Conewango Creek Watershed Assn (CCWA) and the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium (CCC) held their Annual Gala and Member Meeting on Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022 from 6 to 8 pm at the Audubon Community Nature Center on Riverside Road near Jamestown, NY.
Jane Conroe presented this year’s Volunteer of the Year Award to Ruth Wahl, a member of the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium. Ruth retired after 30 years as a High School Science Education Teacher. She has also taught at Jamestown Community College and the Chautauqua Institution. Ruth has been a very active participant with the Consortium by maintaining the membership lists, writing newsletters and news releases, and attending workshops. Her extensive science education background has assisted the organization with their summer series of public service ads that were published in the local newspaper.
Guest speakers were Lisa Ronald and Fred Akers from the Wild and Scenic River Coalition. They spoke to the group online via Zoom. Lisa outlined the group’s advocacy work with Congress and noted that they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic River Program (WSR) in 2018. The coalition has a growing membership of more than 50 large nationally-active advocacy groups, small local river friends’ groups, land management focused groups, volunteer groups, river stewardship groups, environmental journalists, university scientists and others. Fred explained the eligibility process to be designated a Wild and Scenic River. There are currently 16 rivers in 9 states that are not on federal lands. The National River Inventory for the Allegheny Watershed show that 27 miles of the Conewango Creek are pre-qualified to apply to the WSR program.
A brief business meeting was then held. Elizabeth Dropp welcomed those in attendance at the Audubon Community Nature Center to the joint annual meeting of the CCWA and the CCC. Liz Dropp thanked all the members of the board, donors, and sponsors that contribute to the mission of both organizations. She also thanked Sherry Moore and Jean Gomory who work for the Warren County Conservation District but provide valuable assistance to the organization.
Board Member Sue Nielsen presented the summary of CCWA activities. Sue gave additional information regarding the 2022 Cleanup Totals: 98 Volunteers, 659 Hours of time, 3706 Lbs. of trash removed, 6 tires, 3 shopping carts, 4 cleanups, and 6.5 miles of creek or lake shoreline cleaned. She gave a description of the planning and coordination necessary to complete this community service project. Volunteers are welcome to get involved.
Jane Conroe, board member, reported on the activities of the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, a Waterkeeper Affiliate, and subcommittee of CCWA. 2022 Activities included: celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, meetings with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), monitoring of harmful algal bloom (HAB) reports, interpreting satellite imagery for water quality, letter writing, public relations and providing scientific publications to the local media. She wanted to publicly thank three individuals in particular who have given financial support. They are Paul Stage, John Dilley, and Barbara Blanchard. In addition, she wanted to thank Dr. Sherry Mason and Michael Koscher, recently retired committee members, for their years of service on the board.
The election of directors was run by Wes Ramsey, CCWA Member. The slate of candidates for director positions will serve a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2023. The candidates are all incumbents and are: Judy Haller, Jamestown; Jane Conroe, Jamestown; and Elizabeth Dropp, Youngsville. This slate was passed unanimously.