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The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association and Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) invite the public to participate in EVERY FAMILY OUTSIDE: programs designed to educate while exploring nature and all the region has to offer!
Canandaigua, NY, May 27, 2022- The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association (CLWA) and Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) are pleased to announce a new joint program providing outdoor learning experiences for families that promote stewardship and appreciation of our local lands and waters.
The “Every Family Outside” program begins on Saturday, June 4, with a series of family-friendly events continuing throughout the spring, summer and fall, making outdoor recreation obtainable for people of all ages and inspiring connection and learning through environmental experiences.
Activities and events will highlight the vast outdoor recreational offerings at several area preserves, parks and educational centers across the Finger Lakes region, including Bare Hill Unique Area on the east side of Canandaigua Lake, Kershaw Park along the north shore of Canandaigua Lake, and the Muller Field Station at the south end of Honeoye Lake. Each event will feature a lesson or activity guided by an experienced environmental educator.
“Public access and accessibility to our local lakes and watershed areas is critical to help build a long-lasting connection to our environment,” said Lindsay McMillan, Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association Director. “By offering this great series of events in partnership with the Finger Lakes Land Trust, we hope to inspire and empower the next generation to become stewards of their watersheds through their daily actions.”
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to expand our partnership with the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association,” said Finger Lakes Land Trust Executive Director Andrew Zepp. “Education is an important part of both organizations’ conservation efforts, and we are more effective working together.”
Each “Every Family Outside” event is free and open to the public. Pre-Registration is required for each event. Visit https://www.canandaigualakeassoc.org/ to register, and follow the CLWA Facebook page for more information leading up to the events.
The Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) is a nonprofit conservation organization working to conserve forever the lands and waters of the Finger Lakes region, ensuring scenic vistas, clean water, local foods, and wild places for everyone. They have protected over 28,000 acres across the region, including nearly 2,000 acres within the Canandaigua Lake watershed. The FLLT invites you to explore over 40 public nature preserves, including Canandaigua Vista Nature Preserve and East Shore Preserve at Bare Hill, which are free and open for everyone.
The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association (CLWA) mission is to inspire the entire watershed community to become stewards of Canandaigua Lake through education, scientific research, and advocating sound public policy. By engaging all stakeholders, CLWA strives to preserve, protect and restore the lake and its watershed for current and future generations. They run a K-12 Watershed Education Program in the Naples, Canandaigua, and Marcus Whitman School Districts.
Channel Paddle and Aquatic Insect Discovery at Muller Field Station
Experience the wonders of the swamp by participating in a canoe paddle, aquatic insect sampling, or an educational walk along the inlet.
When: Saturday, June 4th 2022 at 10:00 am
Where: Muller Field Station – 6455 County Road 36 in Honeoye, NY 14471 (Finger Lakes Community College Field Station)
Register: https://forms.gle/WadjzGwYH3hdFTVWA
Learn to SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) at Kershaw Park
Participate in a SUP paddleboard lesson provided by a Canandaigua Sailboard instructor then use your new-found skills to roam the waves of the beautiful north shore of Canandaigua Lake.
When: Saturday, July 16th 2022 at 11:00 am or 1:00 pm
Where: Kershaw Park – North End of Canandaigua Lake at 155 Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua, NY 14424
Register: https://forms.gle/viehcjS5MQcssvDv5
Storytellers Circle and Hike at Bare Hill with Ganondagan
Discover the legend of Bare Hill and other important aspects of Hodinohso:ni’ life through stories told by a Native American Interpreter from Ganondagan Seneca Art & Cultural Center, and stay for a hike with the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
When: Saturday, September 24 2022 at 10:00 am
Where: Bare Hill Unique Area – 5950 Van Epps Road in Rushville, NY 14544
Registration Coming Soon!
We’ve got 10 Native Plants that will make a great addition to your garden this year. Native plants help support our wildlife and ecosystems by providing nectar for pollinators, shelter for species like caterpillars, and food from their seeds for birds and other wildlife. It’s important to remember when selecting your plants to choose species that would be naturally found in our area to maintain a stable ecosystem for our watershed.
Bee Balm, Monarda didyma, is a beautiful perennial that attracts bees (hence the name) and is highly aromatic as it is in the mint family. Bee Balm is often compared to Bergamont for its aroma (and Bergamont is another good native plant to consider). When in bloom, this plant can also attract hummingbirds, and in the fall months, it can provide seeds for birds. One great thing about Bee Balm is that deer and other animals tend to avoid eating it.
Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium maculatum, is an exceptional pollinator for your garden. It attracts a variety of butterflies and bees. This plant does well in full and partial sun, and it looks stunning in the summer months when in bloom!
Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, although not actually a native to the area but has naturalized here, has many benefits to the ecosystem, as it attracts bees, butterflies, and other insects. Echinacea is often used for its medicinal benefits and can help support immune system function. This plant blooms from July through September and does best in full sun.
Trumpet Honeysuckle is a substitute for the invasive Bush Honeysuckle! These vines will bloom from June through August and are great for adding to a trellis or pergola. They are mildly fragrant and do a great job attracting butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
Not to be confused with the ginger root you cook with, wild ginger is native to our area and is a fantastic ground cover in shaded areas. It acts as a host plant for caterpillars and moths and is pollinated by ground insects like ants.
Berry bushes like Chokeberry are versatile because they are tolerant to many growing conditions and soil types. Let them grow tall to create privacy screens along property lines or plant them in woodland areas where soil may not be ideal. Chokeberry is an all-around great native plant because it is pollinator-friendly, provides shelter for wildlife, and is a food source for many different species. The berries are also non-toxic to pets and children, making them a safe addition to your yard or garden!
Bearberry and Elderberry are also great options!
Low Bush Blueberries are native to our area and grow in the wild. While this species is different from High Bush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) which is commonly used for commercial blueberries, it still produces edible berries! These bushes make excellent groundcover in full-sun areas with well-draining soil. It should come as no surprise that these berries provide an excellent food source for an abundance of wildlife…and you can enjoy them too!
Woodland sunflower is exceptionally tolerant to different growing conditions, ranging from partial shade to full sun. It will grow aggressively left on its own, so it would be ideal for lining driveways or wooded areas. Woodland Sunflower attracts a wide variety of bees, and it provides seeds for bird species in the fall.
Goldenrods are a vital late-season pollinator plant. Prior to winter, Honey bees often collect large amounts of goldenrod nectar. They also provide habitat for wildlife and help stabilize soils.
Asters provide late-season nectar for pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. They will grow best in partial shade and semi-moist soil. Asters bloom from late summer to late fall, so now is a great time to pick some out at a local nursery to plant!
Colton Ratey – Plant Materials Program Technician for NYS Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation
Colton is a past volunteer for the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association.
“I would recommend to gardeners don’t do any clean up in fall and leave the dead plant material over winter. It may not look the best, but it’s a great way to attract wildlife. Many insects overwinter (shelter) in the dead hollow stems of plants, and birds can use the seed heads of flowers as food during the winter. Then in spring, gardeners can knock down the dead plant stalks and leave them on the ground as natural compost.” A few of his favorite native plants include Goldenrod and Asters.
White Oak Nursery
Canandaigua, NY 14424
Amanda’s Native Garden
Dansville, NY 14437
Author: Samantha Joslyn
Sources:
www.townofbrighton.org/DocumentCenter/View/5404/Landscaping-with-New-York-State-Native-Plants?bidId=
www.storey.com/article/five-plants-to-help-pollinators
www.cornellbotanicgardens.org/plant/wild-ginger-3
www.birdwatchinghq.com/when-should-you-plant-coneflower-seeds
www.thespruce.com/joe-pye-weed-eupatorium-purpureum-1402848
www.birdwatchinghq.com/bee-balm
www.gardendesign.com/shrubs/chokeberry.html
www.hgtv.com/outdoors/flowers-and-plants/groundcover-and-vines/honey-do-growing-trumpet-honeysuckle
The Lake Friendly Living Coalition of the Finger Lakes has announced that beginning May 2 it will sponsor an education series featuring numerous expert speakers on watershed resiliency. May is designated by the Coalition as Lake Friendly Living Awareness Month, and the education series will run throughout the month.
The series will kick off on May 2 with Fred Stoss of the SUNY University of Buffalo Science and Engineering Center and his session on “Climate Resiliency and What it Means for the Finger Lakes.” Register for this Zoom session here:
Sessions will be a mix of online and in-person formats and are free and open to the public with pre-registration. The series features climate resiliency; home, garden, and shoreline practices; rain garden and rain barrel workshops; invasive species threats; citizen science; and more.
A calendar with registration links for all sessions and speakers is available here: www.flrwa.org/lake-friendly-living.
A partial list of sessions includes the following:
“As a rapidly changing environment increases threats to our waters, working together throughout the Finger Lakes to empower our communities to better protect our natural resources through resiliency is imperative,” said Margie Creamer, President of the Finger Lakes Regional Watershed Alliance (FLRWA). “We at the Alliance are a proud supporter of the Lake Friendly Living initiative and are looking forward to some exceptional educational opportunities being offered throughout May.”
About the Lake Friendly Living Coalition of the Finger Lakes
The Lake Friendly Living Coalition of the Finger Lakes is an alliance among nine lake associations dedicated to preserving drinking water, economic vitality, and recreational resources. The Coalition works together to inform their constituents about the issues that impact the finger lakes and encourage action to make positive change. The Coalition represents Canandaigua, Cayuga, Conesus, Honeoye, Keuka, Otisco, Owasco, Seneca, and Skaneateles lakes. For more information, visit https://www.flrwa.org/lake-friendly-living.
Her name was Helen, and she loved the Lake.
In the early 1950’s, with a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport, she was a physical education teacher at Monroe High School in Rochester. She worked summers as a counselor at Camp Onanda, the YWCA camp on the west side of Canandaigua Lake, now known as Onanda Park. Helen was the camp waterfront director, and in that role, she would lead a group of young girls eight miles by canoe to West River at the South end of the lake where they would spend the night camping among the mosquitos and other creatures that live in that wild, swampy landscape. No cell phones and limited comforts. Then eight miles back the next day.
One day in the summer of 1955, a young man drove from Rochester to Camp Onanda to take her for an early morning breakfast – their first date. She would fall in love with the young man, Fred, who would become her husband the next year. They would raise five children together.
In 1966, Fred took Helen to a bluff near Seneca Point, a few miles south of Camp Onanda, to show her land he wanted to buy and build a cottage for the family. She looked at the steep cliff and thought of her four young children. “No, thank you”, she said. Fred bought the land nonetheless, with a new vision of building a lake side resort to complement the ski area he helped found just a few miles away. That bluff is now home to Bristol Harbour Village, in the Town of South Bristol. Ironically, they would soon live on that bluff with their children and reside there for nearly 50 years. There she taught her family to love the Lake.
In the late 1960’s, like many rural towns around the Finger Lakes, South Bristol had no zoning code and no laws to prevent the proposed resort. However, there was strong public opposition, and soon the Town, along with many across the Finger Lakes, moved to adopt local zoning ordinances that would regulate development along their shorelines. Bristol Harbour, however, was grandfathered and approvals were granted by the New York State DEC after meeting strict requirements for wastewater treatment.
The public opposition also led to citizen groups forming to stop Bristol Harbour. At one point, Fred offered to sell the land to a group of neighbors for what he paid for it, but they declined. One such citizen group became Canandaigua Lake Pure Waters Association, a parent organization to today’s CLWA.
Helen’s simple “No, thank you” in 1966 would have an impact on events that influenced regional zoning regulations and the evolution of groups interested in the health of watersheds across the Finger Lakes. Her decision also led to a beloved waterfront community and golf course, both enjoyed by thousands over the years.
Her name was Helen. She was my mom, and she taught us how to love the Lake.
Wade Sarkis
In Honor of Helen O’Hara Sarkis
August 6, 1931 – January 31, 2022
Earthworms are good, right? This is what most of us assume. But before we dive back into springtime mulching and planting season, have you heard of jumping worms?
They are known by several different nicknames, i.e., crazy worms, snake worms, Jersey wigglers, and Alabama Jumpers, due to the thrashing behavior they exhibit while trying to escape. Whatever you choose to call them, Amynthas agrestis, Amynthas tokioensis, and Metophire hilgendorfi, all native to Asia, are listed as “species of concern” in several states including NY. Unfortunately, they are spreading in our area, most likely through the transfer of mulch, compost, leaf litter and plants. Often sold as fishing bait in the past, they are now prohibited by the NYS DEC. This means you cannot “knowingly possess with the intent to sell, import, purchase, transport, or introduce” jumping worms.
Earthworms were mostly eradicated in the northern United States during the last glacial advance. The forest ecosystems that exist in this region evolved without worms as decomposers, relying instead on fungi, microflora, and fauna to slowly release nutrients. However, through human activity and movement, European earthworms were introduced as early as the 1600’s and are what we are most familiar with in our gardens and lawns. Jumping worms arrived in the US about a century ago from Asia, but in the past 15 years have begun to spread widely and have only recently become a concern in NYS.
Why are they so concerning? Unlike European worms, jumping worms tend to live in the top few inches of soil and are ravenous consumers of organic material. They are an annual species, dying over the winter, which means they grow faster and have much more energy to put toward reproducing. The egg cases are small and hard to find and jumping worms don’t need a mate! They can reproduce asexually and quickly, so it only takes one to create a new invasion. They leave behind castings very similar to coffee grounds when dry and ground beef when moist. An invasion of jumping worms can reduce leaf litter by 95% in one season, reducing 12 plus centimeters of rich, decomposing, organic material to an altered, bare soil.
This is a problem in many ways:
In home gardens, disruption of the soil can diminish the growth of annuals, perennials, and turf grass.
There is a lot to be learned about these invaders and much we don’t know. For instance, if Canandaigua’s steep, forest covered slopes become invaded with jumping worms, and the forest floor is left bare, what happens when the “coffee ground” soil erodes into the lake? How will those nutrients impact our water quality? What other cascading repercussions will we see? There are currently no effective means of removal once you have them, so the best answer is to prevent their spread.
Check out the Homeowner’s Guide for Asian Jumping Worms from the NY Invasive Species Research Institute for more information.
CREDITS
Article by: Sonya Carnevale, CLWA Outreach Committee Chair
Feature Image Courtesy of: University of Minnesota
References:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/invasive-jumping-worms
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/invasive-jumping-worms-damage-soil-threaten-forests
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10tVhbO1eP6o7GSGZapcJZnSILFQZV5jo/view?usp=sharing
Abby Webster is a PhD student at SUNY ESF studying benthic and attached cyanobacteria in the Finger Lakes. She works closely with the team at the Finger Lakes Institute in Geneva to conduct her field work, and last summer, deployed artificial substrate racks in Canandaigua Lake to test methods for sampling and monitoring attached cyanobacteria (see the 07/16/2021 CLWA Water Quality Update). Attached cyanobacteria are just that – they are attached to some substrate, which could be rocks, plants, dock legs, buoys, etc. These cyanobacteria are different than those responsible for the harmful algal blooms observed on the surface of Canandaigua Lake each summer, but they are important to study as they are also capable of producing harmful toxins.
In 2021, Abby deployed three artificial substrate racks on the east side of Canandaigua Lake near Cottage City, with permission from CLWA Members Andrea Odenbach, Tom Vecchi, and Sally Napolitano. Each month from June to October, Abby checked on the artificial substrates using a handheld fluorometric tool, the BenthoTorch, to see what algae had attached. The BenthoTorch uses LEDs to measure the relative proportions of the three benthic algal groups: cyanobacteria, diatoms, and green algae. Attached algae are an important component of the base of the food web, and diatoms especially are a high-quality food source for grazers. Below is a graph representing BenthoTorch data from the site in Canandaigua Lake with the most attachment in 2021. Broadly the data show how the attached algal community changed over time. The y-axis is the “Proportion of Total Chlorophyll-a (%)”, and the x-axis displays both depths of the artificial substrate tiles “Surface” and “Bottom”. The four panels in the graph represent each month they were sampled. The blue-green color represents cyanobacteria, the yellow represents diatoms, and the green is for green algae. The size of the different colored bars tells us the proportion of that algal group relative to the total algal biomass. We can infer the following things from this graph: 1) diatoms were the most dominant algal group followed by cyanobacteria, and then green algae, 2) surface and bottom tiles differed only slightly in their attached algal composition, and 3) attached cyanobacteria generally increased in relative proportion to the other algal groups as the summer progressed. It was expected that diatoms would make up the largest proportion of the attached algal groups and that green algae made up the smallest as Canandaigua is a relatively low nutrient lake, and the trend of cyanobacteria makes sense with the warming water temperatures later in the season. Since diatoms are dominant in these assemblages, attached and benthic algae may be a significant source of nutrition for grazers in Canandaigua Lake. Because cyanobacteria are present in these assemblages throughout the season, we want to take a further look into their role as primary producers in Canandaigua Lake and whether they are producing toxins that could enter the food web.
Abby is planning to repeat these methods at two sites in Canandaigua Lake this year. She also plans to SCUBA dive this summer to collect algae growing on the lake bottom for comparison to the tiles while adding light, temperature, and nutrient measurements to help interpret these data. After collecting the algae, she will do microscopy, pigment, nutrient, toxin, and genetic analyses. Abby’s work aims to characterize attached and benthic cyanobacteria communities in the Finger Lakes to better understand their ecology and toxin production. You can contact Abby with any questions you have via email: abwebste@syr.edu.
Last week’s rains, ranging from 4-7 inches across the watershed, brought the lake level up by 1.8 feet. In recent days, the lake level reached a high of 689.84 (feet above sea level) and as of today (11/2) it is 689.74. It looks like the lake elevation has peaked at this point. If we don’t get any additional rain, the lake level will slowly begin to drop over the next several days.
On October 26 (Tuesday of last week) the City of Canandaigua fully opened all three outlet gates (the feeder canal gate and the two main outlet gates behind Wegmans). Those gates have remained open and will continue to stay open until the lake comes down by at least 2 feet. This will likely take a few weeks.
Lake/Watershed Facts to remember:
We hope our watershed neighbors have remained safe and have not experienced too much damage during these recent storm events. We may continue to see floating debris in the lake and along shorelines in the coming days. Although there are no official navigation warnings from the Sheriff’s Office, it is strongly suggested that you use caution if you are boating on the lake. Please drive slowly so as to not create unnecessary wake that may further erode shoreline areas.
The lake level on Canandaigua Lake is measured by NOAA. A link to the data can be found here or see the graph below.
Water Quality Update for October 15, 2021
Welcome to the final Friday Water Quality Update of the season.
Last week, we reported on a significant bloom event that started on Monday October 4th– occurring mostly on the west of the lake and then intensified by Wednesday October 6th to a lake-wide bloom event. We are sharing results from last week’s samples collected by volunteers below. These samples had the highest blue green algae (cyanobacteria) levels of the season.
Since last week’s significant bloom event, activity had (for the most part) calmed down, although with yesterday’s calm conditions, there were 8 bloom reports filed (Thursday, 10/14). Three samples were collected from the east side of the lake yesterday – in Crystal beach, Cottage City, and Vine Valley. All showed significant concentrations of algae.
We want to stress that although we are well into October, there is still the potential for cyanobacteria to reach bloom levels when conditions are right. Sunny or not, on calm days we have been seeing surface accumulations of HABs. From our sampling efforts, we know that when you see surface accumulations of blue green algae, the levels are high and these blooms have the potential to be harmful to both human and pet health. Please continue to avoid these areas and do not let your pets swim in water that is discolored, showing surface streaks of algae, or has “pea soup” like conditions.
Although this is the final scheduled weekly water quality update, monitoring will continue through a combination of volunteer and watershed staff efforts. We are also staying connected with the water purveyors to learn of any potential drinking water impacts from harmful algae blooms. Routine monitoring of the municipal drinking water systems continues to show that the treated drinking water is safe to drink. The latest weekly results can be found here.
CLWA thanks our many volunteers for their continued support and efforts to monitor the lake in this extended season. You will be hearing more from CLWA and our partners in the coming weeks as we put together our season-end report. The Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council will also be hosting a public meeting to share information about the latest efforts to update our current Watershed Plan to meet the DEC requirements for a 9 Element Watershed Plan later this fall / early winter. More information on that event will be coming out in the future.
Lakewide Bloom Event on Canandaigua Lake
Many areas around the lake impacted by harmful algae blooms
This week, we experienced a significant harmful algal bloom event on Canandaigua Lake. Blooms extended along the vast majority of the shoreline, as well as several areas mid-lake. Other nearby lakes also reported similar extensive bloom events the last few days, including Seneca, Keuka, and Cayuga.
As we reported earlier this week, thick concentrations of cyanobacteria (harmful algae blooms) were reported along the west side of the lake on Monday (10/4) and Tuesday (10/5). By Wednesday (10/6), volunteers, watershed staff, and lake residents were documenting extensive blooms along much of the 36 miles of shoreline. Heavy surface streaking of algae and “pea soup”-like conditions were observed, in some cases extending 100+ feet off the shoreline. Streaks were also documented in mid-lake areas extending up and down the lake. It was by far the most significant HAB event recorded this season, and was one of the more extensive bloom events we’ve observed since active HAB monitoring began in 2015. Please see the images and video links below.
On the semi-good news side, overall clarity as measured by a secchi disk remains much better than what we were observing during the bloom events of 2015 and 2018. Clarity measurements are averaging about 6 meters in the lake this week. Whereas, during the bloom events of 2015 and 2018, clarity was in the 3 meter range. This is indicating that the overall biomass of cyanobacteria is less than the other major bloom years.
The late-season timing of this bloom event is a little surprising, given the recent cooler air and water temperatures and overcast skies, which are not typically favorable conditions under which HABs form. However, we did have very calm wind conditions for three straight days, which is a big factor in allowing cyanobacteria to multiply and concentrate at the surface. On Sunday 10/3, the northern part of the watershed experienced a significant rain event which pushes nutrients in the lake from surrounding drainage areas. Finally, the natural ecosystem progression of the lake typically has cyanobacteria dominating the algal community at this time of year. As mentioned above- we were not alone in seeing significant blooms- several other Finger Lakes also experienced similar bloom events. We will continue to work with our state and local research partners to better understand these dynamics.
Although the Volunteer Shoreline HABs program officially ended on Sunday, many volunteers have been keeping a trained eye on the lake and using the online reporting system to keep us notified of blooms. 38 HAB reports were filed this week and 20 water samples collected. The first batch of results can be found below. Results for CyanoChlorophyll (measurement of blue-green algae) all showed very high levels. This further stresses the point – bloom areas need to be avoided as they have the potential to be harmful to both human and pet health.
Municipal Drinking Water Test Results
The City of Canandaigua, Town of Gorham, and the Village of Rushville had detectable levels of the microcystin toxin in the raw (untreated) water samples collected on Monday, 10/4. Samples collected of the finished drinking water (after treatment was applied) had non detectable levels of microcystin. Follow up sampling was performed on Thursday, 10/7 at the Gorham water treatment plant and results of raw and finished drinking water had non detectable levels of the microcystin toxin.
Thi sampling is part of the proactive routine microcystin testing that all six Canandaigua Lake water purveyors (the City of Canandaigua, the Village of Newark, the Village of Palmyra, the Village of Rushville, the Town of Gorham, and Bristol Harbour) participate in for testing of both raw (untreated) and finished (treated) drinking water. Weekly results are posted on the CLWA website.
For more information, check out the HABs and Drinking water page on the CLWA website.
VIDEO LINKS: