Genesee RiverWatch
Dear Friends and Supporters:
As the year comes to a close we find ourselves reflecting on a unique (and busy!) year for Genesee RiverWatch. It’s the year we celebrated our 50th anniversary as the region’s oldest locally established environmental organization, culminating in our October Gala. It’s the year we added an Assistant Executive Director (welcome Caroline!). And it’s the year we added river cleanup to our activities, helped add the names of the iconic waterfalls on the Genesee River in Rochester to federal maps and records, and the year we presented our 10th annual Genesee River Basin Summit, focusing on the Future of the Basin.
All this was accomplished while continuing our core mission of improving water quality and connecting people to the river. We completed the Oatka Creek streambank restoration demonstration project and have other major projects funded for 2025. We had our highest number of attendees at our summer paddling program, held in conjunction with the Genesee Waterways Center.
We couldn’t do any of this without our dedicated Board of Directors, volunteers and donors. Thank YOU for your continued support and dedication to our mission. Together, we can make a meaningful impact on the Genesee River and its surrounding communities.
Sincerely,
Mike Haugh, President of the Board
George Thomas, Executive Director
Genesee RiverWatch Celebrated Its 50th Anniversary with a Gala
Genesee RiverWatch and guests spent a wonderful evening celebrating our 50th anniversary with a gala on Friday, October 11, held at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. Mike Haugh, President, and the entire Genesee RiverWatch Board of Directors thank all who attended and our generous sponsors in helping to make the evening a success and setting the stage for the next 50 years of environmental stewardship in the Genesee-Finger Lakes region.
Special thanks go to Sarah Mangelsdorf, President of the University of Rochester, and her husband, Karl Rosengren, Professor of Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the University, who are generously serving as co-Honorary Chairpersons to commemorate this half-century milestone. Sarah and Karl are supporting our anniversary fundraising effort with a generous matching gift of $10,000 that will double donations made through the end of this year.
Our keynote speaker was Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Ms. Harris also serves as co-chair of the New York State Climate Action Council. Other distinguished speakers were Elizabeth Thorndike, co-founder of the Center for Environmental Information, or CEI – the forerunner organization to Genesee RiverWatch – and George Thomas, Executive Director of Genesee RiverWatch.
Read all about the Gala here!
Genesee River Basin Summit 2024 Wrap-Up: “The Future of the Basin”
Genesee RiverWatch hosted its 10th annual Genesee River Basin Summit on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The topic of this year’s summit was “The Future of the Basin”. It brought together key stakeholders, experts and community members to discuss and collaborate on strategies and plans to enhance the environmental, economic and recreational aspects of the Genesee River Basin.
Among the topics discussed, attendees learned about the NY Department of Conservation’s commitment to the Genesee River Watershed and the City of Rochester’s Roc the Riverway initiative. The full agenda and presentations can be found here. We are grateful to the Rochester Area Community Foundation (RACF) for sponsoring this year’s Summit event and for their commitment to the future of the Genesee River as a community resource. RACF was also the sponsor of our inaugural Summit in 2014! Learn more.
A Genesee Paddling Season for the Record Books!
Interest in paddling the Genesee keeps growing year by year! For the five events of 2024, 130 people joined us – up from 102 last year, which was itself a record for this program that started in 2018. Genesee RiverWatch partners with the Genesee Waterways Center and the City of Rochester to offer this summer series of on-the-water kayak paddles because we feel strongly that the best way to really appreciate the Genesee is to explore it from water level, along with the herons, turtles, muskrat, mink, and occasional eagles that make their homes on the river and its banks.
This season’s paddles included two “learn to paddle” events, Kayak Cleanup, City Skyline and Roc the RiverWay. Learn more.
Streambank Restoration & Agricultural Best Management
Our work to improve water quality includes stabilizing and restoring eroding streambanks and applying agricultural best management practices that reduce sediment and phosphorus loads to the river, and that slow the rate of erosion, preserving agricultural land and fertile topsoil. These projects also restore and improve wildlife habitat in and along the river by establishing wild plantings in the riparian zones.
2024 Project Updates
Evaluation of Streambank Restoration Techniques on Oatka Creek
Genesee RiverWatch has completed an evaluation of novel streambank restoration techniques on Oatka Creek. The study used bio-engineering techniques that create aquatic and riparian habitat, making maximum use of materials available on-site and minimizing purchased materials and equipment from off-site. This project was funded by a grant from NYS Sea Grant and completed in partnership with the Oatka Creek Watershed Committee and Genesee Country Village and Museum. Learn more and read the White Paper.
Babbitt’s Farm – Genesee River Streambank Restoration
The project will restore 850 feet of highly eroded streambank on Babbitt’s Farm north of Caneadea, NY. We will also install river training structures to prevent further erosion at the site and downstream, affecting 2,250 feet of riverbed. The project is funded by a $200,000 grant from the Great Lakes Commission and a $50,000 in-kind match by the landowner, Babbitt’s Farm. The design process was delayed and is now expected to be completed by year-end with construction planned for the summer of 2025.
Rush Creek Riparian Restoration
A $212K grant from National Fish & Wildlife Foundation/Sustain Our Great Lakes with $245K matching work by Allegany County Highway Department and Allegany County S&WCD will enable us to stabilize and re-direct the flow of Rush Creek to prevent erosion both on the creek itself and on the West Bank of the Genesee, where the creek meets the river. This is a complex project with significant regulatory/environmental issues and several landowners involved. We are working toward a design for this project in the spring of 2025. We expect to submit the permit application by early 2025 and begin construction in the fall of 2025.
Other News
Caroline Kilmer Named Assistant Executive Director
Caroline Kilmer has joined Genesee RiverWatch as our Assistant Executive Director. Caroline grew up in Pittsford and received her B.A. in biology from SUNY Oswego and her M.S. degree in biology from Illinois State University, both with a focus on conservation. She brings over 20 years of experience working in the field of water quality, including, from 2004-2011, Executive Director of the Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District. During her tenure, she formed partnerships and implemented new initiatives with local stakeholders including landowners, farmers, government agencies, non-profits, academia and the construction industry.
In 2011, Caroline left the Soil and Water District and started CMK Consulting LLC, a NYS certified woman-owned stormwater consulting business. She is also a member of the Town of Pittsford Environmental Board. Caroline lives with her husband and 2 sons and together they enjoy spending time outdoors hiking, skiing and sailing on Lake Ontario. Caroline is looking forward to using her experience and knowledge to support the mission and goals of the Genesee River Watch. Learn more about Caroline!
Genesee RiverWatch Welcomes “New” Board Members
We are pleased to give a belated welcome to Michael Chislock, PhD who joined our board in January, 2024. Michael is an Associate Professor of Limnology in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology at SUNY Brockport. As a board member, Michael looks forward to supporting efforts in the watershed while engaging SUNY Brockport students, staff, and faculty on interdisciplinary efforts that address existing and future challenges in the watershed.
We note with sadness the passing of Matthew Altenritter, PhD in March, 2024. Matthew, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology at SUNY Brockport had also joined the board in January, 2024. We were looking forward to collaborating with Matthew to explore novel avenues for addressing concerns and knowledge gaps throughout the Genesee watershed. We extend our deepest sympathies to Matthew’s family.
Learn more about our Staff and Board of Directors.
Elizabeth Thorndike Environmental Leadership Awards
Genesee RiverWatch has recognized its 2024 Elizabeth Thorndike Environmental Leadership Award recipients:
- Letchworth State Park – This NY State park and its 14,000 acre, 17 mile long stretch of the Genesee River is an environmental, recreational, and educational resource for the entire region. Twice voted Best State Park in the US by the USA Today Readers Poll, Letchworth attracted over 975,000 visitors in 2023.
- Peter Lent – Until recently, Pete was a Board Member of Genesee RiverWatch, serving a key member of the Board group that developed the Genesee RiverWatch initiative and launched it at the first Basin Summit in 2014. Over the past 10 years, Pete has been a valued member of the RiverWatch Operations and Technical committees and has served several terms as chairman of the Board Nominating Committee. He has been involved with all our major riverbank stabilization projects, organized volunteers for planting events, and helped lead the volunteer team collecting turbidity and orthophosphate data from the Genesee and its tributaries.
- S. Ram Shrivastava – The Center for Environmental Initiatives and Genesee RiverWatch have been the beneficiaries Ram’s experience and wise counsel for over 31 years – the longest tenure of any board member in our history! As a life-long contributor to the environmental improvement of western New York and to the success of CEI and Genesee RiverWatch, Ram Shrivastava is a perfect example of the spirit behind the Thorndike Environmental Leadership Award.
The awards are given to individuals, organizations, projects or events in recognition of significant contributions to our mission of “championing solutions that improve the water quality of the Genesee and initiatives that connect people to the River”. The awards are given in honor of Elizabeth Thorndike, longtime supporter of Genesee RiverWatch and one of the founders of its predecessor organization, the Center for Environmental Information. Learn more about our Award winners!
Genesee River Waterfalls Added to Official Federal Maps
Thanks to a collaboration between Genesee RiverWatch and the City of Rochester, the names of the three iconic waterfalls on the Genesee River in Rochester have now been officially added to federal maps and records, ending an oversight dating back almost 130 years. The names we all know them by – High Falls, Middle Falls and Lower Falls – were never included on U.S. Geological Survey maps or the official database of American place names until now. After Rochester City’s Council unanimously passed a resolution on May 20 supporting the request, Mayor Malik D. Evans presented Genesee RiverWatch with a proclamation at our annual Genesee River Basin Summit on May 22 that endorsed the action. Learn more.
Earth Day Cleanup!
On Saturday, April 13, 2024, volunteers from Genesee RiverWatch, in cooperation with the City of Rochester, conducted a cleanup of trash that had been accumulating on the east bank of the Genesee River near downtown Rochester. We were happy to help the South Wedge neighborhood! Learn more.
Canoe/Kayak Access Projects
Genesee RiverWatch is continuing to work with our partners (USFWS, villages of Avon, Geneseo) to improve car-top boating access sites off Route 20 in the village of Avon and at Geneseo River Access Park in the village of Geneseo. Funding includes $87K from the Kodak Environmental Response Trust. Engineering plans have been finalized and permit applications submitted. We are hopeful construction can be completed next summer.
Quick Notes:
Recreation in the Genesee River Basin
The Genesee River Basin is filled with natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Check out our “Recreation” page to find hiking, paddling and fishing opportunities on the Genesee.
Photo Galleries
Ever since we launched Genesee RiverWatch, we have planned to organize the many beautiful photos taken by Genesee RiverWatch volunteers into Photo Galleries. We have finally got a start and invite you to check out on our new Photo Galleries page.
Genesee River Blueway Map Update
The Genesee River Blueway Map is your guide to paddling the Genesee from its headwaters in Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario. It shows safe access sites and provides the river mileage between these points. Currently, the map is available as a tri-fold brochure at many of the access sites and is downloadable from our website. Also on the website is an interactive map. We have begun the process of adding hiking trails along the river and plan more updates in the future.
Donor Support Helps Us Do Our Work – Please Support our Year End Appeal!
Genesee RiverWatch relies heavily on community support to continue its work of improving water quality and connecting people to the river. We are very appreciative of Our Supporters. As part of our 50th Anniversary year, donations will be matched through the end of 2024 due to the generosity of Sarah C. Mangelsdorf, President, University of Rochester & her husband Karl Rosengren, Professor of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester. We hope you consider supporting our work!