Fall Creek Watershed Committee Minutes
September 7, 2000
4-H Acres

Submitted by Betty Wien

Present: Yvette de Boer (presiding), Joyce Gerbasi, Steve Penningroth, Phil Koons, Deb Grantham, Betty Wien

Watershed Assistance Grant (WAG) Proposal

Steve Penningroth asked for feedback from the committee for the proposal dated 8/15/00 which was handed out at our last meeting (8/23/00). There were no comments.

Yvette reported that she had contacted the executive director of the Park Foundation to find out if the Foundation would (in principle) fund this type of grant proposal. The executive director made two points:

1. We must have a 501c3 status before we can apply.
2. She was concerned that we are not working more closely with the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (CLWN) on this.

Steve suggested that we talk to the CLWN. We reviewed the relationship between the Fall Creek Watershed Committee (FCWC) and CLWN as put forth in the resolution adopted 11/11/99 by the Board of Directors of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. There was a consensus that we should ask for time on a CLWN meeting agenda to explain what we are doing, overall, and specifically with regard to the WAG proposal.

Mini Grant Proposal for the Spring, 2001, Stream Bank Clean-up

We reviewed the draft of the proposal which Sharon Anderson had prepared. There were a few suggestions, but overall, it is a good proposal. We focused on getting more groups agreeing to collaborate on this before Sept. 14 so that we can list them on the proposal we submit. Deb Grantham will contact the Town and Village of Dryden. Betty Wien will contact Audrey Edelman Associates, Etna Community Association and NYSEG. Betty reported that Roxy Johnston is contacting CLWN and Sharon is contacting Roots and Shoots of Cornell).

Other groups which could be invited to join in the clean-up effort were suggested

• League of Women Voters environmental committee
• Town of Virgil
• Dryden High School - Rick Winters' student nature group
• Tony Hall - Dryden Courier
• A group of birders which has done clean-ups in other birding territories - contact Rachel Dickenson

Questions raised about the implementation of the clean-up included

1. What will we do about waivers of liability? Does Cooperative Extension have forms for participants and property owners?
2. Should parents sign waivers for minors?

Announcements

Phil announced that there will be a stream clean-up along the Tioughnioga River on Saturday, Sept. 16. Participants will meet at 8:30 AM at the Grange Building, located off of Clinton Avenue next to Wendy's in Cortland, and groups will proceed to the clean-up sites from there. The organizer is Ella Emmick of the Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Updates

Steve had talked to Pat Reidy of the Cortland Soil and Water Conservation in regard to questions we had asked earlier about monitoring information we might collect: Would he be a potential user of our information and what kinds of information should we collect? Pat said Kate Hackett and Jose Lozano are putting together a sampling and analysis plan. Pat is willing to come and talk to the FCWC in October or later. We agreed to have Steve invite Pat to speak to us on October 5, from 7-8 PM. Steve will report Pat's response to Sharon and Yvette. We should have publicity inviting other people to hear Pat speak. Questions were raised about the location of the meeting: Will the dog training in progress during tonight's meeting in the next room at 4-H Acres be continuing throughout the fall? If so, should we meet somewhere else where barking won't interfere with our meeting?

Other potential users of our monitoring

Members are asked to check the minutes of June 27, 2000, to see who agreed to talk to which potential users. Joyce has attempted to talk to Steve Eidt of DEC RIBS, but he has not returned her calls. Now, Deb Grantham will try to reach him.

Monitoring - defining our mission and goals (a work in progress)

We used sections of the final draft (Jan., 2000) version of the Pennsylvania Citizens Monitoring Program handbook as a model. The forms are found in the handbook's Appendix 6, starting with pg A6-2.

What is your group's mission?

(Taken from the CLWN resolution adopted 11/11/99): Fall Creek is the largest single watershed contributory to Cayuga Lake. Our goal is to promote the understanding of how to maintain and improve the ecological health, economic vitality and overall beauty of the watershed.

What are your group's major programs?

• Monitoring
• Stream clean-up
• Investigating levels of erosion
• Speaker series to promote awareness

What are you group's goals for your watershed?

• Reduce erosion
• Get baseline data on water quality
• Identify problem areas
• Increase education/awareness of the public
• Improve water quality
• Address the problems that are discovered

Are you a non-profit organization?

Yes, but not officially

When was it founded?

Fall, 1999

# of members?

about 10

# of paid staff?

1

Table 1B Background on waters of interest:

1. Waters of Interest (list major rivers, tributaries, lakes, ponds, etc.):
   Lake Como, Fall Creek, Virgil Creek, Eaton Brook, Mill Creek, Dryden Lake, Monkey Run (?), Beebe Lake, Webster Brook, Beaver Creek, Mud Creek

2. Watershed/Drainage Area/Communities:
   Communities: Lake Como Community, Ithaca, McLean, Etna, Varna, Freeville, Forest Home, Virgil, Dryden Village, Dryden Town, Sempronius (?)
   Counties: Cayuga, Cortland, Tompkins

3. Land use types (% in each, if known):
   Information presented in the WAG proposal: Forest, 50%; Agriculture, 30%; Residential, 7%; remaining 13% - ?

Table 1C Current Status of Your Waters of Interest

Drainage Lists - Yvette will bring the drainage lists for water bodies in NYS to use in place of the PA lists

1. Stream of interest - Fall Creek. It is 30 miles long (from WAG proposal)
2. Water Uses Protected - this was not addressed
3. Actual Uses and Values (from your own experience) - Recreation, Fishing, Boating, Swimming; Drinking Water

NEXT FCWC MEETING: October 5, 2000