Our 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”.

2022 Genesee RiverWatch Accomplishments

• Completed restoration of 1,800 feet of eroded streambank near the Village of Houghton.  This $316K project was funded by a $197K grant from the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and $119K of matching funds provided by Mallards Dairy, LLC, the property owner.  Planting of willow stakes to stabilize the upper bank was done by a team of RiverWatch volunteers in April.

• Offered five public paddling events on the Genesee between June and October.  The partnership of RiverWatch with the City of Rochester and the Genesee Waterways Center allowed 34 people to experience two of the most beautiful segments of our river at Red Creek and the Turning Point Park area.

• Continued our annual series of Genesee River Basin Summits with four Zoom-based programs held weekly in May.  The recordings of these sessions are now available on our “Official Genesee RiverWatch Channel” on YouTube.  For 2023, we plan to resume holding these Summits in person so that attendees will have the opportunity to interact with each other – a feature of the programs that was extremely valuable in the years before COVID.
• 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.  Started in 2021, this program brought funding to the region that would not otherwise have been available and has allowed Livingston County to complete four projects – along with one on-going project – that are dramatically reducing soil loss and sediment flows into the Main Stem of the Genesee.

Staff shortages at granting agencies during the pandemic slowed the approval of several our funding requests.  However, over the past two months four major grants have been approved for work in 2023 and 2024:  $250K for streambank stabilization near Caneadea, NY, $458K for improvement of Rush Creek near Fillmore, $48K to develop innovative streambank restoration techniques on Oatka Creek at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, and $87K to improve boating access sites in Avon and Geneseo.

Your donations to Genesee RiverWatch make the work of developing these projects and conducting these events possible.  While agency grants may pay for the actual project work, only your support allows us to identify the places where work is most needed, connect with landowners to get their agreement, and perform the engineering studies to determine project costs and develop the designs that accompany grant applications.  Please go to our website and invest $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