The Erie Canal will open to boating traffic on Friday for the 199^th navigational season on the historic waterway.

There won’t be any tolls or fees for recreational use of the canal system for the seventh straight year. Those tolls were normally $25 to $100 for a season pass, depending on the size of the vessel.

The entire system is scheduled to open at 7 a.m. on May 19. The standard hours of operation are 7 to 5 p.m. daily until the season closes on Oct. 12. However, the lift bridges from Fairport through Orleans County to Lockport will be operational from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. through the peak navigation season from May 19 through Sept. 13.

There are seven lift bridges in Orleans County – Holley, Hulberton, Ingersoll Street in Albion, Main Street in Albion, Eagle Harbor, Knowlesville and Medina. There are 16 lift bridges on the canal and the seven in Orleans are more than any other county in the state.

However, the Main Street lift bridge is under construction in Albion and won’t be in service this year. The Brockport lift bridge also is getting a major rehabilitation.

The Canal Corporation said it continues to seek seasonal employees to staff the locks and lift bridges across the canal system. Those interested in applying for a position should visit the Canal Corporation’s website.

Traffic moves across the Ingersoll Street lift bridge. The bridge will be operational for the boating traffic from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from May 19 through Sept. 13, and then 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 11.

Registration has opened for Canal Clean Sweep 2023. Parks & Trails New York, in partnership with the NYS Canal Corporation, is organizing the 18th annual Canal Clean Sweep April 21-23 in celebration of Earth Day.

Community service clubs, co-workers at a business or organization, Scouts or even families are encouraged to register for a spot or section of the canal. Or they can check back later to register as a volunteer for a public event. Use the Event Finder Map on Parks & Trails website.

Most events will occur on Earth Day weekend, April 22-24. However, volunteers can pick another day if it works better.

Click here to fill out a form to register a Canal Clean Sweep event, indicating the clean-up location, how many volunteers are expected, and what t-shirt sizes are needed.

After registering for a Canal Clean Sweep event, Parks & Trails will provide more information and materials.

Last year, not-for-profit organizations, civic groups, businesses, and social clubs took part in more than 130 events along the Canal System and the Canalway Trail as 2,700 volunteers helped clean up nearly 1,500 bags of garbage.

The Erie Canal water levels will again be about a foot lower for the 2023 navigation season, the Canal Corp. announced on Wednesday.

This is for the area between Lock E-30 in Macedon and Locks E-34/35 in Lockport.

This is the second year that levels have been reduced as the Canal Corporation continues to monitor more than 200 known seeps along the canal’s earthen embankments, the Canal Corp. said.

“Levels may vary slightly depending on the location,” the Canal Corp. stated. “The reduced water levels should not impact vessels transiting the canal within the navigation channel but may impact some docks and boat launches.”

In addition, water levels in the Glens Falls Feeder Canal will be approximately two feet lower than historic levels as seeps continue to be monitored there as well.

The Canal Corporation said it monitors and inspects these earthen dams on foot via daily and uses advanced technologies like drones and thermal imaging.

The 199^th navigation season opens May 19 and closes Oct. 11.

Press Release, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

WATERFORD – The New York State Canal Corporation, through the Reimagine the Canals initiative, and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor are offering competitive grant funding to support tourism and recreation along the New York State Canal System including canal waterways and Canalway Trail.

The 2023 program will support tourism infrastructure and amenity improvements, and events. Applications are open now through Feb. 24.

Funding is open to counties, municipalities, units of local government, not-for-profit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes.

The grant program includes two funding categories: Event Support, with an award range of $500 to $3,000, and Tourism Infrastructure & Amenity Support, with an award range of $5,000 to $24,000. Applicants may apply for one or both categories.

“New York’s Canals and their surrounding communities have become destinations for local residents and tourists seeking unique recreational activities and provide opportunities to explore all of what our state has to offer, and it is essential to provide support to ensure continued growth and improvements,” said Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “Through this grant program, we are excited to renew our commitment to preserve and expand all that our shared waterways and trails offer and look forward to seeing visitors enjoying the flourishing Canal System as we continue to build on its role as a cornerstone of the New York experience.”

In 2022, 38 nonprofit organizations and municipalities received NYS Canal System Tourism Infrastructure and Event Grants totaling $259,300. The grants supported 11 tourism infrastructure and amenity improvements and 27 events.

Interested applicants are invited to attend an informational Q&A session on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 10am. For details, Q&A registration, and online application, click here.

“Investing in recreational amenities and heritage-based events is essential to the Corridor’s health, both in terms of improving residents’ quality of life and by facilitating the economic impacts of tourism. We are pleased to collaborate with the NYS Canal Corporation on this initiative and align our revitalization strategies,” said Bob Radliff, Executive Director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

Press Release, Celeste Morien, count compiler for Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count

Here is the map showing different sections for the Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count. One of the recent counts totaled 20,843 birds in 73 species.

SHELBY – The Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

The count began in December 1968. The National Audubon Society has been sponsoring Christmas Bird Counts since their inception.

Count compiler and Medina resident Celeste Morien would like the public to be alert for counters with spotting scopes and binoculars who will be out and about Dec. 28 on local roads, searching for birds in fields and at bird feeders.

Filling bird feeders now and keeping them stocked ahead of the count helps fulfill the count objective of counting all wild birds seen and heard within the circle. The Oak Orchard Swamp count is centered at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge on the Orleans and Genesee County line at Route 63. Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile diameter circle, which includes more than the refuge and state wildlife areas, counting every bird they see or hear all day. It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day.

According to the Audubon website, “Prior to the turn of the 20th century, hunters engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt.” They would choose sides and go afield with their guns—whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.

Conservation was in its beginning stages in that era, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition—a “Christmas Bird Census” that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them.

A Pine Sisken is at left and a Downy Woodpecker is at right.

So began the Christmas Bird Count. Thanks to the inspiration of Chapman and the enthusiasm of 27 dedicated birders, 25 Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America.

From Dec. 14 through Jan. 5 each year tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas brave snow, wind, or rain, and take part in the effort. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action.

A Cooper’s Hawk is at left and a Red-breasted Nuthatch is at right.

The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.

The long term perspective is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat, and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well.

If your home is within the circle and you are at home on count day, you can report the birds that visit your feeders. To do so, please contact celeste.morien@gmail.com.

Please consider donating to the Christmas Count since the Audubon Society no longer collects fees from each participant. Click here for more information.

For past results of any Christmas Bird Count, the National Audubon Society website (click here) is an excellent resource.

These Cedar Waxwings are shown at left with a White-breasted Nuthatch at right.

Press Release, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

WATERFORD – The public is invited to pick up a free 2023 Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor calendar starting December 1, 2022 at selected libraries and visitor centers throughout the National Heritage Corridor. The calendar features winning images from this year’s Erie Canalway photo contest.

“The Erie Canal transformed New York and the Nation and continues to contribute to the economy and sense of place of communities along it today,” said Bob Radliff, Erie Canalway Executive Director. “The calendar serves as a reminder to celebrate, preserve, and enjoy this incredible place all year long.”

Calendars will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, thanks to generous support from the NYS Canal Corporation and the National Park Service.

“There is a reason they call December ‘the most wonderful time of the year!’ The annual Erie Canalway Calendar is a perennial favorite, beloved and eagerly awaited by all,” said Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “Released at the start of the holiday season with photos captured by our friends and neighbors in canalside communities, this calendar is a testament to the beauty of this historic and scenic waterway. We are proud to continue to support this publication as it brings the charm of New York’s canals into our homes and offices for all to enjoy.”

In Orleans County the calendars will be available at:

• Hoag Library, 134 South Main St. in Albion
• Community Free Library at 86 Public Square in Holley
• Lee-Whedon Memorial Library at 620 West Ave. in Medina

Some other nearby locations include:

• Seymour Library at 161 East Ave., Brockport
• Brockport Welcome Center at 161 East Ave. in Brockport
• Hamlin Public Library at 1680 Lake Rd. in Hamlin
• Royalton Hartland Community Library at 9 Vernon St. in Middleport

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

ROCHESTER – Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the New York State Canal Corporation has named one of their vessels the Harriet Tubman in honor of the famed American abolitionist and humanitarian’s inspirational life and legacy.

In the bicentennial year of Harriet Tubman’s birth, the Canal Corporation dedicated the previously unnamed push tugboat at a ceremony along the Genesee River spur of the Erie Canal in Rochester, not far from abolitionist’s home and final resting place in Auburn near the Finger Lakes.

“As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s birth, it is our honor to recognize her commitment as a self-sacrificing abolitionist, suffragist, Civil War hero, and nurse who made meaningful and lasting contributions to our state and America’s history,” Hochul said. “By naming a vessel in her honor, we are uplifting her story of great sacrifice and the unique role that our state’s canals played as part of the Underground Railroad.”

Tubman, a leading figure of the Underground Railroad movement who helped free dozens of enslaved people, made several trips along the canal corridor, where the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals provided an accessible route to Canada for many Freedom Seekers.

“Harriet Tubman is one of the most crucial figures in our history, and her brave contributions add to the rich history of the canalway,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “Today, we celebrate her life and legacy, as well as the role of the canal in the abolition movement, broadening the lens through which we understand the importance of this piece of our state’s history.”

At their September meeting, the New York Power Authority and Canal Corporation Board of Trustees voted to name this previously unnamed push tugboat in honor of Harriet Tubman who devoted her life to social activism and human rights.

The 2019 vessel is stationed along the Erie Canal at the Canal Corporation’s maintenance facility in Lyons, Wayne County. When working on the canal, the tugboat pushes other non-motorized vessels during transit. These vessels include derrick boats, dredges, and scows that are essential for performing routine canal operations such as dredging, buoy placement, debris removal, and transit of materials.