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October 2006 Trailblazer Overflow
The following are important articles that we did not have room for in this issue...
Comments on the Zoar Draft Plan
Greenway Report
Great Lakes Shoreline Issues
Niagara Health-Science Report Veto Commentary (pdf document)
Comments on the Zoar Draft Plan
by Larry Beahan
State Nature and Preserve Trust
The protection from development and active management which the plan offers the gorge and its invaluable natural habitat is excellent.
More Rangers
However there is no mention of the much needed protection of the resource and its visitors in terms of the assignment of more DEC Rangers to patrol the area.
Don't repair Point Peter road-access to the Gorge
Rebuilding the Point Peter Road into the gorge for ATV rescue is unnecessary and if pursued will expose the area to the danger of injuries to illegal ATV and snowmobile riders as well as damage to the resource by their machines. Rescue ATV access exists via Forty Road. But additionally, emergency crews should be supplied with and trained in the use of modern hand litters that are equipped with wheels or with a single large wheel. These are in frequent use in western forests.
What Upland Forest Management is in fact proposed? Let's hear it straight. On page 19, under Management Goals, the plan says, "It is the goal of the DEC to manage all State Forests ". This introduction suggests that the management of Zoar, though contradicted later, will be no different from that of all the other State Forests. To underline that, at the meeting in Cheektowaga, the officer conducting the question and answer session refused to make a distinction between the management planned for Zoar's upland and for that of State Forests.
The document leads the reader to the understanding that a different kind of management is intended at Zoar, one lacking a cash motive and one which would simply restore native species and provide a variety of habitat. Yet this would be accomplished by contracting to commercial loggers. Commercial loggers must earn a profit so their motivation can not be primarily the environmental health of the forest.
The Draft Plan is indulging in a kind of double speak that tries to avoid criticism from those of us who would prefer no logging at all at Zoar. The plan, the people and the forest would be better served and more quickly led to compromise by the use of plain speech.
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Greenway Report
A troublesome element is that North Tonawanda is proposing an RV Park inside what is supposed to be a "Greenway."
by Larry Beahan
NORTH TONAWANDA - This city is nearly surrounded by its biggest asset - a jewel of a waterfront that includes the Niagara River, Tonawanda Creek and the Erie Canal.
Its redevelopment is key to the city's resurgence as a major tourism and recreational destination, which will also enhance the quality of life for Lumber City residents and hopefully increase the city's tax base, too.
A comprehensive waterfront plan - for which there is no timetable or price tag - has been compiled by the Waterfront Commission, an advisory panel to the mayor, after months of extensive meetings with the public, representatives of businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, historical and cultural organizations, and city department heads.
The general concept of the plan, which would easily run into the millions, includes:Converting River Road to a parkway-style roadway with a lower speed limit. Adding landscaped medians and earth berms on the landside as camouflage for industry and railway tracks and enhancing pedestrian access to waterfront and parks along River Road.
General cleanup of public and private waterfront areas.
Upgrading natural areas and removing hazardous waste sites.
Promoting private development along River Road's landside. Encouraging full-scale development of the fishing industry.
Improving marketing of the waterfront.
Some specific suggestions include having a recreational vehicle park at Gratwick Riverside Park; private development of condos on Tonawanda Island; and private mixed-use redevelopment of Gateway Point, which includes Weatherbest Slip and its boathouses.
Waterfront abundance
The draft concept, submitted last week to the Common Council and the Niagara River Greenway Commission, echoes parts of the city's 2006 downtown redevelopment plan created by the city Community Development Department.
James B. Sullivan, director of that office, says that the city "has one of the nicest harbors in New York State . . . it's the gateway to the Erie Canal and it takes in the Niagara River so it's a great location, and we need to take
advantage of it."
That feeling has been expressed by a number of city leaders, including Mayor Lawrence V. Soos, Council President Brett Sommer, who's also on the Greenway Commission; Beverly Loxterman, Waterfront Commission chairwoman; and city harbormaster Jim Mroz, also on the waterfront panel.
Mroz said in a recent interview, "I'm not sure tourism is the total answer" to reviving the city's economy - battered by the loss of industry and jobs - "but people seeking places offering recreational activities have a large amount of disposable income, and they're looking for a place to spend it."
The city's waterfront plan dovetails with what the neighboring City of Tonawanda has proposed to the Greenway Commission, and both cities want a slice of that disposable income pie, said Mroz and Loxterman.
Sommer said the Waterfront Commission's proposal "is a good step towards updating our Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, which is over 20 years old." And the proposal will also be helpful in updating the city's decades-old master plan, "which will seek even more public input."
"What is very beneficial is that while in the past we have focused on one area of development - Gateway Point - in preparing this plan for the Greenway Commission we're forced to our benefit to look at a larger and more comprehensive plan for the whole waterfront."
The plan submitted to the Greenway Commission will be used by that panel's consultants, Wendel Duchscherer, in devising a comprehensive plan for the entire Buffalo-Niagara area that must be submitted to Albany by March 2007, Sommer said.
Among key issues are the greenway boundary and funding.
How far the greenway - which runs from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario - would extend from the Niagara River remains undecided.
Mroz and Loxterman want the boundary set at a half-mile, which in North Tonawanda would encompass all historic areas and sights from Gratwick Riverside Park to the mouth of the canal and the entire length of Tonawanda Creek to the city line.
But the Niagara Power Coalition wants a broader boundary encompassing the entire area of the municipalities that border Niagara River in Erie and Niagara counties, as well as three trails connecting the waterfront with western Niagara County.
In making more communities eligible for funding, the broader boundary would decrease North Tonawanda's chances of obtaining money, some local officials fear.
"If the boundary is not strictly limited to a half-mile from the river and canal, everyone will be coming out of the woodwork trying to jump on this," Loxterman said, adding that some projects might not be waterfront-related. While noting that the Greenway Commission has not decided the boundary issue, Sommer sounded a cautionary note: "If you narrow the boundary limiting where greenway dollars can be spent, you might encounter some legal problems down the road."
The Greenway Commission plan must be approved by all host municipalities and submitted for state approval by March 22. Funding would come primarily from relicensing settlements with the New York Power Authority for the operation of the Niagara Power Project, to which North Tonawanda was not a party. However, there are other sources of money for waterfront development.
Sommer said, "North Tonawanda was not part of that settlement, but we are trying to intervene in the process" so "hopefully there will be monies down the road."
He noted that Soos' proposed budget for 2007 "has some money for Gratwick Park and connecting our neighborhoods with bike pathways to the waterfront" as part of the capital budget.
$200,000 for analysis
In May, the Common Council authorized Soos to apply for a state grant that would cover 90 percent of an estimated $200,000 site analysis and market study of Tonawanda Island. The city would finance the remaining 10 percent.
Mroz and Loxterman said the city is also applying to the state Canal Greenway Commission for a grant for improvements at Gateway Harbor, where the canal empties into the Niagara River. That body has $6 million set aside for canal greenway development and tourism promotion and infrastructure work.
The city would use the money for enlarging the docking area - where 5,375 boats moored in the 2005 season - and adding electric and water services for boaters; designing restrooms for the public and boaters (including showers for the latter) and buying trash receptacles for the site, which draws thousands of people to concerts three nights a week in the summer and to the weeklong Canal Fest in late July.
Also completed this summer was the dredging of 500 cubic yards of material from Gateway Harbor to improve boating conditions financed with a $90,000 state grant obtained through the offices of State Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane.
The economic impact from boaters - who stay an average of two days - totaled about $1.4 million in 2005, according to Mroz.
Nearing completion is the extension of a bike/pedestrian pathway from Gratwick Riverside Park to Fisherman's Park. City Engineer Dale Marshall said the pathway will be extended to Gateway Harbor and the Tonawandas and Erie County pathways next summer.
Also part of the Waterfront Commission's plans are adding areas to the waterfront where people can walk and enjoy the view. For example, decking could be added to the boulders that line the waterfront in Gratwick Riverside Park. A cantilevered decking system and building for the harbormaster is in the works for Gateway Harbor. Canoe and kayak launch areas also are proposed for several waterfront areas, particularly along Tonawanda Creek.
At a commission meeting last spring, several other suggestions were offered including removing the railroad swing bridges: one where the canal and river meet and the other between River Road and Tonawanda Island. Douglas Taylor, president of Taylor Devices on Tonawanda Island, said the bridges pose a hazard to boaters.
Mroz and Loxterman noted that some other potential funding sources for waterfront projects include: state Office of Parks and Recreation, state Department of Environmental Conservation, state Department of Transportation, Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Canal Corp., business sponsorships and private development.
"Dockage and fishing improvements might go through the DEC," for example, said Mroz. And, he added, DOT "will probably have a project to do River Road" at some point.
Enhancing waterfront sites for fishing by things like lengthening piers and adding fish cleaning stations, is high on the wish list of many city officials, who recognize the impact of that industry.
Terry Jones of Town of Tonawanda, owner of First Class Bass Charters, said, "People come from all over the country to fish here. They know it's world-class fishing."
And a lot of sport fishery shows are filmed annually in the area, Jones said, adding that next year Bassmasters "with all the big names is coming. This shows how important fishery is here."
Jones, whose Web site is www.1stclass-bass.com, noted that fishing is year round in the Lower Niagara River. "I know guides who run more trips in the winter than they do in the summer," he said.
Haven for wildlife
Alderman Russ Rizzo, whose First Ward includes Gratwick-Riverside Park, said he favors just about any use that will see the park - created from a former industrial and municipal landfill that was on the state Superfund list - better utilized.
Just recently the Western New York Kiteflyers Society, which uses the park twice a month, told the Common Council that it wants a greater presence at the park.
Marshall, the city engineer, notes that the 16-acre south end of the park is a "passive park," that attracts nature enthusiasts. Kestrel are among the birds and other wildlife that inhabit the site, which is surrounded by a walkway.
Soos and Rizzo are also enthusiastic about adding a recreational vehicle park to Gratwick Riverside, which would generate revenue for the city.
Rizzo, who has attended some Greenway Commission meetings when Sommer was unable to go, said of that panel, "I think that it will do the whole area a lot of good if they get this thing going. They have a lot of good ideas. If they were given carte blanche, I think they would do a great job."
But, he said, the Greenway Commission is "running into a lot of "This is my
area, and I decide what goes where.' " from representatives of various
municipalities.
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Great Lakes Shoreline Issues
by Art Klein
As most of you know I worked in and have been involved with the Great Lakes and shoreline issues for nearly fifty years.
Sadly, I watched the wealthy gobble up huge tracks of land for private enclaves in Michigan Ohio and the St Lawrence River. I witnessed Buffalo and WNY allow powerful bureaucrats to separate the citizens from their best asset, the surrounding waterways. I even had a hand in and unsuccessfully tried to abet the privatizing of the inner harbor shoreline by the condominium construction that now rings the Erie Basin Marina. The wealthy folk believe the shoreline should belong to them even though the clean up of the lakes was mostly a grass roots effort supported by tax dollars.
The latest challenge is the Giambra administration's attempt to convert a section of Wendt Beach to private ownership in the form of a bed and breakfast. The action which is really a private deal that was set up with minimal (read non-existent) bidding process would result in a private company running the beach tract and controlling access to the entire beach.
I do not agree with a preliminary decision that the action could avoid
alienation of parkland by a lease arrangement. Even a lease arrangement would permanently remove public access from the area.
But anyway, once again we Western New Yorkers have a chance to lose even more access to Lake Erie through an area we already have paid for and preserved many times over. Let us take a stand! Take and print out the attached petition and be sure to keep 12:00 Noon, Saturday August 5 open and be at Wendt Beach that day.
This is the campaign thanks to Sharon Trembath, our own Lake Erie coordinator for the Great Lakes Beach Sweep (www.greatlakesbeachsweep.com
S.O.S (SAVE OUR SHORELINE!)
Do you know that the Town of Evans has lost parklands and beach access in Highland, Roat Acres, Grandview Bay, Lake Erie Beach Park, Wendt Road, Purvis Landing, and other locations? Recently, the proposed privatization of Wendt County Park was reported by the media. Problems included restricted beach access and entrance fees, which will affect our residents, youth soccer, and the Great Lakes Beach Sweep. Erie County will be requesting proposals from a minimum of three developers for the 53-acre Sturgeon Point Bluffs. The future of Bennett Beach is still undecided. We need your help now!! We have to protect access to our parks, beaches, and shoreline for children, our future generations, and ourselves.
If you have been chased off a local beach, you can file a complaint with your local police department asking them to send the offending property owner a letter explaining your rights to walk between the water's edge and the high water mark. At a recent Evans Town Board Meeting Legislator Bob Reynolds stated everyone has a right to walk along the beach.
Please send a letter to your Legislator and let him know the importance of our beaches and that we are not going to let anyone take away our access to Lake Erie. Contact Evans Supervisor Robert Catalino at 549-5787 or rcatalino@townofevans.org and let him know your concerns.
Thank you.
If you have any questions contact me. Lets get mad - lets keep our shoreline public!
Art "Happy" Klein (716) 6 9 3-1 0 8 2
43 Luksin Dr
Tonawanda NY 14150
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