Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Executive Director Whitney Gleason and former CWC Executive Director John Jablonski

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy will be holding a welcome reception for its new Executive Director this Sunday.

Whitney Gleason took over as the leader of CWC on February 15. She said her first experience with CWC was as an intern in law school, “I received a grant award to be able to choose a non-profit to be able to intern with over the summer. So I did some research and found John and the Watershed Conservancy and thankfully he was willing to take me on as an intern. And then in 2019, I reached back out to John and asked him if he was willing to bring me back on board and joined him then, actually, in an education position.”

Gleason said she first served as the Water Quality Programs Manager and then as Director of Development.

CWC Co-Founder and former Executive Director John Jablonski has stepped back into a role as Special Projects Coordinator.

The reception is open to the public and will take place from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Sunday, March 5 at the CWC’s offices located at 71 East Fairmount Avenue.

Future Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Executive Director Whitney Gleason and Current CWC Executive Director John Jablonski

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Co-Founder and Executive Director John Jablonski has announced he will be stepping down from his role.

In a video on Facebook, Jablonski announced alongside current Deputy Executive Director Whitney Gleason, that on February 15, he will step down as Executive Director, “Whitney will become the new Executive Director. And I will be stepping back this Spring to be the Special Projects Coordinator. But that doesn’t mean I’m retiring from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy.”

Jablonski has served as the CWC Executive Director for the last 33 years.

Gleason stated that she’s excited to continue Jablonski’s work at the CWC, which will include the mapping of highest priority conservation sites in Chautauqua County in 2023.

WATCH

Funding for the Community Conversation is made available by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act stabilization grant fund.

Left to Right: John Jablonski from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Dr. James Cirbus from the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Dr. Rudy Mueller from the Chautauqua Lake Association, and WRFA Public Affairs Director Julia Ciesla-Hanley.

State Senator George Borrello said his involvement with the CWC went back to when he helped create the Lake Erie Management Commission as a County Legislator. He said the mission now with the Chautauqua Lake watershed is to ensure that we’re treating the disease and not just managing the symptoms, “The symptoms are what is in the water but the disease that needs to be cured is in the watershed around it. I appreciate that early education, it helped me as a County Legislator, as the chairman of the Lake Erie Management Commission, as County Executive and it continues to this day as a State Senator and that is the work the Conservancy has done for so many folks like myself.”

State Assemblyman Andy Goodell recognized CWC Executive Director John Jablonski‘s efforts in growing the organization, “To see the Watershed Conservancy go from your living room – a dream, an idea – to having two miles of protected shoreline and over a thousand acres of preserves, it’s an amazing accomplishment. But even more important than the progress that’s been made by the Conservancy is the long term impact the Conservancy will have on the future of Chautauqua County.”

County Executive PJ Wendel said we have to address issues of what is going into Chautauqua Lake, which is what the CWC is doing, and he added that the county’s memorandum of understanding on Chautauqua Lake is a vital part of this, “Because it’s not only what’s in the lake but what’s going into the lake. That’s the key. And we’ve said before that’s the most important piece. We could do whatever we want in the lake, but if we’re not taking care of what’s going into the lake we’re going to continue this problem year after year.”

The new location of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is 71 East Fairmount Avenue.

• AUDIO ALSO AVAILABLE AT SOUNDCLOUD

WRFA’s Jason Sample talk with John Jablonski, executive director of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy (CWC), and Becky Nystrom, CWC board president, to learn more details about the CWC and some of its recent education and preservation initiatives focusing on the local watersheds within Chautauqua County.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

Originally airing Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019

John Jablonski and Becky Nystrom from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy discuss the recently completed Chautauqua Lake Conservation Statement, which offers a general understanding of what the goals for the lake should be, as well as both the long-term and short-term solutions should be in order to achieve those goals. In addition to the CWC, the statement has also been endorsed by several other groups and organizations, illustrating a general consensus on how to proceed with managing the lake in future years.

The Statement was drafted by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy with input from other lake stakeholders and outlines a general understanding of what the goals for the lake should be, as well as both the long-term and short-term solutions should be in order to achieve those goals.

CWC executive director John Jablonski tells WRFA that the statement reinforces the notion that most lake groups have worked together in the past and will continue to work together moving forward.

“Most groups have been working very well together for the past 20 years and have had a lot of consensus building that’s going on through the development of the existing programs that are underway around the lake,” Jablonski says. “Another major point was to make sure that some of the misinformation is clarified out there.”

Jablonski adds the misinformation includes the approach to dealing with invasive plant species, which, despite their name, are actually aquatic plants that have been around long enough to become part of the overall lake ecosystem.

“The two main exotic plants in Chautauqua Lake that can be a problem – Eurasian water milfoil and curly leaf pond weed – they’ve been around here for 50 to 80 years already. They spread in mid 1900s. They are throughout the whole lake. They’re naturalized and are part of the system. That shipped sailed a long time ago so there’s really not a concern about them spreading today because they spread already. They grow where the conditions are suitable for them to grow so it’s a matter of trying to address those conditions that promote the growth of those plants.”

For long-term strategies, the document says the lake must be surrounded with healthy, natural landscapes that filter nutrients and pollutants from the water that flows to the lake. This means permanently protecting streams, woodlands and wetlands, planting buffers along shorelines and streambanks, and reforesting portions of the watershed. It adds that new development in the watershed must be offset by restoration of wetlands and forests. The long-term health of the lake also requires improvements in septic, sewer and storm-water management practices. Selective dredging of the lake to reduce the amount of sediment that provides internal nutrient loading also has been suggested as a potential long-term action.

For more short-term management, the document suggests continuing the process of plant harvesting to reduce nuisance lake vegetation that makes lake navigation and recreation difficult. The harvesting also helps to removes organic matter from the lake that can feed future algae blooms. In addition, it suggests the continued effort of stream bank stabilization, which helps to prevent sediment build-up and nutrient runoff into the lake.

The statement also addresses herbicide using, saying it is not entirely opposed to using chemicals to combat weed growth, but states that it should be on a limited basis and only in isolated areas, not large sections of the lake in order to prevent any adverse effects on the environment and wildlife.

“Herbicide use can be suitable when it fits within an invasive species management plan and when other methods of nuisance plant control are not workable,” The statement reads. “It is crucial that any short-term solutions used to address excessive plant and algae growth within the lake are not short sighted; they must be well thought out and performed in conjunction with long-term goals. They cannot endanger the fish, birds, amphibians, animals and insects that rely on the lake and must not pose a risk to human use of the lake’s waters.”

The statement comes as Chautauqua County government officials work to establish a consensus on the best course of action needed in order to tackle the weed issues in the lake, which during the summer months have created problems for visitors and boaters, especially in the southern basin of the lake. In addition, a large deposit of aquatic vegetation gathered in an area of Burtis Bay near Celoron this past fall, leading to a large volume of fish dying in that area due to suffocation.

Besides the CWC, other organizations that have signed onto the Lake Statement include the Chautauqua Lake Association, the Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Institution, Roger Tory Peterson Institute, and the Conewango Creeek Watershed Association – along with others, although the Chautauqua Lake Partnership – the organization primarily involved with expanding herbicide use in the lake, has not given its endorsement.

More details about the statement can be heard this week when we broadcast our interview with Jablonski, who is joined by CWC director emeritus Becky Nystrom. on our Community Matters program (Thursdays at 5 p.m., Fridays at 2 p.m., and Sundays at noon).

CWC Executive Director John Jablonski III will discuss Chautauqua Lake’s plant, algae and sedimentation problems and share what the CWC is doing to address those problems.

There is no charge for admission, and Stedman Corners will provide free coffee to those attending the Conservation Conversation.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

Originally airing Thursday, April 27, 2017.

John Jablonski and Lyle Hajdu from Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy stop by the WRFA Studio to update listeners on the organization’s events and initiatives for 2017.