are concentrated in the northern, eastern and southern extremes. Residential and agricultural uses account for 21% and 10% respectively. Residential use is heaviest along the lower Sprout Creek and the lower section of Fishkill Creek from Fishkill to Beacon. Agricultural use is most common on the fringes of the more developed areas near the streams. There are many parks and protected areas within the watershed. The largest is Clarence Fahnestock State Park in Putnam County; however only a portion of that park is within the Fishkill Creek basin. The largest protected area entirely within the watershed is the Sharpe Reservation straddling the county line. The Fishkill Ridge Conservation Area, on that mountain, is the largest within the area open to the public. Publicly protected areas in the watershed include James Baird State Park off the Taconic Parkway and the Taconic-Hereford Multiple Use Area nearby. Union Vale's Tymor Park near the creek's source is the largest local park. The Innisfree Garden landscape in Pleasant Valley, near the north end of the watershed, is irrigated with water pumped from Tyrrell Lake. In addition, of the Appalachian Trail runs along the southern fringe of the watershed, much of it on other protected lands or corridor owned by the National Park Service. Of the municipalities predominantly within the watershed, East Fishkill is the most populous, with more than 25,000 residents as of the 2000 census. The town and village of Fishkill are the next largest with almost 22,000. Beacon, the third-most populous community in the watershed at almost 14,000, has the highest population density in the watershed with 2,892 people per square mile. Climate Based on weather reports from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) near Millbrook and Dutchess County Airport in Wappinger, both just outside it to the north and west respectively, the watershed has the humid continental climate typical of much of the Northeast. Temperatures tend to vary considerably over the year, with periods of unusual extremes of heat or cold possible. The average annual temperature recorded over a 30-year period at the airport is . Monthly means range from in January to in July. Average annual precipitation is , with minimum monthly means varying from in February to in May. An average of of snow falls in the watershed each year, with January's snowfall being the highest monthly mean. There are 6,267 annual heating degree days and 645 cooling degree days.