Upper Genesee River - Genesee River Wilds Project

Improving Conservation Strategy
for the Neglected Upper
Genesee River
Genesee River Wilds
www.geneseeriverwilds.org
Genesee River
Watershed boundaries & riverside greenways
Begins at Triple Continental
Divide, Potter County, PA, flows
north.
3 large falls in Letchworth State
Park, NY.
Mt. Morris Dam, flood control.
3 large falls in Rochester, NY.
One of largest rivers feeding
Lake Ontario.
Great Lakes: 21% of world's
fresh water.
Riverside greenways: Genesee
Valley Greenway, Upper Genesee/
WAG Trail (Wellsville, NY, to NY/PA
state line), trails in Letchworth
State Park and Rochester, NY.
Sedimentation of Genesee River at its mouth requires costly
dredging and threatens Lake Ontario harbor in Rochester, NY.
Near Monroe County Water Authority intakes in Lake Ontario.
Cladophora Algae, Lake Ontario, Rochester Embayment
Algae dies, washes up on beaches, & feeds shoreline bacteria.
Threatens fishery, creates health risk, reduces tourism.
Courtesy Anthony Vodacek and RIT Center for Imaging Science, from Vodacek, Kelly, et al. 2002 and Vodacek and Raqueno 2002
Untapped potential:
Most neglected section
of Genesee River is just
upstream from this
sight in Letchworth
State Park. Courtesy Joan
Schumaker, Friends of Genesee Valley Greenway
Upper Genesee River and hospital,
Wellsville, NY, 1972. Afterward, new
business development continued
in floodplains of river and its
tributaries.
Dick Neal Photography, courtesy Wellsville Daily Reporter
Sources of sediment,
toxins, and nutrients
at mouth of Genesee
River in Lake Ontario:
Manure, fertilizer,
road salt runoff,
parking lot runoff,
sewage and drain
overflow, etc., much of
it far upstream in rural
Appalachia. (Algae
clogs Genesee River
beside large shopping
center parking lot,
Wellsville, Allegany
County, NY, 8/2010).
Typical corn field next to Genesee River,
Allegany County, NY, 2010. These problems
have been known for years; e.g., 1991 USGS
Survey of Genesee River sedimentation;
2000 FLLOWPA study of Lake Ontario basin.
Photo Courtesy Sherry Grugel
USDA Recommended
Minimum Size (in feet)
of Forested Riparian
Buffers for
Selected
Functions
From Tjaden and
Weber 1997, courtesy
Robert Tjaden, Glenda
Weber, and Maryland
Cooperative Extension
Riparian buffer wetlands next to tributary of upper Genesee
River, approx. 2 miles upstream from Genesee River, officially
protected for decades.
No signs or recreational features to
offset property tax losses or attract stakeholders for conservation
by inviting local usage or outside tourism. Missed opportunity for
economic revitalization for impoverished community.
Consequence of failing to integrate recreation, tourism, and
economic development into environmental conservation in
impoverished rural communities: New industrial development
next to protected wetlands in previous slide. If protected riparian
land generates no property tax revenue, no recreational or health
opportunities, and no tourism or other economic benefits, there
is little financial incentive to expand protections for riverside
lands.
More effective approach to conservation of upper Genesee River:
Recruit stakeholders for expanding riparian buffers by integrating educational
signs, bicycle trails, canoe-kayak launches, and recreational features for quality
of life, health, natural science education, tourism, and economic development.
New trail, new signs, newly
planted trees; Upper Genesee River Trail (WAG RailTrail), Wellsville, NY, 2011
Forested riparian buffers also improve habitat for fish
and wildlife that generate
tourism in Upper
Genesee
River
area
Genesee River near Wellsville, NY, courtesy Jay Peck,
fishing guide from Rochester area, JayPeckGuides.com
Genesee River, Letchworth State Park, NY.
Stakeholders interested in riparian buffers
with recreational features: Fastest
growing form of outdoor
recreation out of 34
surveyed, 1995-2005
(PA DCNR).
Courtesy Donald Nelson, Adventure Calls Outfitters
Landscaping for new bridge over Genesee River near
Belfast, NY, is an opportunity to create a nature park
and canoe-kayak launch.
11/2011
Pine Creek Gorge, PA, as Model:
Forested riparian buffers for flood control and conservation
+ outdoor education, fishing, bicycling, kayaking, hiking,
camping, wildlife watching, and other tourism
= Economic Revitalization
Restrooms on Pine Creek
Trail, Pine Creek Gorge, PA
Pine Creek Gorge, PA, as a Model: Looking across Pine Creek Trail
toward canoe-kayak launch on Pine Creek. Parking lot behind
photographer is separated by ca. 400 ft. riparian buffer from
Pine Creek and is above
floodplain; connected
to canoe-kayak launch
by gravel access
road only for
loading and
unloading.
Pine Creek Gorge, PA, as a Model
Kayak launch and
campground inside
riparian buffer, viewed
from creek. Accessible only
by bicycle trail or kayak/canoe.
Camping shelters inside forested riparian buffers,
Pine Creek Gorge, PA, accessible only by Pine Creek
(kayak or canoe) and Pine Creek Trail (bicycle or foot).
Child safety on
section of Pine
Creek Trail
that had to
be next to
road.
Educational sign inside
forested riparian buffers on Pine Creek Trail.
Pine Creek, PA, as a Model:
Watercraft infrastructure
promotes tourism and educational access to elusive
wildlife.
(Photos: above, courtesy John Dillon, Pine Creek
Outfitters, and Curt Weinhold Photography; left, US Dept of Interior;
middle, Public Affairs, US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District)
Transforming Genesee River
corridor by combining
forested riparian buffers,
recreational features,
and tourism helps fuel
economic revitalization
for all of NY.
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic
Preservation, 2010 Statewide Trails Plan, Fig. 4; Triple
Divide Water Trail is one of longest north/south water trails in NY
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation
and Historic Preservation, 2010
Statewide Trails Plan, Fig. 1,
Greenway Trails Network
Plan gives priority rank to Genesee Valley
Greenway (GVG) and includes Triple Divide
Trail System, which includes GVG and
Upper Genesee-WAG Trail (which extends
from Wellsville, NY, to NY/PA state line)
Increase funding for Genesee
River conservation by tying it
to Economic Revitalization
and Conservation of PA side
of Triple Divide Region:
Headwaters of Three Rivers
of National Significance
(Count Congressional Reps.)
Triple
Divide
Greenway
(Triple
Divide Trail
System)
Ca. 230 miles
of rail-trails,
blueways,
nature parks, &
forested
riparian buffers,
Rochester, NY,
to Williamsport,
PA.
Genesee River, Turning Point Park, Rochester, NY
Many cyclists in Williamsport, PA, often bicycle the entire ca. 70 miles of the
finished section of the Pine Creek Trail on weekends. A hardy few even
bicycle both ways on the same day (almost 140 miles total). Youth in
Rochester will reap educational and health benefits when they can safely
bicycle on a similar trail through riparian buffers and educational nature
parks all the way from Lake Ontario to Letchworth State Park and beyond
to the sources of the Genesee River at the Triple Continental Divide.
Photo courtesy Cappy Collins and Cyclopedia Rochester
Issues for Discussion in Lake Ontario Conservation
(1) Counter-productive to ignore upper Genesee River: Sediment, toxins, nutrients
flow downstream to Lake Ontario. Water flows downstream.
(2) More cost-effective to invest in riparian buffer development in upper Genesee
River: Land is much less expensive in Allegany County than in Rochester area.
(3) Obstacles to whole-river system approach: Institutional boundaries (2 states; 2
regions of DEC; 2 regions of OPRHP; 3 regional planning councils in NY; configuration
of regional economic development councils puts Allegany County with Buffalo); lack
of trained staff, advocacy groups, funding resources in impoverished upper river area
(4) Help Congressional officials find allies for funds by "Triple Divide Trail System"
strategy of making Rochester's harbor and Genesee River into a multi-state issue
(Triple Divide Trail System Strategic Plan & links on Genesee River Wilds website;
connects to Susquehanna Greenway for possible "Chesapeake-Ontario Greenway")
(5) Ineffective to try to recruit stakeholders for riparian buffer development in
Allegany County without addressing rural poverty by transforming riparian buffers
into recreational resources for tourism, retaining young professionals needed to
create new jobs, and other forms of economic revitalization. This benefits all of NY.
(6) Increase collaboration of federal/state agencies (Army Corps of Engineers, EPA,
DOT, DEC, OPRHP, etc.), regional/county planning offices, conservation groups
(Genesee Valley Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, etc.), and recreation (Genesee Valley
Greenway, Rochester Cycling Alliance, Adirondack Mountain Club, etc.)
Upper Genesee River:
Everyone lives downstream.
What can be done:
Make connections
www.geneseeriverwilds.org
Slide show and unattributed photos: Allen Kerkeslager, Saint Joseph's University
Photo courtesy Wellsville Daily Reporter and GateHouse
Media (4/2011), Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0