\u2022 To kick off the year, we welcomed Jennifer Keys to the role of Treasurer on our Executive Board. Good to have you aboard, Jennifer! And a big thanks to outgoing Treasurer, Jim Seiler, for all his terrific work over the last few years!<\/p>\n
\u2022 OCWC Vice Chair and retired biology professor, Maureen Leupold, has been appointed to the Board of the Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District. Congratulations, Maureen! We are sure her skills will be appreciated by the SWCD!<\/p>\n
\u2022 We were saddened by the passing of founding member and always good friend to the Committee, Tom Frey, on February 11, 2017.\u00a0 Tom, who previously served as Monroe County Executive, also served a critical role in helping our Committee in its initial incorporation as a non-profit organization and in achieving its 501 (C) (3) status as a tax exempt organization.\u00a0 Fortunately, some members of our Board of Directors were able to get to see Tom in January when they attended the “Frey Day” celebration of Tom and his achievements organized by the Genesee Land Trust.<\/a>\u00a0 Tom\u2019s last project was to lead the development of the El Camino recreational greenway trail in Rochester, a rails to trails project. In honor of Tom, the trail was renamed The Thomas R. Frey Trail at El Camino. He will be missed by many.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 There have been some major changes in the NYDEC Trees for Tribs<\/a> Program for our region. Wyoming County SWCD will no longer serve as the Genesee River Basin regional coordinator for the program and the contact for 2017 projects will be Sarah Walsh, NYS DEC Trees for Tribs Coordinator<\/a> in Albany. Given its own responsibilities to provide services within Wyoming County, SWCD decided that it could not meet the new planting deadlines and increased number of monitoring visits that would be required for projects within a four county area. We appreciate the hard work and dedication Wyoming County staff had shown in 2015\/2016 for the many, many projects they coordinated. <\/p>\n \u2022 There have been some water quality changes for portions of the Oatka Creek.<\/p>\n Additionally, some of this change could be due to the fact that screening sites were added, but we still have our work cut out for us.<\/p>\n Map of NYS Waters Classifications from the “Characterization Report<\/em>” of the G\/FLRPC “Oatka Creek Watershed Management Plan<\/em>”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Get out your calendars to mark the dates of these Upcoming Activities<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u2022 Thanks to a generous grant from The Victor L Blood and Maudaline L Blood Charitable Foundation<\/a> of LeRoy, we have enough funds to complete the storm drain marking program in the Village of LeRoy. The date will be April 15<\/strong> (Easter weekend), with a rain date of April 29<\/strong>. We are looking for volunteers to help with this really fun, friendly & easy project. We’ll post more information as it becomes closer to the event date. For now, if you are interested in helping out, contact Pete at lent@frontiernet.net <\/a>or call him at 585-538-2223. Families welcomed and encouraged!<\/p>\n \u2022 Though the official date has not been confirmed yet, OCWC will most likely be again hosting the clean-up in Oatka Creek Park in Scottsville during Monroe County Parks “Pick Up the Parks<\/a>” event this year. Usually the event is held around Earth Day (April 22<\/strong>). We’ll post more info when we have it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022April 27<\/strong> will find OCWC volunteers helping with a Brush Clean-up along the Oatka Creek at the Genesee Country Village & Museum Nature Center. This event is in preparation for a Trees for Tribs planting event on May 6th<\/strong>. Volunteers are needed to help clean up the area so 250 trees and shrubs can be planted along the Creek to replace ash trees destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer.\u00a0 If interested in helping on either event, contact Melissa Marszalek at\u00a0MMarszalek@gcv.org<\/a> or Pete at lent@frontiernet.net <\/a>.\u00a0 More info will be posted as the events draw near.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Come see us at this year’s LeRoy Oatka Festival<\/a> on July 15th and 16th<\/strong>! We will have our display of “Critters from the Creek”. Stop by to chat with us!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even More<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Interested in hearing what’s happening and exchanging information with other WAVE volunteers? Register on line to attend the first WAVE Workshop: From Data to Action!<\/strong><\/p>\n When: April 6, 2017 9am-4pm <\/strong> This will be the first statewide WAVE workshop held and will feature a panel of speakers with John Jackson, Senior Research Scientist at the Stroud Water Research Center, as the keynote speaker. The workshop is intended as “a great opportunity to share your experiences, get feedback from experts and each other and make plans for the year ahead. Topics will include analyzing your results, developing or modifying study plans, selecting monitoring sites, communicating these results to community leaders, community organizing, or creating watershed plans.” Alene Onion<\/strong> Not a WAVE<\/a> volunteer yet? Interested? Find out more about program training at DEC’s website<\/a>, or contact Pete at lent@frontiernet.net <\/a>.\u00a0 Training sessions are scheduled for May at the locations to be determined.<\/p>\n \u2022 Also, don’t forget Genesee County SWCD’s annual Tree & Shrub Sale<\/a>! Order by March 31!<\/p>\n \u2022 Genesee\/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council <\/a>will be hosting their Spring 2017 Regional Local Government Workshop on May 19th<\/a>. It will be at the Burgundy Basin Inn in Pittsford. They always have great informative sessions at their workshops! Register by May 10th and save money!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oatka.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/FreyDay-300x222.jpg\")
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<\/a>Photo on right courtesy of Genesee Land Trust on Facebook<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oatka.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Trees4Tribs-300x244.jpg\")
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\nWhere: Peebles Island State Park, Waterford, NY <\/strong>
\nHow: Register online at: http:\/\/on.ny.gov\/2m0Io7G<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis workshop is open to the public. For more information contact:<\/p>\n
\nWAVE Coordinator
\nNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation
\n625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3502; wave@dec.ny.gov<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oatka.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GeneseeSWCDcompleteSmLogo.png\")
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