Fall Creek Watershed Committee Minutes
April 5, 2001

Present: Mary Hegarty, Yvette de Boer, Deb Grantham, Phil Koons, Craig Schutt, Ruth Sherman, Dan Dosti, John Terninko, Dave Bouldin, Steve Penningroth, Tim Patronski, Jeannette

Fall Creek Stream Clean-up

Update provided by John Terninko, Assistant Steward with the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, who is working with Sharon on the stream clean up. John has a commitment from Roots and Shoots. Matthew Shulman has written a press release for media. John will send flyers to FCWC member via email. Please make copied and put them up in your community. Participants are to contact John to sign up. We hope to have crew chiefs at each site

There are up to 8 sites:

1. Steward Park
2. Cayuga Street by Ithaca High School
3. Ithaca Falls
4. Beebee Lake
5. Rt 13
6. Etna
7. Freeville
8. Road intersections from Freeville to Lake Como

We are trying to get as much trash as possible picked up by municipalities. Deb will talk to the Town of Dryden highway department. John is working with the City of Ithaca to try to have trash picked up and

Data collection

crew chiefs will be asked to collect information about

Youth can be supervised at a 5 to 1 ratio if middle school. Elementary kids would better.

The following people will help, * after name indicates crew chiefs. (cell) indicates has a cell phone: Deb *(cell), Phil *, Steve*, Mary (cell), Joyce, Ruth*, Dave, Craig*, Debbie, Sharon (cell)

Debbie brought a copy of a booklet and video used for a larger watershed. John will review and make copies for our files.

Any dangerous items such as needles should not be picked up. John will prepare a safety sheet and list of crew chief supplies. Disposable camera will be provided so people can take photos. It would be good to contact media to get them out for photos and also for one of us to submit a piece.

EQIP

Dan Dosti, district conservation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He requested input for the next EQIP proposal. The funds need to be reapplied for each year and they are quite competitive. The proposal was highly ranked and will not need major changes but additional supporting information will make it stronger. Dan collected information from the committee and will get a copy of Bouldin’s "Lakes and Phosphorus" from Ruth. She made it into a PDF file, which she will send to Sharon for posting on the Fall Creek Web sight. Roxy suggested getting information from the Cornell water treatment plant.

Dan can help with education efforts such as brochures and would like to talk with the committee about that at another time.

The selection of farms to receive funds is competitive. Federal dollars received are $150,000 per year for 5 years. That is the max that one county can received, though this project is multi-county. There are 105 livestock operations in the watershed. Hopefully the funds will help 40 farms, averaging 8 per year. The program caps at $50,000 per application, usually with a maximum of $10,000 per year. The farms have between 5-10 years to complete the work in the contracts. A key factor in selection is the lowest cost projects with the greatest environmental benefits. NRCS works closely with the farmers to come up with affordable solutions that benefit the public. While there are a large number of practices that can be funded, there is an emphasis on reducing nutrient loading to streams. An example of one proposed project is fencing animals from a creek and swampy areas.

Cornell Course Project

the student proposals were discussed in brief. No funding assistance is needed from the Fall Creek Watershed committee.

DEC RUSS Unit

It would be nice if the RUSS proposal comes through perhaps there is a way to have their efforts to dovetail with FCWC efforts. They do intense sampling in one spot. The unit could be moved to other sites in the future. The data is intended to help with the RIBS (rotating intensive basin study). What is the "techniques the development" mentioned in the proposal? How is flow being measured? If they want to pay some of the costs, the committee would take some additional samples to supplement data, temporally, spatially or for different parameters. Would increase the value of the data collected by the RUSS unit.

Virgil Creek monitoring plan

Recommended adding flow measures so can get loading, recommended 5 sites, FCWC members are being sought to use the new hydrolab (learn to calibrate machine, take samples and transport them). There are funds already to allocated. Needs to happen on the same day as Cortland County testing. Roxy will take the detailed information to the monitoring subcommittee. Suggests that 2 sites on Fall Creek be added.

Waterweek

Roxy is working on coordinating activities for Water Week. She is working on a location (Tompkins County library or Commons). Kate Hackett (Water Resources Planner) will be coordinating publicity. The main focus will be Dept. of Health taste testing on Wed., May 9, from 10-2. It would be great to have activities at a time kids can be targeted. Anyone is welcome to bring displays and materials. Yvette would like help with her 6th grade classes.

Next Agenda

• Stream clean-up
• Water Week Update
• Water monitoring sub committee
• Cornell student reports on their proposals
• Ideas for summer: field trip to Lake Como? Virgil Dam?
• 109 E. Seneca Street, across from Moosewood, near Odyssey

Announcements

May 1 Trout Unlimited meeting will be a workshop at McLean Fire hall on stream invertebrates. At 7:00 pm Bring waders and be ready to collect bugs!!

The water monitoring subcommittee will meet May 6 at 4-5:30 at Mary Hegarty house

Next 2 meetings

• May Seneca St, Bill Shaw’s office 2nd floor conference room
• June Lake Como June?
• July Town of Dryden and visit Virgil Dam
• August – picnic? Float trip?
• Sept Bill Shaw’s law office
• Oct – Virgil fire hall
• Nov – McLean
• Dec - Bill Shaw
• Jan - Town of Dryden
• Feb McLean
• March - Shaw
• April – Dryden
• May – McLean
• June -- Shaw

Summer trip to Virgil Dam

Locations we have met in the past:

• Virgil Town Hall
• Virgil Fire Hall
• Varna (fee charged)
• McLean Fire Hall
• Dryden Town Hall
• Dryden School
• 4-H Acres (maybe a fee once Sharon changes jobs)
• CCETC (maybe a fee once Sharon changes jobs)