Lounge & Learn* - Session 4

Unifying Efforts to Mitigate Floods & Promote Adaptive Communities

This session will include two presenters discussing efforts to effectively address issues of flooding in the Oswego and Mohawk River basin.

Watershed Scale

The Upstate Flood Mitigation Task Force (USFMTF) was created by the New York State Legislature in 2017 and amended in 2022 under Article XIII-B, Section 139-c (1) of the Canal Law. The Task Force was comprised of subject matter experts and state agencies, led by the New York State Canal Corporation (NYSCC). The USFMTF was tasked with conducting an in-depth examination of flood control study sectors related to floodplain management, debris management, flood control and flood mitigation in the upstate flood mitigation region encompassed by the Mohawk and the Oswego River Basins including the Erie Canal. This examination determined the cost and impact of flooding over the last five years in agriculture, transportation, land use, public health, insurance, economy, and infrastructure; assessed NYSCC operational procedures that may have a direct or indirect impact on flooding; and provided a list of recommended adaptive measures and associated costs to mitigate flood damages.

Community Scale

The Fulmer Creek GreenPlain flood mitigation and stream restoration project is a large-scale planning and implementation project located in the Village of Mohawk and the Town of German Flatts in New York’s Mohawk Valley. Projects of this magnitude are unusual and require cooperation between State and local governments, between local municipalities, and between these public entities andprivate citizens. Michele Palmer has been involved in the project since its inception and continues to work with the local communities to implement the project. Her portion of the presentation will focus implementation of the flooding studies in two communities and the funding sources that made it possible.

Learning objectives

• Learn about the scales of qualitative and quantitative impacts of flooding inclusive of the immediate floodplain and surrounding community
• Learn about planning efforts to identify solutions to flooding in the Oswego and Mohawk River watersheds
• Understand the GreenPlain concept and how it can transform a flood-prone stream into a public amenity

Names and short bio on each panel member 

Michele A Palmer, PLA, ASLA, LEED GA

Michele Palmer, an upstate New York native, has been a practicing landscape architect for nearly thirty years and is licensed in the State of New York. Her experience has ranged from large-scale planning to detailed design through construction with a particular interest in public parks, landscape performance, and large-scale stream restoration planning. Since 2012, her practice has shifted to planning, grant preparation, and grant administration. She has experience working on many park and greenway projects including the linear greenways, the Fulmer Creek GreenPlain, and Steele Creek GreenPlain. Palmer is also LEED® accredited. Awarded a research fellowship by the Landscape Architecture Foundation in 2014, she completed three published CSI Case Studies exploring the benefits of performance-based landscape practices.

Hanna Quigley

Hanna is a landscape designer with over five years of experience in collaborative design. She specializes in coastal resiliency, water resource planning, and green infrastructure, with a strong focus on evidence-based design and climate adaptation strategies. Hanna's expertise spans a wide range of project types and scales, with a particular emphasis on developing innovative, functional, and context-sensitive solutions that prioritize sustainability and resilience.

Host or Publisher New York Upstate Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects