2021 Year End Appeal

Please consider investing $100, $250 – or an amount of your choosing – in Genesee RiverWatch as a part of your year-end giving plan as we continue our work to improve the water quality of the Genesee River and its tributaries and to connect people to the river. Our approach to this work is based on core values established over 40 years ago and include a commitment to inform and educate, to base our actions on science and data and to collaborate with others.  Regardless of geographical boundaries, charters, or funding sources, RiverWatch and its partners share the common vision of “a healthy and sustainable Genesee River ecosystem that is an environmental, recreational, and economic asset for all generations”. Learn more about the “multiplier effect” on our working partnerships.

2021 Accomplishments

Despite another challenging “Covid” year, the Genesee RiverWatch team continued to move forward with those activities that could be done safely.  Here are some of the projects and programs that we completed this year:

• Restored 1,800 feet of eroded streambank just south of the Village of Houghton.  This $316K project was funded by a $197K grant from the Great Lakes Commission and $119K of matching funds provided by Mallards Dairy, LLC, the property owner.  Restoration planting has begun and will continue into 2022. Learn more about this project.
• Offered 11 days of guided paddling on the lower river between Black Creek and the Rochester Harbor.  2021 represented a dramatic expansion of this program from the 3 days offered in prior years.  71 people joined us, using kayaks and canoes provided by Erie Canal Boat Company and the Genesee River Waterways Center. Read more about our 2021 summer paddles!
• Partnered with the Livingston County Soil & Water Conservation District in an on-going $251K program, funded by the Great Lakes Commission, to implement agricultural best management practices along the Jaycox Creek tributary of the Genesee.  The first of these projects was completed in June on 85 acres of fields owned by three adjoining farms east of Geneseo, NY.  The work will dramatically reduce soil loss in this area and cut sediment and nutrient flows into the Main Stem of the Genesee.
• Re-started our annual series of Genesee River Basin Summits after the COVID-caused hiatus in 2020.  This year’s “virtual” program took place over four days in April and May and covered topics related to streambank restoration, trees/carbon sequestration, and recreational use of the Genesee. Learn more about our Genesee River Basin Summits.

Your support is critical to our ability to continue this work on behalf of our river and our community. As you know, Genesee RiverWatch is dependent on its volunteers to do this work.  However, even volunteers need funding to run the organization, offer public events, and do the studies, outreach, and engineering necessary to obtain financing for the larger projects.  

Please consider investing $100, $250 – or an amount of your choosing – in Genesee RiverWatch as a part of your year-end giving plan.

Sincerely,

The Genesee RiverWatch Team