Conewango Creek Watershed Association

Archive for the ‘Meetings’ Category

A message from the Chaut. Co. Watershed Coordinator, Jeff Diers:

This message was sent out to Chautauqua Lake stakeholders several weeks ago.  To ensure that everyone is aware of this important meeting I am re-sending the Public Notice information.  The public notice is attached as a word document, as well as printed at the bottom of this email.

This email and associated content should be distributed, by you, to your various boards, committees, members, and contacts.  The  legal notice has been posted in the local papers as required by law.  In addition to these efforts, the Post Journal should be running an article regarding this important meeting over the weekend.

These documents may also be viewed at:  www.planningchautauqua.com  and www.cedareden.com

I thank you in advance for distributing this information to your various stakeholders.

Sincerely,

 SAV Management Plan Scoping Document

Public Notice

________________________________________________________

This notice has been prepared and is provided in accordance with article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The County of Chautauqua (County), as Lead Agency, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act is evaluating a proposed project (Action), which as described below, consists of the development and implementation of a Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Management Plan (SAVMP) for Chautauqua Lake.

The development and implementation of the SAVMP will be a multi-phased project that will consist of (1) identifying the problems to be addressed through a SAVMP for Chautauqua Lake; (2) collecting technical baseline information to define the existing condition of the water quality and biological resources; (3) mapping the watershed and the littoral zone and collecting data through a bathymetric survey; (4) completing a beneficial use study; (5) mapping and identifying submergent and emergent aquatic plants; (6) identifying possible management alternatives and assessing feasibility; (7) developing an implementation plan with monitoring controls; and (8) completing community outreach activities including organizing and holding public meetings throughout the process to collect information and community opinions.

The County, as Lead Agency has determined that the Action may have a significant adverse impact upon the environment and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be prepared. The County has also determined that a Draft Scoping document should be prepared prior to the EIS. Copies of the Draft Scope are currently available at the County of Chautauqua Department of Planning and Economic Development office in Jamestown New York and on-line at: http://www.planningchautauqua.com/?q=watershed/2process_pastawards.htm

A public meeting to collect comments on the Draft Scope will be held on December 12, 2012 at 5:00 pm at the Hewes BOCES Center at 2615 North Maple Street (Route 394), Ashville, New York 14710. Written public comments will be accepted until January 12, 2013.

Lead Agency: County of Chautauqua, 3 North Erie Street, Mayville, New York 14757

For more information contact:

Mark Geise, Deputy Director

Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development

200 Harrison Street

Jamestown, New York 14701

Phone: 716-661-8912

By-Law Changes – Members must Approve

We have revised our by-laws in the last few months and these revisions were approved by the board of directors.  Now the changes must be voted on by our membership in order for them to be adopted.   This votes will take place at our 2012 Annual Meeting to be held Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 at 7 pm. The location is Jamestown Audubon Society at 1600 Riverside RD, Jamestown, NY, 14701  Members in good standing (dues paid) each have one vote.  More information of our Annual Meeting can be seen by clicking HERE.

Several changes were made.  We revised our mission statement this year and that has been added to the by-laws while the old one was removed.

A major change is the composition of the board.  We have had the board structure of three directors for each member county giving a us a total of nine (9) board members.  We have changed this to read ”nine (9) to twelve (12) directors in order to give a bigger board to pursue our mission.  Secondly, the geographic restrictions were lessened.  The by-laws now read “A good faith effort shall be made to have each county represented by a at least one member.”  Often it was difficult to get board members from Cattaraugus County leaving us with only 6 to seven board members to try to function when a quorum is five directors.  The quorum for a board meeting is still 5 but more board members will make it easier to obtain the quorum needed to conduct official business.  Having geographic restrictions sometime meant turning down a potential director simply because they were from a county we didn’t need a director for.  Also the vocation requirements have been removed.  Originally we were required to have 1 farmer, 1 local elected official and one at-large official.  Again this restricted us in recruiting board members.  The new approach is to be more able to get interest directors on board without needless restrictions while still attempting to represent the entire area.

Several other minor changes were made to update the minutes.  One example of this is including electronic communications  as an acceptable method of communicating with our members.

You can see the revised by-laws HERE.  Red text is wording added and text that has a horizontal line through it is to be deleted.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments.

CCWA Annual Meeting to be Held Nov 15^th

The Annual Meeting of the Conewango Creek Watershed Association is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012 from 7 to 9 pm. The meeting will be held at the Jamestown Audubon Society at 1600 Riverside RD, Jamestown, NY 14701. Light refreshments will be served.

A vote on changes in the by-laws will be held. A copy of the proposed by-laws changes will also be posted at our websit and can be seen by clicking HERE  or a copy can be obtained by calling Jean at 814-726-1441 or Liz at 814-730-0519. Members in good standing (dues paid) can vote on the by-laws.

Election of Directors will follow. Anyone wishing to nominate someone for director should call Jean at 814-726-1441 or Liz at 814-730-0519. A short business meeting will then be held. Members in good standing are eligible to vote and nominate a candidate. Candidates must also be members in good standing. Memberships can also be purchased at the meeting or on our website.

Following the business portion of the meeting, Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy from American Rivers will speak. Her talk is entitled:

 “Dam Good News From Coast to Coast.”

American Rivers protects and restores rivers for the benefit of nature, people and animals. We are the national leader in removing dams that have outlived their useful life to restore rivers to their natural form and function. We currently have the largest dam removal projects in our country’s history underway in the northwest and northeast. Simultaneously, we are working with the Conewango Creek Watershed Association to reconnect Conewango Creek to provide fish passage and habitat connectivity for freshwater mussels. Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP, will speak about the benefits of large and small dam removals around the country and how American Rivers works with local, regional and national partners to maximize the ecological, financial and community benefits of river restoration projects.

Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

Lisa-Hollingsworth-Segedy

Associate Director, River Restoration Program Department: ConservationArea of Focus: Lisa facilitates partnerships to restore the form and function of rivers through dam removal.

Background: Lisa joined American Rivers in 2008 to work with communities, individuals, government, and other non-profit organizations to facilitate the removal of old dams that have outlived their useful life. Lisa is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and brings nearly three decades of experience in community and regional planning, environmental and resource protection planning, water resource management, project management, community economic revitalization, geology, and hydrogeology to her position. She was the executive producer of “Chattahoochee River: Muddied Waters, Clear Solutions,” an award-winning documentary film highlighting the Chattahoochee River’s water quality challenges and opportunities. She was involved in the development of Georgia’s river basin management planning program, the development of basin-specific best management practice standards for erosion and sedimentation control, and the formulation and implementation of regional and local plans for protected river corridors, water supply watersheds, groundwater recharge areas, and other environmentally sensitive areas. Lisa is also a former staff member of the Georgia Floodplain Management Program. Lisa is a professional storyteller and believes that the art of storytelling is an integral component of team-building, community education, public involvement, and all phases of project implementation.

Education: B.S. in Geology from the State University of West Georgia, graduate study in Hydrogeology at Georgia State University, and Storytelling Master Classes at John Campbell Folk School and East Tennessee State University

Favorite River: Nine Mile Run

The Chautauqua Lake Management Commission along with the Southern Tier West Regional Planning & Development Board have joined forces to present this opportunity for highway officials, contractors, site developers, public officials and all other interested parties to learn best management practices for erosion and sediment control, stormwater management and much more.

 The event will be held on Monday, August 27 from 9 AM to 3:30 PM at the Hultquist Center on Bestor Plaza in the Chautauqua Institution.  Chautauqua Institution’s summer session will be completed so no admission fee will be required to enter the grounds.

Specific presentations are scheduled for the morning and afternoon.  Presenters include Donald W. Lake Jr, and David Hanny.  Don Lake had served in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for 27 years and is the principal author of the NYS Guidelines for Urban Erosion and Sediment Control.  Don is an adjunct faculty member at the SUNY-ESF where he teaches graduate courses and supports graduate research on stormwater management.  David Hanny is the managing environmental scientist for the consulting firm of Barton & Loguidice.  He has both educational and field-based experience with watershed management practices and stormwater runoff control.

 The morning session starts at 8:30 AM with registration and check-in followed by presentations starting at 9:00 AM.  “NYS Regulatory Overview; Permit Highlights; Owner & Professionals Obligations”, “Erosion & Sediment Control for Construction Sites”, and “NYS Stormwater Criteria; Pollutant Impacts.”

 The afternoon session begins with lunch at noon, followed by presentations to include “Stormwater

 Registration is $10 per person, which includes lunch, and is payable at the door.  To register, please call the Chautauqua Soil & Water Conservation District office at 664-2351, ext 3, or email chaut-co@soilwater.org and leave the name of the person attending so we have an accurate lunch count, by Wednesday, August 22.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Our Spring 2012 Newsletter “Conewango Currents” has just been released.  To view Click:

Conewango Currents Spring 2012

The Board of the CCWA has changed their regular meeting day, time and locations to better accommodate new board members.  Board meetings will occur on the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm.  The location will be alternated between Warren PA and Jamestown, NY.

The board meetings will be held at the CCWA office in Warren on the odd months:  Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov.  The address of the CCWA office is 210 North DR, Suite E, Warren PA, 16365.  This is on the second floor of the Stone Building (the name of the building, not the building materials) on the Warren State Hospital Grounds.

Board meetings will be held in Jamestown on the even months of the year:  Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct and Dec.  The location is the Conference Room of the Chautauqua Co. Planning and Economic Development office on the 2nd floor.  The address is 200 Harrison St.

Stone Building on Warren State Hospital property

The location of the member picnic on Saturday, August 27, 2011 will be at the Carroll Town Park in Frewsburg, NY.  Directions:  From US Rte 62 turn east onto County Rte. 34, Frew Run Road.  (That’s right if you are going North on Rte 62 and left if you are going South on Rte 62.)  Go about 0.2 t0 0.3 mile and then turn right onto Parkway Drive.  The Park is at the top of the Drive.  

The picnic will run from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm and a free picnic dinner will be provided.  Additional details to come shortly.

For a map of the park go to this link on MapQuest:   http://mapq.st/oHp95u

The Cornplanter Chapter of Trout Unlimited is sponsoring the fourth annual Trout & Clean Stream Expo on Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 10 am to 5 pm.  It will be held in the same place as last year:   Sheffield’s Lions Club, 4 South Main St. Sheffield, PA (known as the Lions Den).  Admission is free.

There will be displays, demonstrations, seminars.  There will be a raffle and a Chinese auction and door prizes.  Food will be available.  Proceeds benefit the Cornplanter Chapter’s educational programs and stream projects.

We’ll have our own display there so stop on down and visit!

Attention Sportmen and Women:  Marcellus Shale Summit planned for Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown Campus.

This program is brought to you by the Sportsmen Alliance for Marcellus Conservation and is a.  This alliance includes a number of sportsmen organizations.  Learn more about how Marcellus Shale gas development may impact hunting, fishing and trapping throughout the Appalachian region, and what state agencies and the gas industry can do to protect fish and wildlife.  Check out their factsheets on Impacts and Protection.

Learn more at their website http://www.sportsmenalliance.org/.  There is a brochure for the Summit there as well as other information.

March 19th, 2011, Saturday, Lucinda, PA (Clarion Co.)

There is some water monitoring training being offered by Trout Unlimited TU) this coming Saturday.  (You need to be a TU Member, but you can get an introductory membership for $17.50 that day.)  TU has a new program called Coldwater Conservation Corps.  It is a program aimed at getting the TU chapters and other groups like CCWA geared up to collect base line data for water quality in the coldwater streams across the state of PA.   See the excerpt below from the PA TU website for more details and registration information.

An excerpt from the Pa. Council of  TU website (www.patrout.org) regarding this: