Gone Birdin'

Hi all!

This past Saturday, at a bright and early 8am, some River captains and the Riverkeeper staff headed out for a Captain's training session on birding. We toured Grand Island and ended up on Goat Island in Niagara falls State Park and, thanks to Jim and Ed, we were able to see some pretty incredible birds. We spotted some goldeneyes and buffleheads on Grand Island and we even spotted a beautiful white coyote checking us out from across the river on Navy Island. Once on Goat Island, Jim and Ed spotted a mature and an immature black-crowned night heron perching near the rapids. Check out the slide show on our myspace page to see some more pictures: www.myspace.com/bnriverkeeper

Halloween Fun with the Buffalo River

Well, I really wanted to be a Star Trek character for Halloween, but then I decided that our local waterways were just begging to be made into a costume. So--I decided to dress up as our beloved but troubled Buffalo River. Note the fish caught in the six-pack plastic ring--the quart of motor oil from stormwater runoff--the tootsie rolls to stand for sewage overflows--a lovely mallard duck on my shoulder--and a fishy shower curtain for a cape. Maybe it could be the start of a cool trend in river wear? I wonder what Niagara Falls would look like as a costume . . .

VHS Update

Dear Captains,

Recently we alerted you to the presence of a new fish disease, Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, impacting our local aquatic friends.

Due to the potential adverse effects of this disease on fish populations and the desire to prevent or delay its spread to other states, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a Federal Order on October 24, 2006, that prohibits the importation of certain species of live fish from Ontario and Quebec and interstate movement of the same species from eight states bordering the Great Lakes, effective immediately, included are New York.

Fish species included in the federal prohibition are: Atlantic cod, black crappie, bluegill, bluntnose minnow, brown bullhead, brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon, emerald shiner, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, grayling, haddock, herring, Japanese flounder, largemouth bass, muskellunge, Pacific cod, northern pike, pink salmon, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, redhorse sucker, rock bass, rockling, round goby, smallmouth bass, sprat, turbot, walleye, white bass, white perch, whitefish and yellow perch. Additional fish will be added to the order as they are confirmed to be carriers of this disease. Additional information on the Federal Order can be found on the APHIS website www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/aqua/ .