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

BASOM – It’s time again for the Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count! 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 December 27th on local roads, searching for birds in fields and at bird feeders.

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.

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.

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 December 14 through January 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.

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 you are interested in participating in the count for December 2024, to do so please contact celeste.morien@gmail.com.

Please consider donating to the Christmas Count here 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 is an excellent resource.

Contributed by Master Gardener Deb Roberts

The trees are turning beautiful colors…and the leaves are falling onto everything!  Before you just blow or rake those leaves into bags or to the street, STOP! There is an alternative that will improve the environment, save you money, beautify your yard, and save pollinators & other important creatures – LEAVE THE LEAVES!

According to US EPA reports we have 40 million acres of lawn in the United States making it the number one crop! The US EPA estimates that leaves and other yard debris make up 13% of our solid waste that goes to landfills. By keeping our leaves, we are reducing the solid waste in landfills and the methane they create.  Think of it as recycling in place.

Now, leaving the leaves doesn’t mean you have to just leave them where they lay, though you could, but they may not be in the best location to provide all these benefits. The optimal action you can take is to rake your leaves into garden beds or other plantings as mulch up to about 6 inches deep.

Over time the leaf mulch breaks down into the perfect fertilizer.  Also you can rake them into deeper circle-piles around established trees as mulch.  The mulch helps to retain moisture and to reduce run-off from sudden rains.

If you have extra leaves from sidewalks or driveways, leaves can be composted in a bin or pile in a corner of your yard.  A light layer of leaves can be left on grass where it will break down into fertilizer as well. All of which saves you money next year on buying mulch and fertilizers, plus it beautifies your yard – two for one!

There are exceptions, however. Black Walnut leaves and Pine Needles can inhibit desired plant growth and alter soil chemistry, so those are best kept out of your garden beds.

You may have mowed the leaves laying on the lawn in the past, which is another alternative, however leaves are a vital wildlife habitat providing food, shelter and nests for many species.  Toads, turtles, birds, butterflies in their various stages, fireflies, and bumblebees are among them. Most butterflies and moths do not migrate like the Monarch, most of them live their entire life cycle in a yard!

By leaving a layer of leaves around trees, it creates a “soft landing” for insects that drop from the tree to the ground  where they overwinter. Swallowtail butterflies and Luna moths use leaves to attach their cocoons.

Wooly bear caterpillars, which will become Isabella Tiger Moths next spring, overwinter best underneath a pile of leaves. Firefly larvae and Bumblebee queens overwinter a couple of inches under the surface of the soil and need the leaves as insulation to survive.

The larvae and insects that overwinter may even become food for baby birds next spring! If you have the space, a brush shelter with some fallen branches and a pile of leaves is a great space for insect eating animals like salamanders, toads, box turtles, and chipmunks to overwinter.

So when it’s time to rake your lawn, be a hero to wildlife and the environment by keeping leaves away from curbside pickup – Leave the Leaves!

For more information about Leaving the Leaves, check out National Wildlife Foundation, Xerces.org, and Cooperative Extension.

The Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor has announced the winners in the 18^th annual photo contest featuring scenes from the state’s canal system.

Usually there is a winning photo from Orleans County, but this year’s winners didn’t include a scene in Orleans.

There were 314 entries and judges selected first, second, and third place winners in four contest categories as well as 12 honorable mentions. The four categories include Canal Communities, Classic Canal, Along the Trail and On the Water.

“As we approach the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal in 2025, these images reveal to us what makes New York’s canals worth preserving, visiting, and celebrating,” said Bob Radliff, Executive Director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. “We congratulate the winners and appreciate everyone who entered and shared the places and activities they love along New York’s extraordinary canals.”

Winning images can be viewed online (click here) and will be featured in the 2024 Erie Canalway calendar. The calendar will be available for free at libraries, visitor centers, and by request beginning in December.

New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton said, “I send my heartfelt congratulations to the winners of this year’s annual photo contest, and my thanks to all of the exceptional photographers, amateur and professional alike, who participated. This year’s photos help us showcase the remarkable sights and recreational resources along the canal system. As celebrate the bicentennial of the Champlain Canal and prepare for the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal’s completion, they are a wonderful reminder of the Erie Canal’s legacy, impact, and presence in New York, both today and through generations of our history.”

“Fall in Fairport” was taken by Karen Millspaugh of Bergen and won first place in the “Classic Canal” category.

Press Release, New York Power Authority and NYS Canal Corp.

The New York Power Authority and New York State Canal Corporation have announced a strategic investment in the future of the New York State Canal system through the procurement of four new maintenance marine vessels.

The new tugboats will be operated by Canal Corporation personnel and positioned along the 524-mile Canal system to support the continued operation and maintenance of the statewide navigable waterway.

The first two tugboats are scheduled to be delivered in 2025, the bicentennial year of the Erie Canal, with two additional tugs planned for delivery in 2027.

“With more than 200 communities along its banks, an investment in New York State’s Canal system is an investment in the upstate economy,” said New York Power Authority and Canal Corporation Trustee and Syracuse Area Canal Recreationist Bea Gonzalez. “The Canal Corporation’s workforce that maintains this historic and vital water transportation route and recreational asset will leverage these new tugboats to ensure our children and grandchildren can enjoy all of the benefits the Canal system offers for many decades to come.”

New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “Once placed into service, these new maintenance vessels will give our dedicated personnel the opportunity to complete their tasks safely while operating aboard modern tugboats equipped with the latest marine technology. As stewards of the Canal system, we know how important the iconic waterway is to so many communities. These new work boats will help ensure the canals continue to support economic development, community building, and expanded recreational uses across our great state for years to come.”

Staffed by Canal Corporation tugboat captains and floating plant personnel, the new steel inland tugs, each 64.5-feet long, will support operations required to maintain navigation along the Canal system. Some of this work includes buoy placement and retrieval, movement of spoils in hopper scows, transporting of dredge pipe, and mobilizing hydraulic and mechanical dredge units. In addition, the new tugs will have ice breaking capabilities built into them such as thicker steel and tighter spaced framing in the bow.

New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton said, “These four new tugboats are a significant investment into the Canal Corporation’s maintenance fleet that routinely ply the waters of upstate New York. For nearly two centuries the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca Canals have been economic engines – supporting livelihoods and commerce while spurring the growth of villages, towns, and cities – and this investment ensures our workforce can efficiently maintain the canal’s navigable waters for the next generation of users.”

In 2017, the Canal Corporation contracted with AENY, located in Northport, NY to perform a vessel assessment of its floating equipment. Based on the assessment, a long-term plan was developed to replace the aging fleet. The construction of the four new vessels will be in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard Sub-Chapter M regulations and a U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection will be obtained.

When delivered, the new tugs will be placed into service alongside the Tug Syracuse, a 1934 tugboat built by the State of New York that has been the workhorse of the maintenance fleet since its launch. The new tugboats also will join the Canal Corporation’s Harriet Tubman, one of 10 smaller push tugboats that have been added to the fleet over the past five years.

The Board of Trustees for the New York Power Authority, which owns and operates the New York State Canal Corporation as a subsidiary, awarded the contract to Blount Builders Inc. of Warren, Rhode Island at its July 27 meeting.

In 2020, Blount Builders Inc. successfully delivered the Breaker II, a tugboat owned and operated by the New York Power Authority that supports its generation of electricity and champions ice breaking activity in the winter months along the Niagara River in Western New York.

Press Release, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

WATERFORD – The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is calling for entries for its 18th annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest. Images should convey people enjoying activities on the waterway and Canalway Trail or show the unique character of New York’s canals and canal communities.

Winning photos will be featured in the 2024 Erie Canalway calendar. Entries must be postmarked by August 25, 2023.

Images will be judged in four contest categories: On the Water, Along the Trail, Canal Communities, and Classic Canal. Judges will select first, second, and third place winning images in each category, as well as 12 honorable mentions.

Submitted images must be horizontal format and taken within the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, which spans 524 miles across the full expanse of upstate New York. It encompasses the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals and their historic alignments, as well as more than 230 canal communities.

Click here to download official contest rules and an entry form.

About the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

Nearly 200 years after its construction, the Erie Canal remains an iconic symbol of American ingenuity and determination. The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor preserves New York’s extraordinary canal heritage, promotes the Corridor as a world-class tourism destination, and fosters vibrant communities connected by more than 500 miles of waterway. It achieves its mission in partnership with the National Park Service, New York State agencies, non-profit organizations, local residents, and more than 200 communities across the full expanse of upstate New York.

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.