Every day during break week (4/6-4/11) at 2:30pm the Richmond Memorial Library Children's Room will be hosting programs celebrating our environment and conservation.

Registration is necessary - we want to have plenty of supplies for everyone; call us 585.343.9550 ext. 4. Recommended for all ages; Children under 5yo will need an adult.

Monday (4/6) Farm in a Glove

Tuesday (4/7) Scrap Art with the Scrap Lady

Wednesday (4/8) Gen County Parks activity

Thursday (4/9) Edible Quakes

Friday (4/10) Planting Milkweed with Eastern Monarch Butterfly Farm

Saturday (4/11) Make flower seed bombs

Tammy Willis, acting state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New York State, has announced funding to help protect the Great Lakes as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).

NRCS will provide financial and technical assistance to help improve surface water quality in waters flowing into Lake Ontario.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding is provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow NRCS to target threats to the Great Lakes. In New York, the GLRI area includes portions of Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Wyoming, Steuben, and Allegany Counties, which drain into Lake Ontario.

NRCS in New York receives funding to provide financial and technical assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to eligible landowners and farmers for conservation work. GLRI focuses on practices that have the highest benefit for reducing water quality degradation due to agricultural runoff, including animal waste storage facilities, residue management, no-till, and nutrient management.

Applicants applying to implement practices to address farmstead resource concerns associated with livestock operations must provide a copy of their Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan to NRCS by Jan. 18.

For fiscal year 2019, NRCS will accept applications for funding through Jan. 18. Applications accepted after Jan. 18 will be considered for funding in the next signup period. To apply for funding through the GLRI program interested farmers and landowners should contact their local USDA office by the above listed signup date.

For more information on GLRI visit this website.

If you are interested in applying for a conservation program please visit this website for information on applying.

You may apply by visiting your local NRCS field office, which can be located using this website.

Through the EQIP program, NRCS offers financial and technical assistance to participants to implement practices which address priority resource concerns, including soil erosion, water quality and habitat degradation.

Focus areas within the EQIP program include the farmstead, soil management, habitat, forestry and grazing. Examples of practices implemented through EQIP include: strip cropping, grassed waterways, forest stand improvement and manure storage facilities. 

Applicants applying to implement practices to address farmstead resource concerns associated with livestock operations must provide a copy of their Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan to NRCS by Jan. 18. Applicants applying to implement forest management practices must provide their Forest Management Plan by Jan. 18.

NRCS will work with applicants to review potential resource concerns on the land included in the application and to develop a conservation plan to address the identified resource concerns. 

Applications accepted after Jan. 18 will be considered in the next signup. All applications are competitive and ranked based on national, state and locally identified resource priorities and the overall benefit to the environment.

If you are interested in applying for an NRCS conservation program, please visit this website for information on applying.

You may apply by visiting your local NRCS field office, which can be located using this website.

As part of an Earth Day observance, volunteers came out to the DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia to help with spring cleanup.

The walk around the park was about more than just trash pickup. It included a guided nature walk led by Amy Jessmer, from Albion, with a degree in environmental science from SUNY Brockport, where she is currently working on her master's degree. Jessmer spoke about native and non-native species and the environmental balance of the lake and surrounding habitat.

The water level of DeWitt is exceptionally low. George Squires, retired from the county's soil and water department, said he doesn't believe he's seen it this low since the 1980s.

Dear Friends in Conservation,

We are extending our ordering deadline and will continue to accept orders for our Annual Tree & Shrub Sale until each variety sells out. So please, if you haven't already done so, follow this link http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/soilandwater/treeorders.html

print the order form and select some of the beautiful species we are offering this year. Remember, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago...the second best time is THIS SPRING!

Thanks very much!

Genesee County

SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

29 Liberty Street, Suite 3, Batavia, NY 14020

Phone (585) 343-2362 Fax (585) 345-1815

http://www.co.genesee.ny.us/departments/soilandwater/treeorders.html

It’s the committee’s Third Year Anniversary! Join us at our next meeting of the Tonawanda Creek Watershed Committee scheduled for Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. at the new U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Building, 1101 Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013. Phone (585) 948-5445 (All meetings are open to the public and you are welcomed to attend.)

Guest Speakers:

- Fran Wagner, President of the Scajaquada Creek Canoe Club will discuss the clubs dedication to improving the environmental health of Scajaquada Creek. The 30 to 40 member club are involved in conducting stream cleanup’s, water quality and wildlife monitoring, and creating access for canoes and kayaks, as well as paddling together on the waterways of Western New York. Several members just participated in the Adirondack Classic, a three-day canoe race.

- Sheila Hess, CEO of Conservation Connects and Executive Director of New York Green will discuss the importance and benefits of partnerships in watershed planning and natural resource conservation. Sheila will review techniques for building relationships and creating synergy with traditional and nontraditional conservation partners.

Great strides have been made in forming a multi-county alliance devoted to the Tonawanda Creek Watershed, which lies within parts of Wyoming, Genesee, Erie and Niagara Counties. On December 2, 2009 a meeting was held at the Corfu Community Center to discuss the feasibility of forming a multi-county Tonawanda Creek Watershed group. This initial meeting was well attended, including officials and interested citizens from: Genesee County: Soil & Water Conservation District, Planning Dept., Health Dept. and Legislature; Towns of Pembroke, Alexander, Bethany and Darien; Tonawanda Band of Seneca’s. Wyoming County: Soil and Water Conservation District, Planning & Development Dept., Emergency Management Dept., Towns of Sheldon and Bennington. Erie County: Soil and Water Conservation District, NRCS, Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper, Water Quality Committee, Dept. of Public Works, Environmental Planning/Storm water Coalition, UB Law Environmental Attorney, Towns of Clarence and Amherst. Niagara County: Town of Royalton. Regional: NYS Soil & Water Conservation Committee, Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative, and US EPA Region 2.

“A lot of work is already going on separately. We need to connect and make a coordinated effort,” said Mark Gaston, District Manager of Erie County SWCD.

A large list of concerns and goals for the watershed were expressed, including water quality, erosion and sedimentation control, stream bank stabilization, flood control, habitat protection and recreational use.

By nearly unanimous consensus, it was decided to proceed with formation of a Tonawanda Creek Watershed Committee. “We must identify stakeholders and make sure they are involved. Communication is vital,” said Paul Fuhrmann of the Erie County Water Quality Committee, adding “The database of knowledge of this diverse group is invaluable”.

If you are unable to attend but are interested in joining this effort or have any questions, please send email to Tonawandacreek@yahoo.com or contact Elizabeth Bentley-Huber at Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District at 585-343-2362 or at Elizabeth.Bentley-Huber@ny.nacdnet.net. View our website at http://tonawandacreek.shutterfly.com

At his suggest, the town board has passed a one-year moratorium on hydrofracking within Stafford.

A committee has been appointed to study the issue, according to Supervisor Robert Clement and that report will help the town determine what, if anything, it might do next related to hydrofracking.

The moritorium is part of a statewide trend over the summer of local officials throughout New York rising up against hydrofracking, even though the state already has a four-year moratorium against new wells in place now.

Fracking involves injecting water, saline and other chemicals into shale to break loose natural gas deposits that can then be extracted from the ground.

It's controversial because opponents believe the chemicals used can be carcinogenic and toxic.

Southall said he's read of cows in West Virginia being born with deformities and a whole town in Wyoming had to be closed because of hydrofracking pollutants ruining the groundwater.

As a representative of the Genesee County Fish and Game Association, owners and operators of Godfrey's Pond in Stafford, Southall thought it important to get out in front of the issue, before hydrofracking came to the area.

"With the kind of chemicals they're using, once the water is polluted, it's gone, and being a conservation club, we want to be sure that doesn't happen," Southall said.

At a public hearing on the topic a month or so ago, Clement said, there were no speakers in favor or against the moratorium.

He's not aware of any fracked wells in Stafford or any requests to open up such a well.

"For most people, I think it's a non-issue," Clement said. "I think the state will step in before anybody else does. But it's a conservation issue and I think most of them (Genesee County Fish and Game) are against it."