Located almost entirely in the Town of Olive, the Bush Kill is one of the few streams in our area that drains directly into the Ashokan Reservoir. The Bush Kill begins in the undeveloped Sundown Wilderness Area and its headwaters drain several nearby mountains including: Ashokan High Point, Mombaccus, Little Rocky, and Hanover Mountains. The Bush Kill watershed is 19.6 square miles. The Bush Kill mainstem flows 7.6 miles north. The Bush Kill is joined by several tributaries including Kanape Brook, South Hollow Brook, Mine Hollow, Maltby Hollow Brook, and Dry Brook. The stream is paralleled by Ulster County Route 42 for much of its length before ending in West Shokan, where it flows into the Ashokan Reservoir.
In 2012, Ulster County Soil & Water Conservation District technicians, with assistance from interns from the Student Conservation Association and Ulster County Community College, did a stream assessment along the Bush Kill. The assessment focused on the area along County Route 42 from Kanape Brook downstream to the reservoir. During the walkover, the team inventoried erosion hazards, suspended sediment sources, woody debris hazards, and culverts. While roughly 98% of the watershed is forested, the major impairments for the creek are related to development in the valley bottom. Observations made during the assessment suggest that the stream’s interaction with transportation infrastructure, including road embankments, culverts, and bridges in the tight valley place high stress on the creek’s morphology and water quality.
A full report on Bush Kill conditions and management recommendations is available:
Bush Kill Stream Management Plan (hi-res, 42 MB)
Bush Kill Stream Management Plan (low-res, 20 MB)
A report on conditions and management recommendations for the Maltby Hollow Creek tributary to the Bush Kill is available here:
Maltby Hollow Brook Stream Feature Inventory and Management Recommendations (hi-res, 54 MB)