SPRING/SUMMER 2014 central & western new york N ature Connect with Nature: Rediscover nature’s magic Living, learning, and loving nature—that’s a powerful motivation for saving lands and waters. In this issue, The Nature Conservancy celebrates the many ways Central and Western New Yorkers can connect with nature and contribute to conservation. INSIDE Explore. Volunteer. Give. .................................................... 4 Water for Tomorrow ............................................................. 5 In the Finger Lakes .............................................................. 6 Rebuilding a Wetland ......................................................... 7 Bog Wild .................................................................................. 8 Get Outside............................................................................. 9 Connecting Kids with Nature ........................................ 10 Contact Us ............................................................................ 11
Transcript
spr ing/summer 2014
central & western new yorkNatureConnect with Nature:Rediscover nature’s magicLiving, learning, and loving nature—that’s a powerful motivation for saving lands and waters. In this issue, The Nature Conservancy celebrates the many ways Central and Western New Yorkers can connect with nature and contribute to conservation.
For The nature Conservancy and our supporters, every day is
earth Day. in this spirit, we launched a special initiative this april
called “Connect with nature” and are sharing many opportunities
for you to experience nature this spring and summer—and year
round.
Volunteerism is one of our chapter’s core strengths. Our Central
& Western new york members have shown incredible dedication
to our work across this region, making our volunteer program one
of the Conservancy’s strongest. Last year, more than 175
volunteers contributed 825 hours building boardwalks, fighting
invasives, staffing events and leading explorations of our lands
and waters.
We deeply appreciate your help—and depend on it to complete
critical conservation and stewardship projects. Just as volunteers
like Bob Beck helped save remarkable places like the O.D. von
engeln preserve (p. 8), a new generation of volunteers will be
needed to realize our next landmark achievements—like a new
lake-to-lake trail connecting Hemlock and Canadice Lakes (p.5).
But as edward abbey said, it’s important to “save the other half
of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. it is not
enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it.”
To that end, we’re pleased to offer you an expanded program of
hikes, paddles and nature walks this season (p. 9).
Time outside really matters. in this issue, our conservation
lands manager comments on a new survey showing that the
vast majority of parents view spending time in nature as “very
important” to their children’s development—second only to
reading as a priority (p. 10).
it was a long, cold winter but now it’s time to celebrate spring in
the waters, trails and landscapes that make up nature’s
explore.volunteer.
Give.
playground. Lend your hands at events in your backyard. Or give
back to nature by making a financial contribution. We’re excited
to begin our 2014 field season, grateful for all you do to make it
possible, and looking forward to seeing you outside!
BOARD OF TRUSTEESClayton millard, Chair .........................................................rochester Lew allyn .......................................................................naples, Florida Brian Baird ....................................................................................BuffaloBarry Boyer ......................................................................... east auroraBruce Bongarten, ph.D. .......................................................syracusepeter Brennan, m.D. .................................................................... ithacaenid Cardinal .........................................................................rochesterLaurie Dann .................................................................................BuffaloJohn Fitzpatrick, ph.D. ............................................................... ithaca Bruce gilman, ph.D. .....................................................Canandaigua richard Hill, Emeritus .............................................................remsen William Jacques ..............................................................................rush Victoria Kennedy ................................................................Fayetteville Deb Koen ................................................................................rochester Tony Lee ...................................................................................rochesterThomas Lunt ................................................................... Orchard park sarah mercier Hurlbut .......................................................rochester Diane O’Connor ......................................................................Honeoyerobert papworth ....................................................................syracuse stephen rosenfeld, m.D. .....................................................pittsford Charles ruffing, ph.D. ........................................................rochester susan suwinski ............................................................................ ithaca
susan van der stricht .........................................................rochester
2 spring/summer 2014
LATEST RESULTS
Water for Tomorrow Your support yields new tool for smart water choices
DiScOvER »
Learn more about our work to sustain new york’s precious water resources at nature.org/nywater.
Right now, as you read this, your brain that is so diligently absorbing information is composed of 73 percent water. Your electricity, your clothes and the food on your plate all require a vast amount of water in order to be produced.
So what’s the big concern? For starters, by 2050 over 70 percent of people on Earth will live in urban areas. Yet more than half of the world’s largest global cities are already water-stressed. Each day, more than 15 billion gallons of water are withdrawn from New York’s lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater for drinking, industry, farming, mining and power generation. Decisions about these individual competing uses are often made without considering their cumulative impact. We need a plan.
To ensure that New Yorkers will have enough water in the future, towns, communities and businesses must together chart a more sustainable pathway to growth. To help meet this challenge, The Nature Conservancy is developing science-based tools to ensure that water withdrawals from our lakes, rivers and streams are done in a comprehensive and smart way.
This March, we formally submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) our recommendations for water management in the Great Lakes’ tributaries. Created under the leadership of Conservancy staffers David Klein and George Schuler, the recommendations are part of the Conservancy’s Water for Tomorrow initiative, which aims to reimagine how New York’s fresh water is managed.
More than 25 experts from academia, state and federal agencies, and other scientific institutions helped us assess flows in New York’s streams and rivers. For each category of stream or river, the group determined minimum flows and a range of variability in flows that aquatic plants and animals need to be healthy.
Why do we need this? “The recommendations represent a scientific protocol for determining how much water can be withdrawn to meet people’s needs and grow our economy without adverse environmental impacts,” says Klein. “If implemented into New York’s regulatory framework, we will have transparent standards for water use that help balance the needs of all communities.”
The recommendations also enable New York to comply with the Great Lakes Compact, a set of rules that all Great Lakes states and provinces agreed to in 2008 to sustainably manage our shared waters. “If we’re going to prevent diversions of our Great Lakes water, we have to demonstrate that we’re managing our water with an eye to the future,” Klein adds.
New York’s abundant water may be our most important environmental and economic asset. We are fortunate to have the water we need to sustain both growth and nature. But making good choices requires seeing the full picture. Tools and information like this will help move New York toward a future with enough water for everyone.
Clayton millard, Chair .........................................................rochester Lew allyn .......................................................................naples, Florida Brian Baird ....................................................................................BuffaloBarry Boyer ......................................................................... east auroraBruce Bongarten, ph.D. .......................................................syracusepeter Brennan, m.D. .................................................................... ithacaenid Cardinal .........................................................................rochesterLaurie Dann .................................................................................BuffaloJohn Fitzpatrick, ph.D. ............................................................... ithaca Bruce gilman, ph.D. .....................................................Canandaigua richard Hill, Emeritus .............................................................remsen William Jacques ..............................................................................rush Victoria Kennedy ................................................................Fayetteville Deb Koen ................................................................................rochester Tony Lee ...................................................................................rochesterThomas Lunt ................................................................... Orchard park sarah mercier Hurlbut .......................................................rochester Diane O’Connor ......................................................................Honeoyerobert papworth ....................................................................syracuse stephen rosenfeld, m.D. .....................................................pittsford Charles ruffing, ph.D. ........................................................rochester susan suwinski ............................................................................ ithaca
susan van der stricht .........................................................rochester
The nature Conservancy in Central and Western new york | nature.org/cwny 32 spring/summer 2014
The Nature Conservancy continues to protect lands and waters in the Finger Lakes. Last year, your support helped us acquire two important properties, both of which feature healthy forests that connect existing protected areas.You also helped us re-open an important tributary of Hemlock Lake and begin work on a new lake-to-lake trail that will give visitors the chance explore nature while discovering how forests help generate clean drinking water. Thank you!
In the Finger Lakes: Protecting Fish and ‘Forest Filters’
newly protected lands connect forests, bolster access for peopleWith your help, we purchased 154 acres of forestland in Livingston County that adjoins the new Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. This property connects to an old-growth forest and helps provide recreational access to state lands. To help us acquire the land, the owner sold the property to the Conservancy at a steep discount.
“As a nonprofit, we’re always grateful when landowners make it easier for us by discounting the price,” says Andy Wheatcraft, critical lands coordinator in Central & Western New York. “The difference between the purchase price and the appraised value is a tax-deductible contribution to The Nature Conservancy.”
All told, the Conservancy has now directly protected nearly 1,500 acres in the Hemlock and Canadice Lake watershed, the source of drinking water for Rochester. As many of our mem-bers know, we also played a leadership role in the permanent protection of Rochester’s 7,000 acres of watershed lands.
“These two undeveloped Finger Lakes are a very special place, and we’re going to continue investing in conservation here,” Wheatcraft says.
At nearby Honeoye Lake, the Conservancy purchased 25 acres of forestland adjacent to Harriet Hollister Spencer State Park. This parcel will be transferred to the park later this year. The property, a long rectangle, is important in its own right, but also critical in that it helps knit together a mosaic of natural lands between the park and Canandaigua Lake.
more habitat for brook trout Your support is also advancing the Conservancy’s work to restore streams in the Finger Lakes. Last fall, we tore out a dam on a high quality trout stream in Springwater, N.Y., opening up miles of Reynold’s Gully. With help from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the dam was removed and replaced with a series of step pools that allow brook trout and other fish to move freely through the stream.
The environmental consequences of dams can be severe. Dams can block fish migration and trap sediments that are critical for sustaining downstream habitats. They can also alter water temperatures, which can lead to changes in dissolved oxygen levels and fish kills.
“Across the state, there are hundreds of dams damaging our waterways,” says Gregg Sargis, the Conservancy’s director of ecological management in Central and Western New York.
“This particular dam was the only one on this entire stream. By funding this project, our members helped open up habitat that has been blocked for decades.”
new lake-to-lake trail underway It’s been six years since The Nature Conservancy officially opened Rob’s Trail, our flagship recreational trail where visitors can hike from the steep ridge between Hemlock and Canadice Lakes all the way to the undeveloped shoreline of Canadice Lake.
In close partnership with NYS DEC, we’re now launching a new extension that will give people access to Hemlock Lake as well, creating a new lake-to-lake trail in the region.
The Conservancy’s land straddles NYS Route 15A, which provides a ready access point to the newly established Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. This 7,000-acre protected area was initially set aside by the City of Rochester for its water supply. In a landmark conservation deal in 2010, the State of New York and the Conservancy teamed up to permanently protect it.
The proposed trail will begin on Conservancy-owned land between Hemlock and Canadice Lakes and connect to an existing but abandoned trail on state lands along the east shoreline of Hemlock Lake.
A new kiosk will welcome hikers, describe the terrain and land-use history, and recognize major supporters. The trail will then wind downslope through woods, cross a stream and emerge at the shore of Hemlock Lake. Once at the lakeshore, hikers will be able to walk north along an abandoned dirt road and conclude their hike at a boat launch on Hemlock Lake.
“This trail will offer hikers, cross-country skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts a lake-to-lake experience, and will be a major economic and recreational asset to the region,” says chapter director Jim Howe.
At key points along the route, signs will showcase the area’s natural communities, geologic features, history and importance to people today. The Conservancy is also considering erecting a bridge to provide a stunning view of a gorge and waterfall.
Rob’s Trail was named for the late Rob van der Stricht, an avid conservationist and former board chair. Although he traveled throughout the world, Rob loved no place more than the Finger Lakes. Do you share a love for this region? Consider supporting the trail with a financial gift, or by volunteering at an upcoming work day.
pROTEcT
The nature Conservancy in Central and Western new york | nature.org/cwny 54 spring/summer 2014
Wetlands are hardworking ecosystems. They filter water, reduce flooding and provide habitat for countless species, but their health depends upon a complex and delicate balance.
Lake Ontario’s coastal wetlands have declined over the years, due in part to manipulation of water levels that doesn’t take the needs of nature into account. The current regulation plan was developed in the 1950s with the construction of the Moses-Saunders Dam and has reduced the range of water levels to the point of causing extensive damage to coastal wetlands and the fish and wildlife that depend upon them.
The Nature Conservancy is working to change this by supporting the International Joint Commission’s proposal for a new lake regulation plan—known as Plan 2014—that would restore variability to Lake Ontario’s water levels while maintaining protections for property owners. At the same time, we are working on the ground at Buck Pond, part of the Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area, to repair some of the damage directly—restoring and enhancing more than 200 acres of wetlands.
Before the return of migrating birds and the final retreat of ice and snow, specialized excavating equipment was used
to create more than 6,500 feet of water channels and 10 potholes at Buck Pond, cutting through dense cattail stands and using the excavated material to create habitat mounds that will support native plants, such as sedges and rushes, that provide food for waterfowl. The project will also create habi-tat for spawning fish such as northern pike and is expected to improve water quality, flow and fluctuation.
Ducks Unlimited provided funding for this project through a federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Freshwater Future and Healing Our Waters grant program. Other partners include the NYS DEC, Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area Committee, SUNY Brockport and the Town of Greece.
“The ecosystem services and recreation opportunities provided by the Braddock Bay complex are important economic drivers for Monroe County and the nearby towns of Greece and Parma,” says Sarah Fleming, Ducks Unlimited’s New York regional biologist.
To measure success, The Nature Conservancy is leading a pre- and post-restoration study of the area. Stevie Adams,
people make good things happen
Rebuilding a Wetland Conservancy collaborates to restore Buck Pond
the Conservancy’s freshwater conservation practitioner in Central and Western New York, led a crew of seasonal staff that surveyed plant, fish and bird species and ground-water levels at Buck Pond in summer 2013. This summer, another crew will monitor the channels and potholes to see what impact they have on wildlife and the way water moves through the marsh.
“Wetlands are not only spawning and breeding habitats for fish and waterfowl, they also filter and purify water enter-ing Lake Ontario and act as sponges, absorbing water during floods,” says Adams. “This work is helping us figure out how to restore them in the best way possible.”
gET invOLvED »
Join the fight against aquatic invasives. attend a workshop at a lake near you. Visit nature.org/cwnyevents.
summer invasives surveillance Begins aquatic invasives are ganging up on great Lakes native
fish, and early detection is critical. nature Conservancy
staff will continue their rapid surveys at boat launches
across the region this summer while also leading state-
wide eDna collection for aquatic invasive species. eDna
sampling extracts Dna from water samples, amplifies it
and screens it for the presence of target aquatic invasive
species. This work could shed light on whether invasive
species are spreading via the erie Canal, which connects
the great Lakes with the Finger Lakes, mohawk river,
Champlain Canal, Hudson river and hundreds of miles
The nature Conservancy in Central and Western new york | nature.org/cwny 76 spring/summer 2014
ExpLORE »
register today for a hike at O.D. von engeln preserve at malloryville. Visit nature.org/cwnyevents.
Bog Wild Three questions with conservation Author Bob Beck
it’s one thing to love a place, quite another to fight for it. a decade ago, Bob Beck was
celebrating the opening of The nature Conservancy’s O.D. von engeln preserve at
malloryville, a place he worked for 15 years to protect. He now speaks to audiences around
the region about the story, which he chronicles in his book, The Journey at Malloryville Bog:
Commitment, Teamwork and Tenacity in Defense of Land and Nature.
What makes the O.D. von Engeln preserve so special?In a region famous for its gorges, many people know how the glacier carved out the Finger Lakes, and how water rushing down the valley sides made the gorges and waterfalls. Malloryville is a very different place, but it was also formed by glacial activity. As huge amounts of gravel and sand washed out from the melting glacier, fascinating land forms were created, like kames (rounded hills), kettle holes and eskers (long winding ridges that were once riverbeds inside glaciers). The preserve is a magical place with trails that wind over and among these wooded hills and through diverse types of wetlands harboring numerous scarce and rare species. You’re constantly seeing something new around each bend.
You wrote a book about your experience helping to protect this place. What prompted you to tell the story? I explored this area lot as a kid, but I had little idea how significant it was until I was a student at Cornell and read O.D. von Engeln’s book, The Finger Lakes Region: Its Origin and Nature. von Engeln (1880-1965), a Cornell professor, bequeathed funds that helped make the protection of this remarkable place possible years later. Because of his book and many great teachers, I began to discover it in a whole new way. Everywhere I went in life after that, this place stayed with me.
When I had the opportunity to purchase a home here it was a dream come true, but my dream was tested immediately when I learned the wetlands were threatened by neighbor-ing gravel mine and concrete plant development. I made the choice not to accept that fate but to instead connect with my neighbors, scientists and fellow conservationists. I had no idea it would become a 15-year chapter of my life. I wrote this book to inspire others dealing with big challenges. Just as von Engeln’s book was a beginning for me, perhaps my story could be a start for someone else.
What advice would you give to others looking to protect a place they love?There’s a reason the words “Teamwork” and “Tenacity” are in the title—these are critical ingredients when it comes to conservation. My advice would be to make connections and work with an organization you trust. Without The Nature Conservancy and its committed board, staff and membership—all of whom saw the potential for what this place could become—we never would’ve succeeded.
It was hard work but the outcome was worth every minute. I remember bringing my miter saw to our first work day, cutting pieces of decking for the boardwalks and bridges and watching a team of volunteers put them in place. It was an amazing experience to see it all come together.
The nature Conservancy in Central and Western new york | nature.org/cwny 9
Mat Levine, The Nature Conservancy’s conservation lands manager in Central and Western New York, is a self-described ‘field guy’. Before coming to work for the Conservancy he spent almost 10 years carrying out projects for scientists around the country, moving every six to eight months for various seasonal positions.
Today, he welcomes the chance to stay in one place and form deep connections to the Conservancy preserves he helps manage. He shares these connections with his daughter Gabriella, giving her a childhood rooted in nature. We spoke with Mat about a new survey that reveals parents around the world are concerned that children are not spending enough time outdoors.
As a parent, what is your reaction to the fact that children are spending less and less time outdoors?
It’s sad. Exploring nature is such an important component of how my wife Amie and I approach parenthood. Whether we’re just out walking or putting Gabriella on skis for the first time, it’s a great family connection whenever we’re outside.
We’ve always been very active as a couple, and nature has always been important in our lives. Before Gabriella was born we pledged to each other that we wouldn’t give up that lifestyle, and so far we’ve followed through.
Why is it important to you that your daughter grows up connected to nature?
For one thing, it’s part of a healthy lifestyle. Beyond that I see no better way to satisfy her curiosity than by giving her the chance to explore nature. My wife and I can just see it in her eyes when she watches a bird fly up, or as she’s crawling over driftwood on the beach, or pulling a stick along the sand in the water. She is totally content and in the moment. There’s just no better way to achieve that.
Were there particular moments when you realized how important time in nature is for your daughter?
At three months old, she was tucked in my coat as we hiked around Zion National Park and cross-country skied near Great Salt Lake, but you don’t have to travel far to have amazing experiences.
One Saturday not too long ago we were all walking at Chaumont Barrens admiring the flowering prairie smoke. I heard some rustling in the trees and we all waited, crouched down on our knees and very quiet, as the largest porcupine I’ve seen in my life came down and began waddling toward us. Gabriella’s jaw dropped watching the chubby creature. It was a very real moment that caught all of us by surprise.
Dig DEEpER »
more than four in five parents see spending time in nature as “very important” to their children’s development—second only to reading as a priority. explore the global survey results at nature.org/newyork.
Connecting Kids with Nature New survey reveals importance of nature to parents
By making a life-income gift with The Nature Conservancy, such as a charitable gift annuity, you can provide yourself and/or another beneficiary with dependable income for life. You may also benefit from significant tax savings. Best of all, you’re protecting nature for future generations.
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