Press Release: June 6, 2019

NY Seagrant

Lake Ontario Inundation Mapping Tools Now Available from New York Sea Grant: Tutorial Webinar Planned for June 20

Newark, N.Y.; June 6, 2019. New York Sea Grant, with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has developed new interactive inundation mapping tools to help property owners along Lake Ontario and its embayments enhance flooding preparedness.

The tools are posted at https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d22862f1-8e10c593-d22a9bc4-000babd9f75c-7977e1b7e4b2309e&u=https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/12972 with a tutorial to assist users. A free, 45-minute training webinar is scheduled for June 20th at 1 p.m.; register at https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/250965bd69e1e22e7c24e00bf0acd2b8.

The online mapping tools provide users with a parcel-level view of areas that could experience flooding along Lake Ontario and its embayments based on predetermined water levels and digital elevation data. Wayne and Monroe County stakeholders beta-tested the new tools. The future scenarios used in the mapping tools are not water levels currently projected, but potential lake levels offered for planning purposes only.

“These new mapping tools will allow users to visualize inundation information for individual parcels of interest using the predetermined water levels. That information can be used by individual property owners as well as communities to enhance flood preparedness and planning going forward,” said project leader and New York Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Specialist Mary Austerman, Newark, N.Y.

Use of the mapping tools has been designed to assist planning, e.g., location and triage of accessory structures and belongings during high water, to inform community-level preparedness planning, and to help identify areas that warrant in-depth analyses, enhanced flood response, or policy development to enhance flood resilience.

Austerman and Jessica Kuonen, a Coastal Community Development Assistant with New York Sea Grant, are the developers of the Lake Ontario Inundation Map Package and Lake Ontario Inundation WebMap tools. These new mapping tools were developed as part of a larger project creating a Coastal Resiliency Index, due out later this year. A similar mapping tool for Lake Erie is being explored. For more information, contact Mary Austerman, New York Sea Grant, 315-331-8415 x121, mp357@cornell.edu.

For additional information on New York Sea Grant’s Great Lakes Coastal Communities extension efforts, visit https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d28b6aaa-8eb3cdc8-d289939f-000babd9f75c-d42de83103875b27&u=http://www.nyseagrant.org/ccd. To learn more about New York Sea Grant Extension as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, visit https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=c6863400-9abe9362-c684cd35-000babd9f75c-3c09bd9ada5a4e99&u=http://www.nyseagrant.org/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
. Mary Austerman, New York Sea Grant, 315-331-8415 x121, mp357@cornell.edu
. Publicist Kara Lynn Dunn, 315-465-7578, karalynn@gisco.net

https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=586fc42d-0457634f-586d3d18-000babd9f75c-b3de3852ea766f4f&u=https://seagrant.sunysb.edu/articles/r/12973

From our Cornell Master Gardener friends:

Master Gardeners Great Gardens of Wayne County Tour Tickets on sale now!

Do you love gardens of all shapes and sizes? Whether you have a green thumb or not, there’s a golden opportunity coming soon for you to see what your gardening neighbors are doing. On our self-guided tour, you can discover a diverse selection of wonderful gardens at your own pace.

Whether you enjoy woody plants, flower gardens, water features, or home food production, there’s something for everyone.

This year, our Master Gardeners have selected five gardens for you to tour in the Town of Ontario.

When: June 19th from 4 to 8 pm. Rain or Shine.

To purchase tour tickets send $10.00 per person to the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County 1581 Rte. 88 N. Newark, NY 14513-9739 by June 14th or stop in our office – 830am -430pm Monday-Friday.

Please call (315) 331-8415 for more information. For special needs please contact us two weeks prior to the tour.

Grab your pencil, some paper, and your hiking shoes to join local nature writer Chris Kenyon on a Trail Works adventure writing in nature! Suitable for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages.

Date: June 1, 2019

Location: Williamson Town Park, 3773 Eddy Rd, Williamson, New York 14589

Time: 10:00 A.M.
For more information visit

https://www.facebook.com/events/855817911447723/

Meet up with the Neighborhood Association of Sodus Point and Save Our Sodus for a beach clean-up on Saturday May 18th.

Sodus Point Beach Pavillion
May 18th
10:00A.M.

 

 

 

May 9th Preparedness Planning Workshops: Creating Watershed Resiliency in Your Community

A series of free workshops are being held at the Elks Lodge in Wolcott, NY to help homeowners, board members, municipal staff and anyone else who is interested to learn about easy ways to prepare for an uncertain future within their community.

Register now by clicking this link:
 https://goo.gl/forms/8hMbRLQkUdW7JfJu1
Or register by phone: Kathy Forrest, (315)443-1131

When: May 9th, 2019, 6pm – 8:30pm
6:00pm: Hot hors d’oeuvres and registration
6:30-8:30pm: Programs

Where: Wolcott Elks Lodge
6161 W Port Bay Rd
Wolcott, NY 14590

May 9th, 6pm – 8:30pm
Jayme Thomann, Genessee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council
Land Use Tools for Stormwater and Floodplain Management

Who Should Attend:
Homeowners, municipal board members, business owners, elected officials, and municipal staff.

This work is supported by an agreement with New York Sea Grant, funds provided by the Environmental Protection Fund under the authority of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act.

 

 

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations.
The 22nd annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 15, through Monday, February 18, 2019.

If you have never participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count or any other Cornell Lab citizen-science project, or have not participated in the GBBC since 2013. If you already created an account for the GBBC in the past, or if you’re already registered with eBird or another Cornell Lab citizen-science project, you can use your existing user name and password.

Count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day, for each new location, or for the same location if you counted at a different time of day. Estimate the number of individuals of each species you saw during your count period.

Start by registering here: http://gbbc.birdcount.org/get-started/

Follow us on Facebook & Instagram