Valley Hemp Farming: High Potential, With Some Pitfalls

When Congress moved to legalize industrial hemp farming late in 2018, there were cheers all around. Sen. Mitch McConnell, then the Republican Senate majority leader from Kentucky, called hemp farming “a bright spot of agriculture’s future.” “Now,” said Sen. Ron...
Farmer Luke Franco offers a bouquet. (Photo: Courtesy Luke Franco)

Supporting Local Ag’s ‘Bloom Boom’

When the husband-and-wife team of Jenny Elliott and Luke Franco started their farm in 2011, the organic food movement was just blossoming. They grew veggies. But within a few years they found a niche in flowers — just as the...

Five Winning Valley Spots to Take a Dip

If ever there were a summer to make a splash, this is it. From the Outdoor Adventures section of our website, we’ve chosen five spots for chilling out that are less likely to overload our natural resources. And to make the fun...

Rounding Up Family and Friends to Monitor Eels

Growing up in Queens, I never once thought, “I’d like to study eels one day,” but in early 2020 my teenage son was looking for volunteer opportunities. When I heard about the eel monitoring that Scenic Hudson collaborates on with...

#WildlifeLove: Rethinking the Humble Beaver

Beavers figured prominently in North America’s past — they were appreciated by Indigenous people for millennia, and are the main reason the Dutch chose the Hudson Valley to settle. Yet they could play an even bigger role in our future....

#WildlifeLove: 9 Wild Facts about Porcupines

Arguably, the porcupine — technically, the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) — is the Hudson Valley’s oddest-looking creature. Everybody knows about their quills, but we discovered there’s lots more to learn about these elusive mammals, including unusual calls and smells and...

The Coast Guard’s Icebreakers Are Back at Work

It’s almost unbelievable now to imagine that there was a point during the early 20th century when cars could zip across the solid surface of the frozen river from Nyack to Tarrytown with ease. While the river probably won’t freeze...

Quiz: Hudson Valley Animal Tracks

When you’re outside exploring this winter or spring, you’re likely to come across various local animals’ prints in the snow (or in the case of the creatures who hibernate, in the mud). How many of their hoof, claw and paw...