Fallkill Park

between Creek and Bennett Roads, Hyde Park and Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, NY

150 acres

Directions:

There is a pull-off on Creek Road (1.1 miles north of the intersection of Creek Road and Pendell Road).  There is a lake here, a dam, and a waterfall and stream.  There is access only to a very small area of land because the area is blocked off by the water.

The park remains undeveloped and is closed to the general public.

This used to be a park open to the public.  From the locked gate on Creek Road one can see through the fence that there still stands an old kiosk with a poster saying Fallkill Park.  There also was a pretty big parking area. 

But now this area has the Dutchess County Fire Training Academy and a police firing range. 

Now the real question is, how did they let this happen?  How did the police and firemen get the park from the public?  And where were our environmental activists to shout out against the loss of a large park? 

PLANT LIST:

Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, * = plant blooming on day of field trip, 6/23/04

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Populus grandidentata (big tooth aspen)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood) *
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honey suckle)
Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (dewberry)
Sambucus canadensis (common elderberry)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (hairy arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Cuscuta sp. (dodder)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Anagallis arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) *
Apocynum sp. (dog bane)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cryptotaenia canadensis (honewort)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Eupatorium rugosum (white snake root)
Geum canadense (white avens) *
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily) *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Lemna sp. (duckweed)
Lysimachia terrestris (swamp loosestrife) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife)
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip) *
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Silene latifolia (white campion) *
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)
Typha latifolia (cattail)
Viola sp. (violet)

Grasses:
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)