Mid-Hudson News reports that a new study says that for the past decade people have been leaving the Hudson Valley, and there is no change likely on the horizon. The research and public policy organization Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress studied population trends for Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, Greene, Columbia, and Ulster counties, and predict that local populations will continue to shrink and age. “There has been a significant shift since the Great Recession,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of the Pattern for Progress. Only seven of the 65 school districts in the Hudson Valley counties studied have seen populations rise since 2000. “The increases in population, 55 and older,” said Drapkin, “will be felt dramatically.” Immigration may reverse the problem. “At a time when demographics are sifting this way,” said Drapkin, “curtailing immigration may not be the best strategy.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.