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Ticks. Those pesky creatures that every hiker, dog owner, and outdoor enthusiast tries desperately to avoid. A lot of people think that planting more gardens or letting your grass grow higher will attract these little “buggers,” but that is not typically the case. Ticks are small, blood-feeding parasites related to spiders and mites that are capable of carrying and transmitting diseases. In general, ticks tend to be found in forested areas, along the edges where woods and lawn meet, and around stone walls and woodpiles where small mammals live. Adult ticks mostly feed upon white-tailed deer. When done feeding, they drop off and lay their eggs on the forest floor. The following year, the eggs hatch into larvae. Since deer don’t carry the Lyme bacteria, the tick larvae will only get infected and be carriers if they feed on an animal that carries the bacteria, which is most often a white-footed mouse. While tick larvae may also feed on other small mammals like squirrels and opossums, these creatures have much better grooming habits than mice – grooming off and eating most of the ticks who try to feed on them. Because some mammals are so good at grooming, they help keep tick populations under control and reduce the risk of people being bitten. Studies reveal that the greater the diversity of animal species, the fewer the number of ticks, and the less chance of Lyme bacteria spreading to people. Therefore, it can be said that a yard and landscape with more biodiversity means more choices for ticks to feed on, like opossums and squirrels, and also means more predators, such as owls, hawks, snakes, and foxes that help control the mouse population. So what is happening in Western New York, and why are we seeing an uprise in tick populations? Changes in our weather patterns, as well as decreasing habitat and diversity, are influencing tick numbers, the survival of their hosts (deer and mice), and the bacterium that causes the diseases they carry. Not only are the geographic areas in which ticks can survive expanding because of changes in climate, but our milder winters result in more deer and therefore more ticks surviving the cold season. In addition, as development increases and more habitat is chunked up and fragmented, the very animals that tend to be infected with Lyme disease (mice and chipmunks) thrive in these landscapes. Other animals that might control the number of Lyme-infected rodents, like foxes and weasels, are unfortunately, relatively scarce. To compound the issue, some ecologists believe that the coyote is competing with foxes. These scientists have found a rough correlation between high coyote densities in New York state and lower fox numbers, and a higher prevalence of Lyme disease. By displacing foxes, who specialize in hunting rodents, coyotes may have changed the behavior and abundance of rodents – and aided the spread of Lyme. So, together with changes in weather patterns, and an increasing fragmentation of land changing our ecosystem and affecting the populations of predators large and small, we are seeing an increase in the number of ticks and, as a result, more Lyme-infected ticks. So what can we do in our yards to help? Replace invasive shrubs. Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii), Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), and Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) create perfect environments for ticks and their hosts and reduce species diversity. Three native substitutions include Northern Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), and Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia). Increase biodiversity and habitat structure. Create garden areas with multiple layers of native trees and shrubs that offer food and shelter for a more diverse ecosystem. Increased biodiversity fosters predators like snakes (yes…snakes are good!), owls, hawks, and foxes which can lead to fewer mice, fewer ticks, and less disease. Make a mulch “moat.” Add a 2-foot-wide barrier of dry wood chips or bark on your garden edges. Ticks can’t tolerate this type of dry and hot habitat. Ticks aren’t going anywhere, but the plants in your landscape can definitely influence their numbers and occurrence. Prevention and knowledge are always key when it comes to these “buggers.” Let’s increase the diversity of life in our gardens, create “moat” madness, and make our yards less inviting to ticks! Article by Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservationist

If you are a Chautauqua County hunter and have deer stands or any other hunting equipment located on any Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy nature preserve or other property, we ask you to please remove it no later than March 31, 2024. Beginning April 1, 2024, any hunting stands and/or equipment that remain on our properties will be considered abandoned and disposed of.

I think we can all agree that there was very little “real” winter to be enjoyed this year. The lack of snow and ice not only affects what we humans can do outdoors but also what our wildlife can do. This is the time of year when birds that winter in our area are getting ready to start moving back to their northern breeding ranges. However, the numbers of “winter birds” that our area saw this year was much lower than in more normal winters. Some never even showed up, likely because weather conditions were better suited to our north, so there was no need to travel this far south. Good numbers of tundra swans and several duck species have been present on Chautauqua Lake the past few days to week. These waterfowl tend to get pushed south as lakes freeze, hopscotching from waterbody to waterbody to stay ahead of the ice. Now they are heading back north, and while Chautauqua Lake is ice-free, they’re right at home here. However, that won’t last if lakes to our north are opening up early too. As our winter birds prepare to leave, the first of our “summer birds” are starting to trickle in. Birds that spend their summers here tend to nest and have young here. Many of them leave during the winter, often because they feed primarily on insects of which there are hardly any during periods of freezing weather. Robins are showing up all over the county lately, and the first Red-winged Blackbirds came in last week. A few Killdeer can be seen and heard in open areas and farm fields already, and very soon the Woodcock will start their intricate nighttime display flights. Spring is coming, and it may be upon us early this year. Interestingly, even though warmer temperatures and fewer rainy days allow trees and shrubs to leaf out and bloom earlier, the arrival time of most migratory birds does not seem to change much. An increasingly well-documented pattern is slowly emerging that shows how warmer temperatures are negatively impacting migratory birds. Historically, these birds would arrive back on their summer breeding grounds at a time when there is a peak in their insect prey availability. For example, North American warblers tend to arrive back from the tropics when our trees start to leaf out and recently hatched caterpillars are munching on fresh foliage in large numbers. With the warming temperatures and early leaf-out, butterfly eggs hatch early, caterpillars develop earlier, and they can be hidden in a pupa stage by the time the birds that rely on important caterpillar meals arrive here. Likewise, flowering times and the presence of pollinators are increasingly off these days. These timing issues not only harm birds and pollinators but also our economy, as fruit growers can attest to. So, please enjoy feeling the sun warming your face on a late winter day, but please consider helping the birds and other animals that are impacted by these unseasonably warm weather patterns. Bluebird and Wood Duck nesting boxes help when installed in the right locations, and some of our volunteers are placing wood duck boxes at several of our preserves right now. We are also working to put up several new Osprey nesting platforms before these majestic birds return in late March. And, most importantly, we continue to protect and restore important habitats throughout the county to ensure that canopy cover helps cool the region and that healthy wetlands and forests persist to provide a home for already stressed birds. Please consider supporting these efforts! And of course, keep your eyes to the sky to see the change in seasons and the change in birdlife that comes with it. The Cassadaga Lakes Nature Park may be a good place to visit in the next few months. Our surveys show that it is currently among the most bird-diverse locations known in our county, with over 175 different species of birds observed to date! Because of that, the park was recently added as a destination to the NYS Birding Trail list. Article by Twan Leenders, Director of Conservation for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Top photo of Bill Thomas standing next to one of two wood duck boxes he volunteered to build and install at CWC preserves ahead of the spring wood duck migration and breeding season. (photo courtesy Bill Thomas) Bottom photo of wood ducks by Twan Leenders

As I looked out over Chautauqua Lake last week, I saw waves and open water across most of the lake. This is quite sobering. Our climate has and is changing rapidly – even here! So what does this mean for the health of our lake and the safety of us in our communities? Climatologists and other scientists tell us that we can expect warmer, wetter winters with shorter periods of snow cover and ice cover on our water bodies. This will have many impacts. Instead of having a protective blanket of snow over the landscape slowly melting into the ground and recharging groundwaters for most of the winter, our land surface is being impacted with multiple snow melt and heavy rain-runoff events and erosion events throughout the winter months. This means that more nutrients, including phosphorus-laden soil and plant debris, may be washed into the lake over the winter than in past decades. It also means we have little or no ice and snow cover over the lake to shade submerged aquatic plants such as non-native curly-leafed pondweed which grow through the winter if they receive sunshine. If our lake starts the warm season with higher levels of nutrients from multiple strong winter rainfall runoff events, that also sets up the lake for earlier algae blooms. More intense rainstorms are becoming more frequent over the spring, summer, and fall seasons as well, punctuated with drought periods between. Our fifty- and one-hundred-year storm events are happening way more frequently, causing heavy runoff, flooding, and erosion events which impact public safety, property, infrastructure, and the health of our streams and lake. The scientists who produced the Seneca-Keuka Watershed Nine Element Plan for Phosphorus, completed in August 2022, used a 10% increase in annual precipitation for their modeling of future phosphorus loading to those lakes to take into account the change in precipitation in the Finger Lakes region. Their modeling indicated that phosphorus loading from the watershed would increase by 18% annually in future years! Imagine how much phosphorus reduction needs to be implemented to reduce phosphorus loading for measurable water quality improvements to offset these climate change impacts! For Seneca-Keuka, their goal is to implement a whole slate of best management practices to reduce phosphorus loading by 15-40% in each sub-watershed to achieve a basin-wide 7% annual net reduction within 30 years. Another impact of warming seems to be increasing the temperature stratification of lakes, meaning that the difference in temperature between surface and bottom waters is increasing during the summer. This impedes water circulation, trapping low oxygen waters at the bottom and increasing the frequency of anoxic phosphorus release from lake bottom sediments. This makes more phosphorus available for algae blooms and cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) which are responsible for harmful algae blooms (HABs). For our area’s lakes and communities, there are many actions that municipalities, landowners, and farmers can take to make our watersheds, lakes, and communities more climate resilient. Farmers can implement conservation tillage and responsible crop rotation on farm fields and retain and plant vegetated buffers along watercourses and streams. Towns and villages can strictly enforce floodplain laws and use state-of-the art sources to inform landowners of flood hazards before developing properties. Municipalities must adopt and enforce stormwater laws that require on-site management of stormwater and treatment to protect downstream properties, streams, and our lakes from flooding. Municipalities should also adopt policies and actions that result in no-net loss of forest and wetlands to protect the investments of their taxpayers in community infrastructure and healthy lakes. Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has already begun working with municipalities such as the Towns of Busti, North Harmony, and Poland, Village of Lakewood, and City of Jamestown, as well as Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, and Chautauqua County Soil & Water Conservation District to implement climate resilience, flood control, and pollution control projects to protect public safety, reduce property damage, and enhance the water quality of Chautauqua Lake, Chadakoin River, Cassadaga Creek, and other waterways. Protecting and investing in “green infrastructure” such as enhancing floodplains, constructing wetlands and rain gardens, and re-planting forests are important actions. More projects are on the way with various partners. Considerable state grant funding is available to communities become more resilient and meet these challenges. photo and article by Special Projects Coordinator John Jablonski III

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has earned national recognition as an accredited land trust from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. Accreditation is awarded to land trusts that have completed a comprehensive and rigorous third-party review of their policies and practices and successfully shown that they meet or exceed the highest national standards for excellence, accountability, and conservation permanence. Demonstrating such a strong commitment to these standards helps to enhance the trust and confidence a land trust has with its conservation partners, members, donors, foundations, landowners, and communities in which they work. It also has the potential to open up additional funding opportunities in furtherance of the land trust’s mission. “It is exciting to recognize Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy with this national mark of distinction,” said Melissa Kalvestrand, executive director of the Commission. “Donors and partners can trust that the more than 450 accredited land trusts across the country are united behind strong standards and have demonstrated sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting stewardship.” Per the Commission, “accredited land trusts steward almost 20 million acres of land – the size of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island combined.” As most of our supporters and followers know, we have been working since 1990 to preserve and enhance the quality, natural beauty, biological diversity, ecological health, and outdoor recreational opportunities of the lands and waters throughout the Chautauqua region for present and future generations. Today, we own and actively manage 35 nature preserves on more than 1,250 acres of land, protecting numerous wetlands and other sensitive habitats. We also provide programs to educate residents, landowners, businesses, governments, and other organizations about best land management practices and other conservation tools for community involvement in protecting the region’s natural resources. One of those programs, LakeScapes, was given special recognition by the Commission during the Conservancy’s accreditation review process. Rebecca Nystrom, our board of directors chair, commented that, “It is with a deep sense of accomplishment and gratitude that Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has achieved the distinction and honor of national accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, in recognition of our 34+ years of steadfast, adaptive, and effective programs and activities protecting the vital ecosystems, water quality, and the scenic beauty of the woodlands, wetlands, waterways, and shorelands of the Chautauqua region. Special recognition and thanks must be given to our dedicated staff, whose diligence and countless hours rigorously documenting the Conservancy’s fiscal accountability, strong organizational leadership, conservation ethic, and commitment to national standards of excellence were invaluable in achieving this recognition." If you want to know more about accreditation and/or the process, visit the Land Trust Accreditation’s website at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.

I want you all to know about something that is very near and dear to my heart. Something that I have spent the last 16 years of my life fully consumed in (and still am today). It’s called composting. I might be what some people call a composting nut. Chances are, if we have spoken, it is extremely likely that I have somehow managed to mention composting in our conversation. We all know what it is, right? But do we actually know how absolutely amazing it is for the environment? Or what it can do for our ever-changing climate? Let’s start with this tidbit: in 2019, the EPA estimated that 66 million tons of food were wasted, and about 60% of that was sent to landfills. What is 60% of 66 million? 39,600,000 tons of food. Not even pounds. Tons. That is 87,303,055,825 pounds of food. That was before the pandemic. Now let’s break down and get into what is happening to your food when you choose to compost and why you should start doing it. Composting is a controlled, aerobic (oxygen-required) process that converts organic materials into a nutrient-rich, biologically stable soil amendment or mulch through natural decomposition. Microorganisms that occur naturally feed on materials added to a compost pile during the composting process. These microorganisms use carbon (browns like leaves) and nitrogen (greens like food) to grow and reproduce, moisture to digest materials, and oxygen to breathe. They break it all down into its simplest parts through aerobic digestion. Most importantly, the end-product is called one of my favorite subjects – compost. What’s best about composting is that you can do it at home or at work by using food scraps from what you eat in the kitchen and organic material from outside. It’s an eco-friendly way to drastically reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, recycle nutrients, and mitigate the impact of droughts. There are so many more benefits of composting. Here are some, just to name a few: Protecting the climate by reducing methane emissions from landfills. (According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, between 5% and 20% of global human-caused methane emissions are from food in landfills.) Reducing waste and extending municipal landfill life by diverting organic materials and saving space in landfills. Recycling organic materials into a valuable soil amendment that helps flowers and trees grow. Recovering organic materials and keeping them local. Improving soil health by adding organic matter, which helps the soil retain moisture and nutrients, attracts beneficial organisms to the soil, and reduces the need for pesticides and fertilizers. Making your garbage less smelly and weigh considerably less. Creating green jobs if implemented at a municipality scale. (Teaser alert for Chautauqua County!) Saving you money on buying mulch or other nutrient additives that you get for your plants. Composting is a resourceful way to recycle the food scraps and yard debris you generate at home all year long and manage your waste more sustainably. It involves minimal effort, equipment, expense, and expertise, and it can be quite fun. You can use your compost to build healthier soil, prevent soil erosion, conserve water, and improve plant growth in your garden and yard. If you are at all interested in starting composting at your home, office, or business but don’t know where to start, give me a call! I would love to talk to you about how to set that up. Also, if you are at all interested in becoming a customer for a composting service for your home or business, Clearwater Composting is now accepting new customers. Depending on where you live, you also might be lucky enough to be a part of the future composting pilot program taking place in Jamestown and surrounding areas. Stay tuned for that, and happy composting! Article and photo by Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Land Specialist Bethany O'Hagan

Bare root, you say? What in the world does that mean? Back in the day when plastic containers were not a thing, this was the way that trees were harvested, planted, or transplanted throughout the United States. Bare root trees are trees that are dormant and typically dug in the fall and stored in a cool, damp place without any soil around their roots until they can be planted again in early spring. How is this better than a tree sold in a container? One, bare root plants have more root mass. Their roots have been allowed to grow long and fibrous, whereas container trees typically have been cut to fit the pot and have nowhere to grow except round and round. Two, bare root plants cost less. Without the extra cost of a plastic container, soil, and labor to put the tree in the pot, bare root plants cost a nursery less, and thus, the consumer can take advantage of this lower cost as well. Three, bare root plants are easier to plant. A tree and/or shrub without any soil attached weighs very little and is much easier to transport and plant. Are there any disadvantages to buying and planting bare root? Time is of the essence with bare root plants. Once they leave the nursery, bare root plants need to get in the ground within a week. With no soil, the roots can dry out and die if left exposed for any time. Bare root plants need good soil moisture, so early spring is the best time for planting. Here in Western New York, as long as the ground isn’t frozen and the soil isn’t too wet and mushy, you can plant. And don’t worry if we get a freeze or a foot of snow after you plant your bare root. The roots are protected and insulated in the soil, and so long as the plant was planted correctly and there are no air pockets, it will survive and thrive in the coming years. In addition, some species of trees and shrubs may not be available or do not respond well as a bare root plant, and/or some nurseries may not have trees available for bare root retail sale at all. Thank goodness that is not the case in Chautauqua County. Bare root plants are alive and growing strong at the Chautauqua County Soil & Water Conservation District. Their 2024 annual tree and shrub sale has begun, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of this wonderful event. (See https://soilwater.org/annual-tree-shrub-sale.) Seedlings are an inexpensive way to replace trees that have been damaged, harvested, or lost to disease. Orders are on a first come, first serve basis and need to be placed by April 1st. This year’s catalog offers 31 species native to New York, with 25 of those being native to Chautauqua County. In addition, Turnbull Nursery and Garden Center’s “Bare Root Barn,” located in North Collins, NY, has an incredible selection of mature-sized native bare root trees, shrubs, and small fruits in stock from mid-March to May 1st. (See https://www.turnbullgardencenter.com/bare_root.php.) An updated catalog will be available online in February. Customers can call in orders or go to the center and purchase bare root plants in person during March and April. If the weather is not conducive for planting, the nursery will hold your plants for you in their underground storage. As soon as your ground is ready for planting, pick up your plants and get them planted in the ground immediately! So why not . . . dare to go bare this spring! For assistance with choosing which native trees and shrubs to plant and/or bare root planting instructions, contact Chautauqua Watershed Conservationist Carol Markham at 716-664-2166 ext. 2005 or carol@chautauquawatershed.org. Article by Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservationist Photo courtesy Turnbull Nursery

This article, written by Eric Tichy, was originally published in the The Post Journal newspaper and on www.post-journal.com on 1/23/2024 and has been (re)posted here with permission. Efforts to bolster the Chadakoin River in Jamestown are well underway this year. “We’re actually making great progress,” said Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy director of conservation. Together with the Chautauqua Soil & Water Conservation District and the city of Jamestown, the conservancy has focused on river cleanup and bank stabilization. That has included the removal of debris, such as trees and other impediments, from the water. Work has been funded through hundreds of thousands of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated by the city. The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy continues to seek grants, using ARPA funds as leverage for possible matching funds. “We’re trying to be proactive here. We’re trying to minimize the damage,” Leenders said of the recent work that’s taken place. “We’re trying to avoid moving lots of sediment. We’re trying to avoid having large holes in the bank that could potentially undercut the path or even take parts of the path with it.” Most recently, Leenders said, work has focused on shoreline stabilization near the train station toward the Main Street bridge. He said some sections of the riverbank have been “severely undercut” due to the Warner Dam and the way it’s used to maintain Chautauqua Lake water levels. He said work has been complicated by numerous trees that have been growing on the riverbank that are either dead, dying or are invasive to the region. “The ones that were doing well were doing too well — didn’t belong here and were gradually taking over,” Leenders said. He alluded to the presence of the black locust tree, which he said “grows where nothing else grows.” “It’s some of the hardest wood around. It doesn’t really rot,” Leenders said. “So we’re leaving the roots in place. They won’t really rot away. We had the concern that if we would remove those, it would destabilize the bank even more.” He added, “We tried to just kind of minimize the impact on the actual bank.” Crews have placed several large rocks in front of the bank. Leenders said the rocks will protect the riverbank from the undercutting that has been taking place “for the last however many decades.” Leenders has provided several updates on their progress to members of the Jamestown City Council. He last spoke to the council during a September meeting, where he requested additional funding for Phase 2 of the restoration project. At that meeting, Leenders said there were about 120 trees that “require our attention” in the form of trimming and pruning. He further said there were more than a dozen trees that were already creating issues and needed to be removed. Additional funding, Leenders told the council, also would go toward a new round of herbicide treatment and removal of the tree of heaven to limit the threat of the spotted lanternfly. Part of the conservancy’s mission is to establish a “living shoreline” of plants and rocks. Plants and other vegetation are scheduled to be installed in late May or early June; the plants are already on order. Recent work at the river has targeted problematic trees. “The bigger concern I had was that if any of the trees would fall over with the roots still in place,” he said. “Because they were undercut, every one of these trees — even just leaning into the basin — would have left a truck-size hole in the bank, which would have just made the repairs just that much more expensive and extensive.” Efforts at the river also have provided the crew with a bit of a history lesson. Leenders noted the former building foundations still visible where factories once stood over the river. He said the flowing water often was used for the disposal of materials and waste. “The Chadakoin River has always been the economic driver for the city of Jamestown,” Leenders said. “I just love the idea that the Chadakoin River would still become an economic driver of the city of Jamestown, but in a very different way than historically. “It’s not so much powering factories, or becoming a garbage disposal, or a way to move logs to sawmills for the furniture industry. Giving what the world’s doing with environmental changes and climate changes to not just think of the river as something that’s just there and ignore it. “I think if we develop it right, it’ll have such a great impact on the community. Even if you’ve never walked the Riverwalk, you still benefit from the clean water that it’s providing.” (photo of an excavator near the Warner Dam by Eric Tichy)

The first of our winter Hemlock Woolly Adelgid surveys took place yesterday (1/19/2024) at our Dobbins Woods Preserve in Ashville, with members of our staff and conservation committee and our two SUNY JCC interns looking for signs of infestations of this invasive insect during its dormant period. We are happy to report that no signs of HWA were found at the preserve! The group also traveled to Lakewood to check on a number of trees that had a reported infestation a couple of years ago and that had been treated for it. As of yesterday, those trees showed no signs of HWA activity, meaning the treatments are so far working! On a not-so-happy note, some trees on adjacent properties now have an infestation. These infestations appear to be localized to just a few neighbors, though, so if those trees can be treated now, many or all of those hemlocks can be spared. HWA is an invasive, aphid-like insect that attacks North American hemlocks. They are very small and often hard to see, but they are easily identified by the white, cotton-like “woolly” masses they form on the underside of branches at the base of the tree’s needles. HWA feed on a hemlock’s stored starches, which disrupts the flow of nutrients to the tree’s twigs and needles. The health of the tree then declines, and without intervention or treatment, the tree will eventually die, usually within 4 to 10 years. If you see a hemlock tree with an infestation, please report it to us or to WNY PRISM (wnyprism.org). photos by Janis Alm Bowman and Bethany O'Hagan

The winter cold is upon us, and it might have you worried about wildlife, wondering where they go or how they find food in our harsh winters. Wildlife in Western New York has survived winters for many thousands of years with a host of different adaptations to survive cold temperatures, scarce food supplies, and deep snow. They have survived over time without the help of people and will continue to do so. Activities like bird feeding are just a supplemental food source in times when food is scarce and weather is nasty. So, if you ever feel like you want to “help” wildlife in the cold, rest assured that our local wildlife is well suited to naturally cope with WNY winters using some of the following techniques. Fattening up: In fall, many animals go on a feeding frenzy, fattening up in preparation for the cold winter weather. That may be why our local birds seemed to be somewhat absent from our feeders this fall. It was a year full of acorns, walnuts, beech nuts, and other fatty foods that were available and consumed by birds, squirrels, deer, and chipmunks. Finding food: The animals that are active and on the move during winter need to keep on eating. These include coyotes, fishers, and bobcats, as well as hawks and owls. These critters will hunt for food or scavenge on carcasses of dead animals. Deer undergo a change in their digestive system to feed on twigs, buds, and bark. They, as well as turkeys, will dig through the snow looking for fall nuts and acorns. Chickadees, woodpeckers, sparrows, and finches inspect the ground and crevices in trees for overwintering insects, seeds, and lichens. Staying warm: Mammals like coyotes and raccoons appear larger in winter due to their thick, dense winter coats that keep them warm. Otter, beaver, mink, and muskrat have a double layer coat with extremely dense fine hairs near the body, protected by the visible longer guard hairs. These animals waterproof their fur by regularly rubbing it with body oils, allowing water to slide off instead of soaking in. The winter coats of deer have hollow hairs, which trap air, adding a layer of insulation. Birds will fluff their feathers out, trapping air which acts as insulation, much like a down jacket. Ducks and geese not only have down feathers to protect them, but they too rub oils on their feathers to keep water from sliding off their back. Conserving energy: Deer limit their travels to conserve energy and fat reserves. They naturally seek out areas near food and water with tree cover, which offers shallower snow, milder temperatures, and less wind. Because fish are cold-blooded, they don’t have to worry about staying warm. The two main concerns for fish in the winter are rapid changes in temperature and running out of oxygen. Fish can’t regulate their body temperature like mammals, so if the temperature rises or drops too quickly, they can die. Additionally, thick ice and heavy snow can block sunlight, decreasing oxygen levels and causing a winter fish kill. Hibernating and sleeping: Bears typically enter their winter dens in late fall and exit in late spring. They commonly den underneath brush piles, fallen trees, or rocks. Frogs, turtles, and other reptiles and amphibians will burrow into the pond mud. They may still “freeze” but have the ability to thaw out for the spring. Woodchucks are “true” hibernators – their heartbeat slows and their body temperature lowers, which conserves energy as they slowly burn through their fat reserves in the long winter months. Skunks will sleep through much of winter, but when temperatures go above freezing, they may wake up and move about looking for food. Tunneling in: Mice, voles, and other small mammals will create tunnels through the snow, serving as insulation from cold, escaping predators, and feeding on grasses and seeds from the past year's growing season. Now that you know how wildlife copes with the cold, remember . . . no worries, and when in doubt . . . the best way to help them make it through the winter is to step back and allow their instincts to take over. Article by Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservationist Photos by Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Director of Conservation

As we close out one year and look forward to another, let’s look back at 2023 and the accomplishments of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. In 2023, we learned from days of suffering from wildfire smoke that we here in western New York can’t hide from the deleterious impacts of climate change. We saw a Chautauqua Lake that didn’t solidly freeze over for ice fishing, and winter conditions for cross country skiing and snowmobiling only lasted a few days. It’s clear that our climate is changing and now affecting not just people in other places but us here too! Also in 2023, the Conservancy transitioned from its leader of 33 years to Whitney Gleason, our new executive director. With the help of multiple donors and grantors, the Conservancy acquired for conservation an additional 190 acres of land at seven sites across the county. That is the size equivalent of 144 football fields! We completed our Fish Hawks and Steelhead Habitat Conservation Campaign, resulting in the conservation of 14 acres of picturesque forest at the mouth of Chautauqua Creek on Lake Erie as the McCray-Peckinpaugh Nature Preserve, 31 acres of floodplain and successional forest on Goose Creek as the Southern Tier Brewing Company Preserve, and 25 acres as The Pry Wetlands, which feed water to the Vukote Canal at Chautauqua Lake. In addition, Wilson Huhn donated 50 acres of beautiful forest on Cheney Creek to establish the Mary and Tom Huhn Nature Park. Susan Abram and Alan Kowlowitz donated 34 acres of meadows and forest in Pomfret to establish the Abram Nature Preserve. With the help of Barbara Swift Suckow and her son Kyle, and others, we were able to acquire 22 acres of floodplain and wetlands to establish a new preserve called Kyle’s Landing – at Cassadaga Creek.  This preserve protects habitats adjacent to a popular paddle craft launch at Red Bird Corners, only a half-mile south of our 150-acre Cassadaga Creek Wetland Preserve. We also conserved 14 acres of important waterfowl habitat as wetlands on the northwest end of Bear Lake. Conservancy staff and volunteers have been busy marking the boundaries on all of these new sites. Trail and parking improvements will be made on the sites that are suited for hiking and will be opened for public use in 2024. Carol Markham, our conservationist, provided LakeScapes landscaping consultations to over 200 landowners desiring to enhance their lakefront and watershed properties for wildlife habitat and/or water quality protection. Engaging landowners to enhance their privately-owned lands continues to be a priority conservation activity. Our team greatly expanded its activities to assist local governments and the county to evaluate stormwater and flooding problems and address degraded conditions in local waterways. We have engaged crews to clear log jams and large trees causing erosion problems on the Chadakoin River from downtown Jamestown to Falconer, addressed four sites in Falconer, sites on Conewango Creek in the (Town of) Poland, and additional sites on our county’s waterways. These projects help manage severe erosion, reduce flooding and property damage, and make these waterways more suitable for recreation. Lastly, Twan Leenders, our director of conservation, again led citizen-science aquatic invasive species identification efforts. Sandra Emke served as our seasonal aquatic invasive species coordinator this summer undertaking efforts to identify and remove Eurasian Water Chestnut from Chautauqua Lake and its outlet. We also facilitated help from the Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance, and the Towns of Chautauqua and North Harmony to deliver a pilot project to remove invasive Starry Stonewort from the lake. The conservation activities of this organization give us a way to conserve lands and grow forests to fight climate change, save important wildlife habitat, and protect water quality right here in Chautauqua County! You can learn more and support these efforts at www.chautauquawatershed.org. The staff and board of the Conservancy thank all of you who supported our activities and volunteered over 2023!  We wish you and your family a happy new year! Article by John Jablonski III, Special Projects Coordinator Photo by Twan Leenders, Director of Conservation

It’s a wrap on our LakeScapes program for 2023, and it remains as popular as ever! This year, Conservationist Carol Markham provided consultations to 206 property owners – bringing our total to 747 since the program’s start in 2020! Thank you to everyone who has participated in this great program! As a refresher, our LakeScapes program is a lake-friendly landscaping and lawncare program aimed at educating property owners on how their personal landscaping and lawncare maintenance choices can impact the region’s water quality and wildlife, regardless of where they live or what size property they own. Through the program, Carol provides free one-on-one consultations and technical assistance, including native plant recommendations, and with a donation, can also provide a personalized landscape design. Carol has already started booking consultations for the spring of 2024. If you’d like one, call her at 716-664-2166 x1005 or email her at Carol@chautauquawatershed.org!

Backyard bird feeding is a wonderful way to connect to our own yards, learn about our western NY bird species, and help our feathered friends endure the long cold months of winter. Preparing and filling your feeders with sunflower seeds, nuts, and thistle, as well as cakes of suet and fat, are perfect foods to offer your feathered friends. But as we watch and observe our flying visitors, it’s never too early to think about what other beneficial things we can do to help our local birds and wildlife besides just offering seed and suet. During the colder months, birds and other mammals must find food. Berries, seeds, and protected tree limbs and shrubs are more difficult to find and not as plentiful as in the warmer months. We can help by modifying our home gardens and substituting in some shrubs with sustenance and protein for the birds. At the same time, these shrubs will be a haven for wildlife and protect them from predators and the harsh elements of winter. These beneficial native shrubs are not only valuable for birds but are also a wonderful addition to the landscape as well as beautifying our homes during the holidays. Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous evergreen that holds its bright red berries on its leafless stems and is a stunning contrast against the winter white. It dries well and is used quite often for holiday decorations. You will love the showy splash of color in your winter landscape, and the birds will love you for growing it. Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a semi-evergreen that is noted for its ornamental silver berries that persist into winter and attract many species of birds. Fruit is only produced on female plants, so one male and one female shrub are required. The dense shrub provides great protection for many garden critters, and the foliage, stems, and berries are bayberry-scented when crushed and are a natural insect repellent. Cranberrybush (Viburnum trilobum), also known as Highbush Cranberry, is a larger shrub that is a beautiful all-season addition to any garden. Beautiful white, flat-topped flowers develop into tasty red fruits in the summer months. Fall brings stunning maroon/red colored leaves, and the desiccated red fruit hang on and serve as food for wildlife in winter. We can also consume these berries, and they make a wonderful jam/jelly. Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) and Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) are multi-seasonal shrubs that have beautiful white flowers in early spring, glossy green foliage in summer, spectacular orange-red autumn hues, and dazzling pendulous blue/purple fruits that attract wildlife and persist well into winter months. Besides introducing new native shrubs to your landscape, gardeners can also provide food and habitat to native wildlife by stepping away from a clean, tightly pruned garden and embrace the benefit, beauty and utility of leaving the dead stalks and brown flower heads standing in their winter garden. Feeding birds is a wonderful hobby that many western New Yorkers enjoy. And what a way to enhance your own personal yard but to leave your fall beauty on the ground and, in the spring, plant these stunning native shrubs to help winter be a little more tolerant for the birds and us! By Carol Markham, Conservationist for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

As we approach the cold, beautiful winter here in Western New York, I was taken aback as a transplant to the area to find out that salt was still being used on our roads, especially since there is such an abundance of freshwater lakes, streams, and tributaries that play a crucial role in our local economy and overall health of our region. I am no scientist, but I do understand the simplicity of how salt negatively affects our water. In the off chance you don’t know how salt affects our environment, lean in and buckle up! In the U.S., road salting became a standard practice in the 1940s. We’ve been dramatically increasing the amount of salt used per mile since the 1970s, even in places where we don’t have any substantial increases in the number of road miles. Road salt, which is used to melt ice and snow on roadways, has a negative impact on the environment because it runs off into nearby lakes, rivers, and streams, and filters into our groundwater. Salt pollution accumulates into groundwater and surface waters, where it can persist for decades. Salty water interacts with soils, rocks, and pipes, aiding contaminants and degrading freshwater. When we layer this salt on our roads, driveways, and parking lots in the winter to give us traction for our cars and shoes, much of it also ends up in our waterways. In short, salt on our pavement dissolves into snow melt and stormwater runoff, and the salty runoff eventually flows into storm drains that empty into rivers and streams without being treated. As a result, our freshwater streams are growing increasingly salty each year. Salt applications for de-icing are a major source of chloride to groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes and ultimately end up in our drinking water. Have you ever wondered if there is a direct link between liberally salting our roadways and driveways and having overly chlorinated drinking water? And what about algae blooms in our lakes? “Chloride salts don’t break down, and they’re not used anywhere in the biological process from the point they’re applied. And they are water soluble, so ninety-five percent of all chloride salts used either by the residential users or the homeowner ends up in the waterways. And it accumulates because it doesn’t break down,” explains Mitch Vestal, President of Advanced Organics LLC. Since they don’t break down, they end up collecting at the bottom of lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water where they affect many of the organisms that live in those waterways. Vestal also says that “they end up getting smaller, and they can’t consume as much of what we need them to consume. So that’s why we end up with algae blooms and why that problem gets worse as chloride salt accumulations grow.” Algae blooms affect the whole ecosystem of a lake. So, applying salt can also affect our economy via tourism and property values. Even non-toxic algae can make water cloudy or murky, which is bad aesthetically for Chautauqua Lake and other area lakes. Per Rick Relyea, a professor of biological sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who studied how road salt runoff impacts lakes as part of the Jefferson Project at Lake George, NY, “having more algae and less clarity in the water makes the value of those lakes go down to people. It’s not just a biological problem. It’s an aesthetic problem, a tourism problem, an economic problem; it’s all these things.” Using less salt is the answer in many cases, and educating people to pour less of it on their driveways and sidewalks could help mitigate these problems a ton. What do you think we should use instead of salt? I have heard of many other options, such as beet juice, kitty litter, and sand. Let’s all think about what we can do to change this antiquated habit when we have the opportunity. What kind of decisions would you make for our lakes and waterways? Let’s all come up with a better solution to help our region thrive. Article by Bethany O'Hagan, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Land Specialist

As we find ourselves bundling up, heading outside, and putting our lawns and backyards to bed for the winter, it may be difficult to think about how our basic yard care and landscaping habits can affect our environment, let alone our planet. We know that our individual yards and landscapes play a critical role in the health of both the watershed we live in and the earth as a whole. Yet we often don’t see how the simple practices of gardening and landscaping in our front yards could possibly influence the changes we have been experiencing in our weather and environment. We’re too little, and the problem is too big, right? What if we could change our thoughts about our yards and landscapes as being more than ornamental and curb-appealing? What about starting to think of our yards as their own living entities – a multi-dimensional environmental solution! But how do we do this? And why? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a watershed as “an area of land that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or even the ocean.” That means that every Chautauqua County property or area of land, regardless of its size or location or use, can be thought of and described as a “mini-watershed.” Why is this important? Because all of the water that rains on our homes and flows through our yards and streets ends up in a waterway. For us in Chautauqua County, that means eventually draining into Chautauqua Lake or Lake Erie, depending on where in the county you live. What we do in and around our yards definitely affects not only the quality of water we drink but the water we fish, swim, boat, and play in and under as well! In a yard acting as a mini-watershed, rain and stormwater hit a rooftop or driveway and then run off into an area filled with native plants and vegetation. Water is slowed and allowed to either seep into the yard and become groundwater or move through it slowly as runoff, getting filtered and absorbed by plant roots and eventually finding its way into a local waterway. Either way, water quality is improved because the water is allowed to sit, stay, and be absorbed and filtered by your native landscape. Runoff into nearby roadside ditches is slowed and erosion and possible flooding is minimized. A “watershed approach to landscaping” is really just a fancy way to encourage homeowners to really think about their yards and begin to change their landscapes into purposeful, functional ecosystems – a yard that can capture its own stormwater, slow down rain and runoff, and provide a healthy living environment for its owner and the wildlife that lives there! And the best thing about using this watershed approach on individual properties is that those properties now become part of a bigger solution, acting together to make communities more sustainable and resilient and positively influencing our weather-related environmental changes! So you may be thinking . . . this all sounds great, but how do I even begin to go about creating a mini-watershed or living ecosystem in my own yard? Well, there is a new publication in town that talks about this, and you are going to want to read it! With the generous support of the Rockwell Foundation, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has created an amazing magazine called “Working with Nature” which includes inspiring stories from people and communities working to create a more sustainable and resilient Chautauqua County. As stated by our executive director, Whitney Gleason, this publication “is more than just a magazine – it’s a movement aimed at recognizing and celebrating a culture of environmental responsibility right at home. It is a valuable resource offering real world and local examples of what you can accomplish in your own backyards.” If you are interested in learning more about a watershed approach to landscaping and/or are interested in a printed copy of our “Working with Nature” publication, please contact our conservationist, Carol Markham, at 716-664-2166 ext. 1005 or stop by our office at 71 East Fairmount Avenue in Lakewood. You can also download a copy here. Article by Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservationist

Expect to see some increased activity in the downtown Jamestown area over the next several weeks as the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, together with the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, will be addressing severe bank erosion issues in the Chadakoin River basin and along the bank sections of the Chadakoin River between the Warner Dam and Main Street bridge. Over the past few years, we have been monitoring the undercutting that is taking place along the shoreline of the Chadakoin River basin below the train station. This bank section is subject to the hydrological impacts from the Warner Dam’s opening and closing. Downtown riverbanks consist mostly of historic fill material which is not stable and has been eroding away for many decades. In addition, the water level in the basin is purposefully maintained at the exact same level each summer because the Warner Dam helps set the desired Chautauqua Lake level. This has caused the north shore of the basin to be undercut by more than two feet in places. This area is now critically unstable and could collapse at any time. This risk is exacerbated by the poor health of the trees along the shore, which are impacted by the same hydrological challenges (water exposing/undercutting/damaging their roots). All of the trees lining the shore below the train station are currently dead, dying, or of an undesirable species for the location (e.g., the Black Locust, which is rapidly causing new problems for the City’s park’s department). These trees are now at risk of falling into the basin, which would cause significant and highly visible damage to the banks and trigger costly repairs if dealt with reactively. Through an ARPA allocation from the City of Jamestown to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, we are able to pre-emptively remove all compromised trees and rebuild the banks using sustainable “living shoreline” principles, similar to those applied to the basin’s opposite shore in 2017-18. This will create a beautiful and resilient long-term solution for the lingering challenges that this area has been facing for a very long time. These bank restoration efforts will also form the literal foundation for any future development and activation initiatives that are being planned for the basin area. Downstream from the Warner Dam, hydrological action of dam-released water similarly erodes away low-lying banks and causes sediment loss, negative impacts on water quality, and an ongoing need for costly repairs. Water damage and, more recently, beaver damage has led to the near total loss of trees along the section of the Chadakoin River between the Warner Dam and the North Main Street bridge. Regular flooding at the lowest points (near the Main Street bridge) has rendered this section of the riverwalk unusable for recreational activities (and potentially dangerous due to the risk of people falling in the river because of unstable banks). Here, too, we will remove compromised trees and rebuild the banks using a combination of stacked rocks and native shoreline vegetation to form a beautiful and resilient natural-looking shoreline. Apart from providing increased bank stability, these restoration efforts will also greatly improve the aesthetic “curb appeal” of the downtown area and publicly accessible Riverwalk. In addition, they will result in critical improvements to the health and environmental quality of the Chadakoin River and its downstream watershed. Runoff from approximately 150 acres of lawn and impervious urban surface (streets, parking lots, etc.) enters the river after each rainstorm through the areas we’re improving. The new living shorelines will allow storm water to infiltrate, and their vegetation will help filter sediment and pollutants, thus improving the river’s water quality and fish habitat. The loss of the existing trees along the project area may be a jarring sight in the short term, but once the newly restored banks are planted next spring, and new trees are added, we can all enjoy watching the downtown area come alive in new ways! photo and article by Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Director of Conservation Top photo: A section of the Chadakoin River basin shows severe undercutting of its bank and a precarious condition of bank trees. Work will soon begin to restore the bank, building it out to the edge of the exposed shelf to create a sloping design that allows for birds, turtles, and other wildlife to readily enter and exit the basin. Additional site photos: Above - the north shore of the Chadakoin River section below the Warner Dam. Note the supersaturated soil and wrack line of pine needles (blue arrows) that indicate recent water levels. Regular flooding softens this bank and causes sediment loss and erosion, which is routinely patched when sections collapse. Below - An example of ongoing spot repairs throughout the proposed project areas. Note the proximity of the Riverwalk and the high visibility of these costly and unsustainable patches.

If you have been to meetings about the management of Chautauqua Lake’s plants or algae in the last 30 years, then you’ve likely heard someone proclaim the need to “dredge the lake” or “dredge the outlet.” The Chautauqua Lake Outlet was dredged over 100 years ago for steamboat navigation. Canals leading to the lake have also been dredged. Streams produce deltas – sand and gravel bars where the current slows and where the stream drops its coarse sediment loads. Dredging navigation channels for marinas and boat access at creek mouths has happened routinely through the years on this lake. Municipalities have dredged the bars at the mouth of various streams. In a natural stream system, those sediment “crescents” act as dams and slow water upstream, causing it to flood its floodplain and drop debris and sediments upstream, with less going into the lake. Many owners of creekfront properties want creek mouths dredged to reduce the incidence of flooding and property damage. Some with boats in creeks upstream want the mouths of the creeks dredged so they can motor in and out of the lake. Some delta deposits, such as at Dutch Hollow Creek, can extend so far into the lake that they can be navigational hazards to unaware night boaters. The removal of sediment crescents at creek mouths can have negative impacts though, such as allowing the stream to push sediments faster and further into the lake and accelerating bottom erosion in the stream, resulting in even more sediment and nutrients flowing into the lake. Dredging deltas can also remove important fish spawning and nesting habitat. Presently, some people are suggesting dredging organic sediments on a scale large enough to try to reduce internal phosphorus loading to the lake, while others suggest dredging shallow vegetated areas such as Burtis Bay from 3-5 feet down to 11 feet or more to make it difficult for plants to grow to the surface and interfere with boating. In 2012, Chautauqua County hired Ecologic to undertake a dredging feasibility study for several creek mouths and Burtis Bay. The resulting 2013 Dredging Feasibility Report projected that it would cost roughly $3.97 million to dredge 7.4 acres of Burtis Bay down a depth of 2.5 feet, which is not deep enough to make that area free of plant growth. Due to the presence of arsenic in Burtis Bay sediments, it was determined at that time that sediments dredged from this bay would not be able to be used as land cover and, instead, would have to go to a secure landfill such as the Chautauqua County Landfill, with significantly higher cost. Estimates were also made for dredging 4 acres at Bemus Creek, 1 acre at Dutch Hollow Creek, 6.5 acres at Goose Creek, and 7.5 acres at Mud Creek. These estimates, plus the Burtis Bay estimate, totaled $8,977,000, with additional costs for purchasing land for staging and dewatering sediments and for special treatment of arsenic contaminated sediments, etc. The rough total figure came to nearly $10 million to dredge just over 26 acres. The report concluded that, “the dredging of nearshore areas of this lake is feasible, but costly.” It went on to say, “Dredging can help mitigate past sediment deposits, but effective control measures must be in place to reduce the rate of future sediment deposition.” This report can be found at the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance website at chautauqualakealliance.org. In reviewing this report, one may conclude that small-scale channel maintenance dredging for marina access and creek mooring is likely to be economically feasible to continue, but large-scale, high-volume dredging to increase depth to below the zone where light powers plant growth would seem to be very expensive and cost prohibitive. For now, the best we can do is take effective regulatory and voluntary actions to capture and infiltrate stormwater and to control erosion from the watershed, shoreline, and lake bottom. Article by John Jablonski III, Special Projects Coordinator for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy | Photo source: Dredging Feasibility Report Chautauqua Lake, 2013

It is no surprise that spending a leisurely summer afternoon on Chautauqua Lake, or one of the other county lakes, is a wonderful way to spend some time in the great outdoors. Our lakes have long been a major draw for locals and visitors alike. Swimming, canoeing, tubing, or fishing, it doesn’t really matter – any of these recreational activities are what make the quality of life in our area great. But how many of you have ever ventured out on the county’s major waterways (Cassadaga Creek, Conewango Creek, or the Chadakoin River) for some fun on the water? For reference, Cassadaga Creek drains Bear Lake and the Cassadaga Lakes and joins the Chadakoin River east of Falconer. The Chadakoin River, of course, is the outflow of Chautauqua Lake. The combined flow of these three lakes continues south until it meets Conewango Creek. The latter waterway enters our county just east of Kennedy and flows south through Frewsburg and into Pennsylvania, where it joins the Allegheny River. Of course, from that point on, our waterways join ever larger rivers (the Ohio River in Pittsburgh and eventually the Mississippi River, south of St. Louis) to eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico. Historically, Jamestown’s economy relied heavily on this important waterway connection. Lumber harvested in the region fed the local lumber industry and surplus logs were floated downstream in large rafts – sometimes all the way to New Orleans. Clearly these waterways were navigable in those days, but ironically, trees and logs have now clogged much of the system. These days, our landscape is dotted with dead Ash trees that succumbed to the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, and those that grew near rivers or high up on the banks have toppled and ended up in the creek or river below. A large section of these waterways constitutes the Marden E. Cobb Waterway Trail system, which is a recreational waterway trail that falls under the jurisdiction of the Chautauqua County Parks Commission. Despite this designation, the impact of Emerald Ash Borer has effectively rendered much of the recreational uses on the Marden E. Cobb Waterway Trail unsafe. Through a contract with the Chautauqua County Department of Public Facilities, our staff has been busily mapping the most hazardous obstructions in the county’s waterways. In addition, a crew from Tactical Tree Solutions has been able to clear many of these hazards. Given that there are more than 60 miles of waterway to check and clear, it is probably not a surprise that much more work remains. However, while other sections of the system are still being mapped, approximately 12 miles of lower Conewango Creek has been cleared so far. This section of the waterway system, ranging from the PA boundary to the confluence with Cassadaga Creek, will be available for safe recreation next spring. Additional sections will be opened over time. If you’ve never experienced the beauty and tranquility of a canoe or kayak trip on these gorgeous county waterways, you should plan on a trip sometime next year - it is absolutely gorgeous! Unlocking the potential of these “blueways” in conjunction with the ongoing activation of the county’s “greenways” – the protected forested corridors that harbor our incredible network of hiking, biking, equestrian, snowmobile, and other recreational trails – makes perfect sense. Just like in our furniture heydays, in a very different way our region’s economy is still driven by our natural resources (woods and rivers). Connecting our greenways and blueways can bring economic opportunity to areas that, until now, were not part of the traditional tourist scene. And for us locals, protecting and connecting our natural areas helps our water quality and scenic beauty. Canoeing to help improve our climate resiliency and ecological and economic sustainability sounds like a fun way to spend a summer afternoon. I hope that many of you join us on the waterways next year! by Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Director of Conservation

(from left: Board Chairwoman Becky Nystrom, Wilson Huhn, and Executive Director Whitney Gleason) We are excited to share that we'll be conserving and protecting an additional 50 acres of natural, undisturbed lands located in the Town of North Harmony. This beautiful piece of property was previously owned by the Huhn family for almost 45 years and was generously donated to us by Mr. Wilson Huhn. We are so thankful for this gift and are honored to be able to perpetually conserve this land which the Huhn family holds very dear to their hearts. In honor of Wilson Huhn's parents, Mary and Tom, we are proud to be able to call our new addition, the Mary and Tom Huhn Nature Park. Though it isn't open to the public yet, the property is located on Route 394 across from Cheney Point and has a wonderful diversity of wildlife and native trees. The site also has approximately 3/4 of a mile of Cheney Creek running through it, so conserving this site will help filter that water before entering Chautauqua Lake. Again, we want to thank Mr. Huhn for this incredible gift and hope that once this new preserve opens, the rest of the community will be able to create some great memories there too, just as the Huhn family has. We recently held a private celebration, in collaboration with the Huhn family, as a dedication to his parents Mary and Tom. If you'd like to read a great article by, The Post-Journal, highlighting some of the event, the donation, and the history of the property - which was one of North Harmony's first settlements - visit https://www.post-journal.com/news/local-news/2023/09/incredible-gift/ If you're interested in donating a piece of property to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy for conservation, contact us at 716-664-2166!

On Saturday, October 14th, we held a ribbon cutting ceremony and nature walk to officially open our Cassadaga Lakes Nature Park and celebrate the completion of a number of improvements that were recently made to the park to enhance the visitor experience there! Some of the enhancements made at the park include the development of several trails, the addition of a kiosk/pavilion and interpretive signage, and the installation of a wildlife viewing platform, bird blind, and numerous benches. The park is an ideal location for a number of outdoor recreational activities such as walking, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, bird and wildlife watching, and nature photography and study. In addition to providing a space for community recreation, the park provides and protects important habitat for local wildlife such as salamanders, frogs, turtles, waterfowl, and other birds. More than 175 species of birds have been identified there, making it one of the most diverse birding sites in Chautauqua County. The 77-acre park also conserves 26 acres of wetlands and 1,100 feet of natural shoreline, as well as mature stands of hemlock and white pine trees, which help protect the area’s water quality by filtering rainwater runoff before it drains to nearby lakes. The park is located on Route 60 in Cassadaga (between Camp Gross and Tim Horton’s) and is open to the public from dawn until dusk. More information and directions to the park can be found by visiting https://www.chautauquawatershed.org/preserves or by calling 716-664-2166. We hope you’ll visit soon and check out this wonderful preserve for yourself!

Fall is such a wonderful time of year . . . leaves changing color, air crisp and cool, pumpkin spice lattes . . . yum! Fall is also a fantastic time to plant and tend to your gardens for next spring. Have you ever thought about creating a native wildflower meadow in your yard? Do you want to attract more bees and butterflies? Do you want to mow less? How about saving time, money, and gasoline? Lawn alternatives, such as no-mow grass or meadows, are purposeful living spaces that are available to every homeowner, and all you need is a sunny piece of land. Although the maintenance of a no-mow meadow is simply a matter of adding beneficial native plants, removing invasives, and mowing the area once a year with a weedwhacker or a brush hog, sometimes it is difficult to figure out just how to get started. October is the perfect time to get your no-mow meadow ready for a spectacular spring debut! Local nurseries are winding down for the season but can still have desirable native species available that would love living in your unmowed lawn. The first step is to purchase natives that would thrive in a meadow. These could include butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), and blazing star (Liatris spicata), just to name a few. But for these native species to flourish and blossom in your meadow area, they need some exposed soil and some extra “leg” room. Choose your desired no-mow meadow spot. Place and plant your new native perennials right in your lawn, removing a large circle of turf to give the plants ample sun and room to grow. Let your new plants settle in – tucked away for winter in your new spring meadow. Once the well-awaited arrival of spring peeks through and the grass needs to be mowed, mow your meadow area low just once, and then remove the grass clippings. This will allow the sun to reach your newly planted natives and reduce the competition from your grass, giving them a better chance to emerge and grow. It won’t take long for your new no-mow meadow to be discovered and filled with crickets, hoppers, butterflies, dragonflies, and birds! Keep in mind that just stopping the mowing won’t quite be enough. Your no-mow area will still need some tending and maintenance if your goal is to provide a purposeful and beneficial habitat for our local insects, bees, and butterflies! Maintenance will include yearly removal of invasive plants and woody material as well as mowing once in early spring (April-May). This can be done with a weedwhacker or, if the area is big, a brush mower or bush hog. In the beginning, it will look “messy,” but not for long. With this yearly maintenance and mowing game plan, your unmowed area will become more diverse and colorful every year! Enjoy the disorganized life and energy of your meadow! If you want to diminish the “messy” look, mow some clean edges and paths through the meadow area, or create clean lines with native shrubs or rock edges. New native perennials and/or seeds can be added as well as Mother Nature working her free seed magic! For more information on creating a native no-mow meadow and/or a list of recommended native plants, please contact carol@chautauquawatershed.org or call 716-664-2166 ext. 1005. by Carol Markham, Conservationist for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

The autumnal equinox is upon us. September 23rd will officially be the end of this amazing summer we’ve had and will be the beginning of our much beloved fall. The changing of the leaves, the colder and brisker weather, darker earlier evenings . . . so much is about to change in our beautiful spot in the world! Western New York has gorgeous fall foliage and, being designated a “Tree City USA” for 42 years, it only makes sense to write an article on how beneficial it is to keep your fallen leaves in your yard and why you shouldn’t rake them up! Did you know that putting your raked up leaves in the garbage only adds to the 33 million tons of yard waste that ends up in landfills annually? Putting any organic material, such as leaves or food, into your garbage is one of the biggest contributors to methane exhaust from landfills, which in turn is one the biggest contributors to climate change. Not only do leaves, yard waste, and food not break down and decompose correctly in a landfill (because they are airtight), they also just sit there in a state of limbo releasing methane. Now that we know why we shouldn’t put leaves in the garbage, let’s talk now about how great it is for you to not rake up those leaves! “Leaves are nature’s natural mulch and fertilizer” says David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation. Leaves are also a natural habitat for butterflies, salamanders, chipmunks, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms, and many others. They lay eggs in the leaves and feed on and under the leaf layer. "Over winter months, a lot of butterflies and moths such as pupas or caterpillar are in the leaf litter, and when you rake it up, you are removing the whole population of butterflies you would otherwise see in your yard," he says. By providing this habitat for beneficial insects and other critters, you increase the population of beneficial insects for when the gardening season returns. Leaving the leaves also increases the soil health of your lawn. Decomposing leaves help regulate soil moisture. Leaves are a natural mulch that you don’t even have to buy! If you want to create an even better mulch for your yard than just leaving them, and you are the “get stuff done” type, you can always mow the leaves without an attachment to mulch the leaves, which in turn breaks them into smaller pieces which will actually enhance the lawns fertility. If you have to rake because you feel the need to have that green, green lawn as long as you can, try raking the leaves into your garden or flower beds or under your trees. As we now know, leaves make an amazing mulch that will help fertilize and leave your yard or gardens looking so much healthier in the spring and summer. And if you just have to rid yourself of the leaves, the City of Jamestown’s BPU yard debris site is a good spot, as well another local place in North Harmony run by Robert Yates that accepts yard debris at no cost. I hope this article helps you decide to leave those leaves in your yard and start thinking about the entire ecosystem that is your yard! by Bethany O'Hagan, Land Specialist for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

When my wife and I moved into our house in Lakewood, the front yard was completely void of trees. The house sits on a north-south street, and the living room picture window faces directly west. Needless to say, the living room baked in the light of the summer afternoon sun! We did not want to spend extra money on air conditioning, so we decided to speak for the trees! And let them grow! In the first year, we planted a sugar maple and red maple in our front yard and a tulip poplar and sugar maple directly north of the house. In the back yard and south side yard, red oaks and pin oaks sprouted from acorns from nearby trees. I protected many of them with tree tubes or fencing to keep the deer from eating them and just sat back and watched them grow. After several years, our front windows and much of the front wall of the house are now shaded from direct sunlight from mid-afternoon until sunset. Trees on the east side shade the house in the morning. Our living room and bedroom stay much cooler than they did twenty years ago, and we rarely need to use an air conditioner. With this 20+ years of growth, we have tree crown covering roughly 80% of our property. This keeps our yard and home cooler and more comfortable all summer long. Have you thought about planting more trees in your yard to keep your house shaded on hot days? The ambient air temperature difference between an urban heat island and a vegetated area can be as much as 10 degrees. The temperature measured directly above man-made surfaces can be as much as 25 degrees hotter than the air temperature beneath a forested area. Planting trees to shade your home can really cool your yard. Not only that, having trees may add thousands of dollars to your property value. Trees and shrubs grow in many shapes and sizes. Planting a many-tiered garden of native wildflowers, shrubs, small understory trees, and taller climax canopy trees can maximize the habitats for a variety of beneficial insects and birds in your yard. Native sugar maples, oaks, black cherry, white pine, hickories, walnut, butternut, cucumber, and tulip poplars are good trees to plant in well-drained yards. Red and silver maple, cottonwood (where room allows), black willow, and American sycamore are suited for wetter waterfront, floodplain, and topographic depressions. Quaking aspen, big tooth aspen, and birch are fast growing native species that can quickly provide screening and cover in your yard. American hop hornbeam, American hornbeam (ironwood), American mountain ash, and Amelanchier (serviceberry) are some smaller or mid-tier trees to fill in spaces between larger trees or other tighter spaces. Turning part or all of your yard into a “mini-forest” can also have great benefits to birds and other wildlife. There are many sources from which to find more information on what native trees and shrubs to plant including www.chautauquawatershed.org/native-plants, www.audubon.org/native-plants, and www.nwf.org/garden. Go to a local nursery and ask specifically for native trees. Fall is a great time to plant trees! The combination of cooler temperatures and fall rain allows trees to establish their roots early in spring and adjust easier to the heat or drought of summer. If you want to do one thing to help birds and insects, protect water quality, capture carbon dioxide from the air, then plant a tree native to our region! Plant one new tree or transplant a wild native tree seedling to a more appropriate location in your yard to make your yard and home more enjoyable, and cooler, in future years! by John Jablonski III, Special Projects Coordinator for Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy

Imagine Chautauqua County as a living, breathing entity, with water as its lifeblood. Just as our own health depends on a well-functioning immune system, the health of our waterbodies relies on the functioning of their surrounding watersheds. I like to think of this relationship between water and watershed as preventative medicine – no matter how much time and money we put into our waterbodies, we aren’t going to see long-term sustainable improvement unless we repair and protect their surrounding watersheds. By viewing watershed protection through this lens of preventative medicine, we uncover a powerful approach to preserving our precious water resources. Preventative medicine operates on the principle that detecting and addressing issues early can prevent them from becoming more serious down the line. Similarly, a healthy watershed serves as a barrier against pollution and habitat degradation. By preserving the natural state of a watershed – maintaining forests, wetlands, and grasslands – we effectively intercept potential pollutants before they infiltrate our waterbodies. Just as a healthy well-balanced diet can ward off heart disease, a well-protected watershed safeguards water quality before contamination becomes a problem. Protecting our watersheds also makes us more resilient. In the realm of medicine, a strong immune system equips the body to fend off diseases. Similarly, a robust watershed acts as a natural defense mechanism for waterbodies. Wetlands act as sponges, absorbing excess rainwater and mitigating floods. Forests stabilize soil, reducing erosion and sediment runoff. By preserving these natural buffers, we build resilience within our watersheds, making them better equipped to handle stressors such as heavy rains or human activities. Preventative medicine focuses on treating the underlying causes of health issues rather than just the symptoms. We know that investing in preventative medicine saves both lives and resources by avoiding expensive treatments for advanced diseases. Similarly, investing in watershed protection saves us all money in the long run. By preventing pollution and increasing our resiliency to large storm events, we minimize the need for expensive infrastructure repairs, habitat restoration efforts, and water treatment, and we lessen the need for expensive in-lake cleanup each summer. Of course, I recognize that no matter how well we eat or how much we exercise, there’s no way to prevent every single cold or injury. The same is true for our waterways. But by taking a more holistic approach, focusing our efforts on watershed protection, we are recognizing the interconnectedness of our land, water, and ecosystems. By conserving our watersheds, we are doing everything in our power to protect the health of our waterbodies, support aquatic life, our recreational activities, our economy, and the well-being of our communities. Thinking of watershed protection as preventative medicine illuminates a profound truth: our actions today shape the health of our waterbodies tomorrow. Just as we adopt healthy habits to ensure we are around as long as possible for our children and grandchildren, safeguarding our watersheds is our responsibility to ensure our waterways are here and usable for those same children. As we embrace this preventive approach, we secure a brighter future – one where waterbodies thrive, ecosystems flourish, and we all continue to enjoy the waters we love! Article by Whitney Gleason, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Executive Director Photo of shoreline pickerel weed at Cassadaga Lakes Nature Preserve by Twan Leenders, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Director of Conservation

Our 2022-2023 annual report is out! Read about our strategic conservation mapping project, our conservation of an additional 139 acres of land throughout Chautauqua County, our application for national land trust accreditation, and more! https://www.chautauquawatershed.org/annualreport