Niskayuna Supervisor Joe Landry makes a point during small group discussions.

The Mohawk Towpath Byway is conducting a series of workshops to gather local viewpoints for a scenic conservation action plan being developed for the Byway corridor.  A meeting on the western end of the Byway with key partners and the public provided valuable input on scenic conservation issues and strategies to address those issues.

“It’s amazing how far we have come.  Fifty years ago everyone avoided contact with the Mohawk River because of the level of contamination.  We have cleaned up this resource to the point we created a demand for more opportunity to use the river for public recreation and appreciation,” observed Chuck Thorne from the Schenectady Mayor’s office.  This meeting provides the opportunity to move ahead, he added.

The Mohawk River, the historic waterway west, the Erie Canal, and the role our communities played in the westward expansion of the country and in the Industrial Revolution is one of the principal stories of the Mohawk Towpath Byway.

The Byway is most grateful to the Congressman Tonko’s office, Municipal officials, county and municipal planners, historians, neighborhood groups,  and interested residents for participating in the workshop on the western end of the Byway on Friday, March 25.   Additional workshops will be held April 11 in Waterford to discuss the eastern end of the Byway and in May in the central part of the Byway.