Wayne County Soil & Water Conservation District
7312 Route 31 Lyons, NY 14489 / 315-946-7200
The Department of Biology, the Environmental Studies Program, the Finger Lakes Institute, and FL-PRISM invite you to join them for a co-hosted seminar on Tues. 11/29 (5-6 pm at Hobart Williams University, in the Sanford Room).
Dr. Tim McCay of Colgate University will speak about his research on earthworms in the Northeastern U.S.
All are welcome. Refreshments precede the seminar.
The Nature Conservancy has been awarded a $193,521 grant from the Sustain Our Great Lakes program to restore and enhance more than 115 acres of wetland habitat in Sodus Bay by reconnecting floodplain habitat and assessing road-stream crossings that prevent fish from reaching spawning habitats.
The effort is a partnership among Save our Sodus, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and The Nature Conservancy. With contributions from partners and private funders, the total budget for the project amounts to more than $362,000.
“Sustain Our Great Lakes and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) have been critical partners in protecting wetlands,” said Jim Howe, executive director of The Nature Conservancy’s Central and Western New York Chapter. “Healthy wetlands filter our water, absorb storm surges and provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife. They’re vital to maintaining a healthy Bay and the benefits it provides―recreational boating, fishing, swimming and tourism―to our local economy.
The Nature Conservancy will first assess the effectiveness of 10 existing road stream crossings in improving passage for fish to upstream spawning habitat. Then, beginning in winter 2017 when the wetland mat is still frozen, an excavator will be used to create a more natural wetland with a meandering stream corridor, at least two acres of backwater potholes and new channels that connect streams to their floodplains. The revitalized wetland will offer new and improved habitat for species like northern pike, black ducks, green winged teal, least bitterns and potentially even black terns, a NYS-threatened species that hasn’t been observed breeding in the area in 10 years.
“The southern Sodus Bay wetland is one of only a few remaining coastal wetland complexes in the Lake Ontario basin,” said Gregg Sargis, director of ecological management for The Nature Conservancy. In addition to restoring wetland habitats for fish and wildlife, this project will make the shoreline of Lake Ontario more resilient for people by absorbing storm surge, increasing flood storage and reducing the amount of nutrients and pollutants entering Sodus Bay.”
This wetland restoration project will be a great benefit to the entire watershed community, economically and environmentally,” said Save Our Sodus Board Member Edward Leroux. “Not only will the project benefit fish and wildlife, but the improved functioning of the wetland will significantly reduce nutrient loading from tributaries flowing to the Bay. Projects such as this one are an important contribution to the preservation of our recreation- and tourism-based economy as well as shore owners.
This project will also build upon invasive species management efforts currently underway across Sodus Bay while helping to deepen partnership for the benefit of the region,” said Lindsay Gerstenslager, District Manager for the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District. “The District is glad to have worked with many partners to improve water quality and invasive species management over the years, and adding The Nature Conservancy to these efforts will broaden our scope and expertise.”
“We are excited to work with The Nature Conservancy on this important project,” added Gregory Boyer, Director of Great Lakes Research and Professor of Biochemistry at SUNY-ESF. “While this project will improve fish habitat in the wetlands, we are hoping it will have an equally important role in limiting the nutrients entering Sodus Bay via Sodus Creek. This should lead to long-term benefits such as improved water quality and a reduction in harmful algal blooms that have plagued the Bay in past years.”
Additional private funds will be needed to complete this vital environmental restoration initiative. The Helen & Ritter Shumway Foundation has provided a grant in support of the effort, and The Nature Conservancy will be looking to raise additional funds over the next year.
Sustain Our Great Lakes is a public–private partnership that supports habitat restoration in the Great Lakes basin. Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a significant portion of program funding is provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a federal program designed to protect, restore and enhance the Great Lakes ecosystem. In 2016, the Sustain Our Great Lakes program awarded The Nature Conservancy $1.19 million for Great Lakes coastal wetland conservation projects in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and New York.
Full press release can be found here.
PRESS: The Nature Conservancy and Partners to Restore Sodus Bay Wetlands for People and Nature Sustain Our Great Lakes grant will help revitalize more than 115 acres of coastal wetland habitat along Sodus Bay
Contacts:
November 15, 2016 Contact: Kate Frazer
For Immediate Release Communications Manager
kfrazer@tnc.org, cell: 339-222-2014
Whooooo is coming to Happy Owl-ween this Saturday from 6 pm – 8 pm at the Montezuma Audubon Center? If YOOOOU join us, you’ll see 5 owls during the indoor presentation and then enjoy a 1-mile hike with our staff to experience the nighttime sights, sounds and smells of Montezuma. Great-horned owls have been hooting it up in our forests so bring the entire family and join us! Cider and donuts will be provided. Fee: $6/child, $8/adult, $25/family. Space is limited and registration is required. Call 315-365-3588 or email montezuma@audubon.org.
The District began hydro-seeding utilizing an erosion control blanket called Flex Terra HD, made up of biodegradable fiber and supplemented with conservation seed mixed specifically made for fast growth to encourage temporary erosion control on a very steep shoreline slope at the end of Blind Sodus Bay road, on the west side of the Blind Sodus Bay barrier bar a joining Lake Ontario. The residents of this area contacted the Town of Wolcott in August, when it became imminent to them that there was a concern with the loss of the roadway (1 ½ feet from the shoreline), access for public safety vehicles and utility lines, the proximity of the sewer main (12 feet from the shoreline) and potential loss of a barn/storage (15 feet from the shoreline). The shoreline has become a cliff and because it is so close to the road, poses a concern for long term safety for the residents.
The Town Supervisor, Lynn Chatfield, contacted the District for some technical assistance. After a few site visits and research, the District decided to use this project to demonstrate some different erosion control materials for water quality and track the amount of growth utilizing the specialize materials for control. From the research, it was determined that roughly 1-1.5 linear feet of the shoreline is being lost annually due to the precipitation and wind erosion mostly because of the soil type during months from November through April. The goal was to provide some stability to the substrate through root systems. The slope has random plants growing along the area and hopefully benefit from this type of erosion control.
The erosion control program run by the District is made available through funding partnership with the Finger Lakes Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance (FLLOWPA) through the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
New York State Farm Service Agency
441 South Salina St., Suite 536
Syracuse, NY 13202
315-477-6300
www.fsa.usda.gov/ny
Contact:
Lynnette Wright
315-477-6309
Lynnette.Wright@ny.usda.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in New York State reminds farmers of federal farm program benefits that may be available to help eligible producers recover from recent drought.
Twenty-four New York counties recently received a Secretarial Disaster designation. There are 15 primary natural disaster counties, they are: Cayuga, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wyoming and Yates; and nine secondary natural disaster counties: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Cortland, Onondaga, Orleans, Oswego, and Wayne.
FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers in their recovery efforts following qualifying natural disasters, like drought. Available programs and loans include:
Producers must file a Notice of Loss for failed acres on all crops including grasses in a timely fashion, often within 15 days of the occurrence or when the losses become apparent. Producers of hand-harvested crops must notify FSA of damage or loss within 72 hours of when the date of damage or loss first becomes apparent. For more information on FSA programs, visit http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
For more information on disaster assistance programs and loans visit www.fsa.usda.gov/ or contact your local FSA Office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Sean-Drum with-Daniel and Matthew Russotti from Boy Scout Troop 262
Sean Drum of Webster Boy Scout troop 262 has built a handicap accessible bird blind at the Trail of Hope in Lyons.
Sean says he wanted to serve people who may have a hard time getting to parks and seeing nature.
This was all a part of his Eagle Scout project.
A bird blind is another way to look at the birds. A bird blind lets us see the birds without them seeing us, which prevents them from being scared away by the observers. The nesting boxes were supplied by WCSWCD.
In October there will be a dedication at the Trail of Hope located at 9 Manhattan St. in Lyons. Take Exit 42 off New York Thruway, take Rt. 14 North into the Village of Lyons. Take a right onto Clyde Rd, turn left onto Manhattan St. The Trail of Hope will be on your right. For more information about the project click here to download a brochure.
