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.

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