Diane Valden in The Columbia Paper reports that concerned Columbia County citizens are forming the Roe Jan Watershed Association, and will be checking water quality along the Hudson River tributary. Kaare Christian of Germantown founded the group which is already testing the waters of the Roeliff Jansen Kill as part of the non-profit environmental group Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program. Since state Department of Environmental Conservation, “staffing is down 10 percent over the past decade, and [its] budget is projected to decline 25 percent by 2020,” according to the story, local citizen groups are now doing the state's work. So far volunteers have taken water samples from Hillsdale, Copake, Ancram, Germantown, Clermont, Livingston, and other areas. Christian can be reached at kaare@nysite.com to get involved with the Roe Jan Watershed Association. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.