1) restoration of Upper Val-Kill Pond (Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site) to historic conditions; 2) adequacy of a current water quality monitoring program; 3) wetland and riparian resource delineation and management; 4) the need for monitoring sedimentation rates at ponds; and, 5) the potential risk of zebra mussel colonization. Management recommendations or project statements, have been developed to address water resources issues, where appropriate. Project statements are standard National Park Service programming documents that describe a problem or issue, discuss actions to deal with it, and identify the additional staff and/or funds needed to carry out the proposed actions. They are planning tools as well as programming documents used to compete with other projects and park units for funds and staff.