HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Remembering Riverwatch 2007

Thank you to all our wonderful Riverkeeper volunteers!! We love you!
Let’s bask in the glow of the past year’s highlights. Feel free to write in and add your own.

JANUARY
We launch the Riverwatch program Coliform Testing Campaign with our ultra-modern IDEXX QuantiTray/2000. This is the system used by state and federal agencies for total coliform and E. coli counts in waterways, and the training video is in British, which Robin imitates impeccably to get us all laughing. We house the system at the Great Lakes Center in partnership with Buffalo State College, under the guidance of the late Captain John Freidhoff. We miss you Capt. John!

The Riverwatch team (myself, Robin, Shannon & new intern Chris) investigate a Sanitary Sewer Overflow nightmare on Ellicott Creek at Amherst State Park. I demonstrate to everybody how to crash dramatically through the ice over a foot of freezing flood water (this feels pretty solid here!). A line break causing one of the overflows was fixed by the Village of Williamsville after discussions with Riverkeeper and NYSDEC. We are monitoring ongoing problems there.

The Wehrle Wetland saga begins. Neighborhood activist Ann calls in Riverkeeper to run turbidity tests for stormwater flowing from the construction site of an ongoing wetlands law flaunter. While testing, I am nearly run over by the Hummer of said flaunter, and later I learn that others attempting to test the water are harassed and threatened. We institute a policy of two people per site investigation.

FEBRUARY

Robin and I run our first coliform tests at Whirlpool State Park in the lower Niagara River. After the brisk hike down and back, we sprint to Niagara University to speak as guest lecturers at Reverend Lamb’s Environmental Thought class. Robin proves her mettle as an environmental philosopher and we hand out a whole lot of Riverkeeper t-shirts.

I speak to the Niagara County Legislature, urging their support for a request by Legislator O’Connor to seek restoration funding for Cayuga Creek. Cayuga runs through LaSalle neighborhood of the Falls and all the way north to the Tuscarora nation, with a lot of beauty and troubles in between. The momentum for this project will continue to build throughout the year.

MARCH
The Riverwatch team is invited as guest speakers for the WNY Stormwater Coalition conference as well as a couple of Riverwatch captain Adam’s South Park High School science classes. We get chocolate buffalos at the former, and a dose of Adam’s unrelenting sarcasm at the latter.

Twenty Riverwatch captains enjoy a Wetlands Ecology training at Reinstein Woods State Preserve in Cheektowaga. Presentations on wetlands ecology and state and federal regulations by NYSDEC and Army Corps are followed by and interpretive hike through the preserve’s wetland habitats.

APRIL
We all enjoy Boom Days celebrations at the CPO Club and watch Riverwatch captain Caleb & friends attempting to launch the boom days ball into the River. I am called away to witness a massive ice jam on the upper river across from Gratwick Park. Even in the dark I can see it piling, towering up, hear the grinding and crunching of the massive bodies of ice. I’ve never seen anything like it. The jam lasts for two days.

Over 1200 volunteers work 42 sites for Spring Shoreline Sweep 2007! Reporters from WIVB-TV and several other media sources cover the event, and WNY Media produces and posts a short film on YouTube of volunteers working at Gallagher Beach. Volunteers at Scajaquada Creek, the largest cleanup site, recover 30 shopping carts and a Honda Goldwing motorcycle from the creek. Scajaquada Creek workers also plant spruce and willow seedlings.

The Riverwatch team paddles and samples Scajaquada Creek, starting at the mouth at Niagara Street, portaging the finger dam, portaging the Hoyt Lake dam, crossing the Lake, and doing the whole thing over again to return. We see stunning Caspian terns standing on the Hoyt dam, and Horned Grebes cruising majestically on the lake. There is no worse paddling weather, under 40 degrees and raining hard, but the team doesn’t flinch.

MAY
Robin, Shannon and I rescue a two-day old Mallard Duckling that washed down a storm drain into the mouth of Cornelius Creek, became wedged deep in the riprap and, peeping sadly, began to die. After much feeling around in nasty crevices, cheeping at the duck and fielding inquiries by local fishermen (“you catchin’ frogs?”), we eventually roll enough boulders away to seize the freezing little fellow and bring him in a bag to Robin’s west side apartment. I am on the phone with rehabber Dawn while the others run for lunch, when Duckling comes to and springs across the kitchen table peeping maniacally and looking for Mom. Dawn takes him, thank God, and he is released several months later at Sinking Ponds in East Aurora, a free, fat and happy duck.

Riverkeeper partners with Bob of RIT, Jerry of SUNY at Buffalo and Riverwatch Captain Adam of S. Park HS to develop and install a low-cost Water Monitoring Buoy test model in the Buffalo River and a receiver antenna atop Southside Elementary School. Upon completion, data may then be accessed by Riverwatch Captains and all 35,000 students in the Buffalo Public School system. The project continues throughout the summer, in spite of Adam’s steering skills, Jerry’s disappearance overseas and Bob’s inability to remember anyone’s name (if only we had numbers!). We are on the threshold of launching a functional model in the spring!

The Riverwatch team launches the Stormdrain Stenciling season in Kaisertown, discussing stormwater runoff to Buffalo River with residents of that neighborhood. Over the summer we also conduct stenciling with captains in Tonawanda near the Niagara River as well as Cheektowaga neighborhoods near the upper Scajaquada Creek.

Chris finishes his internship with us. In appreciation of his many contributions to the organization, including getting us out on the water to sample and monitor in his battered, beloved Riverwatch 1 canoe, we all go out to the beach on Lake Erie. We relax, enjoying a clear starry sky and a crackling driftwood fire, happily discussing constellations. Blissfully unaware that we are trespassing in a State Park. We get busted and spend several hours being shouted at with bright lights in our faces.

JUNE
Sixteen Riverwatch Captains and staff spend a day in First Aid/CPR/AED certification training in partnership with Erie Community College and Red Cross. We practice wrapping, rolling and heimliching each other. Later in the month we hold Basic Water Rescue training for 14 Riverwatch Captains and staff at Wendt Beach, and practice seizing each other from the stormy seas.

Tamar and Shannon run a hugely popular fishing derby at Buffalo Riverfest while Robin and I paddle the Riverwatch 1 canoe in the regatta. We launch from Riverwatch captain Yuri’s place near Seneca bluffs, briefly watch the guys trying to row a large raft of horseradish barrels and pallets against wind and current and between bridge abutments, then we flee on down to Ohio St. They beat us there, minus the raft. Robin sings Gaelic folks songs to keep our spirits up on the long paddle back.

Riverwatch captain Adam and his South Park High School students adopt Bailey Peninsula Park on Buffalo River, conducting ongoing all-day restoration, cleanup and fix-up events. Riverwatch captain Yuri instructs 31 adults and children in Buffalo River water testing during a community stewardship program at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

JULY
We enjoy a Boatbuilding Weekend thanks to Riverwatch captain Dick at the Buffalo Maritime Center. Over the course of the weekend, nineteen Riverwatch Captains, Riverkeeper staff and friends participate in the training, which produces a fleet of four sturdy vessels. Dick also captains our power boat tour of Cayuga Creek, and saves the day by magically fixing the seized engine. He has since accepted the Riverkeeper board presidency!

The Riverwatch team, aka the Hamburg 5, are freed from the bogus beach bust charges against us thanks to Mike, our charming and talented legal counsel. Our ACD is up in January, so no beach bonfires ‘til then.

We circumnavigate Grand Island during Paddles Up Niagara in the Riverwatch 1 canoe, with Yuri as captain and myself in the bow. Riverkeeper director Julie paddles with us for the tough morning stretch upstream from Fix Road and around to East River Marsh. Through rough seas and calm, many adventures later we make landfall again in the dark of night at Big Six Mile Creek. It’s the best boat trip ever.

While conducting sampling and monitoring Buffalo River, the Riverwatch team notes a petroleum smell and discoloration in the bank behind the Exxon-Mobil property, and a large drum on the shore. The team reports the spill to the DEC hotline and invites the DEC Project Manager to join us in conducting a follow-up investigation by canoe. Riverkeeper continues to monitor this site each month.

AUGUST
Robin, Chris and I attempt to navigate the Black Rock locks in the Riverwatch 1. We are turned away for lack of power (Chris did not count as a motor). Our sampling trip to Strawberry Island must be accomplished via Ontario Street boat launch. Upon arrival we sample the island bay for coliform, explore the native flora and fauna and loll in the waves. Coliform levels are, thankfully, extremely low.

August expeditions include a solo reconnaissance trip by me to Navy Island, boat rolling practice sessions at Fix Road with Chris, Hyde and Larry, and a painful sprint by me and Robin around Tonawanda Island with a blasting head wind slowing us to a crawl on the upcurrent stretch (sorry for yelling at you to paddle harder; I was in digestive distress at the time).

Chris joins the Riverkeeper staff to conduct Riverwatch Recruitment and Outreach with local fishermen. He and intern Margi speak with families and individuals fishing at sites along Buffalo River, Cazenovia Creek, Niagara River, Outer Harbor, Tifft Ponds, Union Ship Canal, Lackawanna Ship Canal, Black Rock Canal and South Park Lake in Buffalo; and Niagara River, Little Niagara Rivera, Hyde Park Lake and Gill Creek in Niagara Falls. They conduct outreach by land and from the water. Over the course of the season 200 individuals were engaged and 70 Riverkeeper t-shirts distributed, and individuals were recruited to participate in the Autumn Beach Sweep and the Buffalo River and Squaw Island tree planting events.

SEPTEMBER
Autumn Beach Sweep 2007 is expertly orchestrated by Robin, with about 500 volunteers working 27 sites for a three hour cleanup on an unseasonably cold September day. We pick up 7 tons of trash on almost 20 miles of shoreline in the Niagara River watershed. Highlights include removal of over 55 tires from the Ohio St. Fishing Access and ten garbage totes of underwater garbage at the Ontario St. Boat Launch. I find a large pink squeaky dolphin on Ellicott Creek which, sporting a Riverkeeper t-shirt, becomes our office mascot. Nearly 100 volunteers gathered at McCarthy’s Pub on the Buffalo River for delicious food and drinks at the volunteer thank-you party.

A crowd of 18 Riverwatch captains and staff attend a workshop on Benthic Macroinvertebrates led by Riverwatch captain Bill of First Hand Learning. Everyone gets a tour of Riverkeeper’s coliform testing system at Buffalo State College’s Great Lakes Center. Nobody wins the “Guess That Coliform Level” quiz game – better luck next time!

Riverwatch captains and friends test water quality parameters in waterways across WNY in a Five County Tour over Labor Day weekend, including waterbodies in Erie, Wyoming, Cattaraugus, Alleghany and Livingston Counties.

Riverkeeper obtains NYS Dept of Health “Chemicals in Sportfish and Game 2007-2008 Health Advisory” publications and Chris hands out copies to fishermen while discussing concerns over the eating of fish. Chris begins documenting field contacts by asking specific questions including how often they fish, where they fish, whether they eat the fish and if so how often.

OCTOBER
The Scajaquada Canoe Club, a newly emerging force on the Buffalo scene, holds a group paddle on Hoyt Lake. The canoe clubbers, including Riverwatch captains Mark, Tom, Yuri and Hyde, converse with dozens of bystanders and are witnessed enjoying the Lake by hundreds more. One canoer completes the first recorded commute to work via Scajaquada Creek.

In partnership with SUNY Buffalo’s Department of Anthropology, Riverwatch captains and friends enjoy a River Archaeology workshop on several fascinating sites along the Niagara River. We get to hunt for arrowheads on Grand Island and discuss the ancient people that made a living here thousands of years ago.

Riverwatch team expeditions include a trip by Robin and I to assess Chemical Waste Management’s outfall into the lower Niagara River, where we discover and report a massive shuddering heap of acrid foam. Chris and I also explore the upper reaches of Ransom and Black Creeks on Halloween, where we discover algae blooms and erosion problems from golf course runoff, and mystify late-season golfers with our appearance in the water feature.

Riverkeeper and the Scajaquada Canoe Club take NYS Dept. of Transportation and US Fish & Wildlife Service staffers on a water tour of Scajaquada Creek, showing off the creek’s hidden beauty as we discuss opportunities arising from the upcoming 198 reconfiguration project. We also join forces in a picturesque full moon paddle on the creek, which became wild and magical in the darkness. At the rapids we have to struggle upstream in the low water like ungainly moonlit salmon.

NOVEMBER
Riverkeeper partners with local municipalities, agencies, businesses and nonprofits to conduct a Buffalo River Tree Planting at Seneca Bluffs and Bailey Peninsula. We plant 76 red oak, pin oak, hackberry and locust trees, big 8-12 foot high bareroot saplings, with the help of 50 volunteers including Riverwatch captain Adam’s hard-working South Park HS classes. Thanks so much to all the captains that helped pull this project together, particularly Yuri, who not only let us store the giant trees in his house, but also procured and spent all weekend on the tractor with me pre-digging holes in the dark. Thanks also to the local police who were good natured about the above activities. Chris and Robin prove that they are unstoppable by assisting ReTree WNY with their North Squaw Island shoreline planting as well. We will do it again in the spring!

Chris and I undertake the last paddling/sampling expedition of the season, the Scajaquada to Buffalo River Odyssey, on the second rainiest day of 2007 (near constant rain all day for a total of 1.77 inches). We travel up and down Scajaquada with Riverwatch captain Tom, down Black Rock Canal to the lab at the Great Lakes Center, and down along Erie basin marina to the Buffalo River, ending at McCarthy’s Pub on Hamburg St. I admit that I’ve never seen the city look so beautiful as it did from the harbor that night, with the light shining through a glittering wall of rain.

DECEMBER
As of December, 72 active Riverwatch Captains in 8 teams are registered to monitor 20 waterways in the Niagara River watershed!

Our Riverwatch holiday potluck and meeting at Reinstein Nature Center draws 25 captains, staff and friends. We enjoy a hike in the woods, tracking coyotes on ice, and close encounters with semi-wild turkeys.

We bid farewell to Robin and Shannon, Riverwatch team staffers for the past two years, whose AmeriCorps service has come to an end. Thanks so much for all the work you have each done to make the Riverwatch program possible! You are dearly missed.

Riverkeeper moves into our new office at 1250 Niagara Street. Many thanks to all the captains that helped us with moving, painting and carpentry! Everyone is welcome to stop by and see our new digs as we get settled in.

2007 WATER QUALITY SNAPSHOT
General water testing for 8 measures was conducted at 45 stations on 18 waterways by 11 trained captains as well as Riverkeeper staff and interns. Test results are available to the public on the Riverkeeper website and will be updated again in January.

Samples were drawn from 13 local waterways and analyzed for total coliform and E. coli bacteria on a monthly basis, as well as during post-rainfall events. Coliform test results are now available to the public on the Riverkeeper website. Six Riverwatch captains regularly assist with coliform monitoring.

E. coli bacteria counts for lower Buffalo River were low for most city of Buffalo sites following dry weather periods, but frequently tested off the chart (>8 times the EPA recommended limit) after even moderate rainfall. E coli counts for public access sites on the upper Buffalo River and Caz Creek (in West Seneca and South Buffalo) periodically exceeded USEPA’s swimming limit regardless of weather conditions.

E. coli counts at public access sites on Ellicott Creek in both Williamsville and Tonawanda were consistently elevated above the EPA safe limit.

Scajaquada Creek consistently tested off the chart for E. coli (>8 times the EPA recommended limit) at Forest Lawn and Delaware Park locations regardless of weather conditions, with similar readings along the length of the creek during wet weather.

E. coli counts on several Niagara River sites were consistently within the limit for safe swimming, regardless of weather conditions, with the exception of the Black Rock Canal.

BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE FOR 2008!