Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders discusses clean-up and restoration work scheduled to be done on the Chadakoin River.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders providing information on Chadakoin River work to City Council (March 27, 2023)

Work to remove debris in the Chadakoin River Basin is expected to begin in April.

Jamestown City Council approved an allocation by the Jamestown Local Development Corporation of $327,925 in American Rescue Plan funds to the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. These funds are in addition to $35,000 approved by the JLDC board to CWC for work on the Chadakoin River.

CWC Conservation Director Twan Leenders said there are three projects that the funding will be used for, with the first being the debris removal, “It has a number of verticle stumps and all kinds of debris that has accumulated over the decades in there. Two of the different projects involve clearing that out as soon as possible. I just had a meeting yesterday with the DEC and we have the greenlight to actually go ahead with those as soon as possible.”

Leenders said that work will make the basin safe for boaters and other recreation activities. He anticipates starting that work the beginning of April.

Leenders said other projects on the Chadakoin River involves bank restoration on the north shore of the basin as well as both the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge, “Those three sections are truly at an imminent risk of collapsing, just as a result of the way the Warner Dam is maintained and has been maintained for decades with the water level purposely kept at a certain height every summer between May 1 and November 1, in part to also control the lake level for Chautauqua Lake for recreational uses.”

Leenders said that water height maintenance has caused the banks above the dam to be undercut by several feet. The project will build out the banks with rocks as well as native vegetation being planted.

He added the last project being funded is the removal of two large beaver dams on Canal Street off Jones & Gifford Avenue. This will help with water flow to alleviate flooding in that area.

Leenders said the bank stabilization projects will likely begin late this Fall when the Warner Dam is opened again. Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will be contracted to do the work.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders presents to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation board (March 15, 2023)

The Jamestown Local Development Corporation board has approved over $360,000 toward Chadakoin River bank stabilization and debris removal.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservation Director Twan Leenders presented a request for $362,925 in American Rescue Plan funding to remove debris in the Chadakoin River basin as well as do bank stabilization work on the basin’s north shore as well as the north and south shores between the Warner Dam and Main Street Bridge.

Leenders said with the city receiving funding to activate the Chadakoin River basin, there are other projects that should take place first, “It involves items like the existence of tree stumps and vertical spikes in the basin. If you go down to the Chadakoin basin right now, with the water level being as low as it is, you’ll see three, four-foot spikes sticking up out of the sediment. You’ll see tree stumps sticking up. And, you know at this point the dam is still open because it’s on the winter regime, so it’s mostly for flood control just getting water from Chautauqua Lake, melting water, rain water, to feed it out as soon as possible.”

Leenders said the dam will close on May 1, causing water levels in the basin to rise to the same level as Chautauqua Lake and hiding those spikes from boaters. He recommended the debris removal be done as soon as possible given that water levels are low and the DEC will prohibit work in the river come April 1 when fish spawning season arrives.

Leenders said Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District would be contracted to do the work for all of the projects.

JLDC broke up CWC’s request by approving $35,000 for the debris removal project so that that project could begin immediately. They then approved a second resolution for the remaining $327,925 for bank stabilization work.

City Council will review the $327,925 funding request at its work session on Monday, March 20th where Leenders is expected to present on the request.

Council previously approved $277,750 from the Water, Sewer and Broadband funds category to fund phase one of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Chadakoin River Stabilization Project. Phase one, which involved the CWC removing debris and clearing trees out of the lower Chadakoin River, was completed in Summer 2022.

Chautauqua Institution‘s Symphony Orchestra was granted $50,000 in Downtown Programming funds for a concert at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

The program will be “The Music of Billy Joel featuring Michael Cavanaugh with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra” and is scheduled to take place Thursday, August 17.

This will be the first time the Chautauqua Symphony performs off the Institution’s grounds. Their previously scheduled performance in 2020 was canceled due to the Pandemic and the performance scheduled for August 2022 was canceled after author Salman Rushdie was attacked at the Institution’s Amphiteatre the same day.

CWC Director of Conservation Twan Leenders is pictured in a kayak in Ashville Bay during the first pilot removal effort of starry stonewort on September 30.

Local Lake and Watershed organizations have teamed up against the invasive species, starry stonewart, in Chautauqua Lake.

Starry stonewort can easily be mistaken for an aquatic plant at first glance. It first made its way to North America in 1974 via the St. Lawrence River. Since then it has spread to lakes across the Northeast.

The algae is identified by its thin grass-like branches, which grow in whorls around a central stem. Starry stonewort can appear green or brown in color, may be crunchy to the touch, and can be mistaken for native lookalikes like muskgrass. It can form dense stands in late-summer and early-fall, and can be difficult to detect before this growing season.

If left unaddressed, this invasive has the potential to spread to new areas of the lake, impede recreation, crowd out native plants and animals, and negatively impact game fish species.

Representatives from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, the Chautauqua Lake Association, the Alliance, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, and Audubon joined volunteers last month to try to remove starry stonewart from Ashville Bay.

The group performed manual removal with a variety of tools including rakes, screens, and baskets. After around four hours of work, the manual removal team had gathered approximately 12 large bags of starry stonewort, or approximately 750 pounds of material to be disposed.

Following the pilot removal, stakeholders are continuing to assess their findings, consult with outside experts, and collaborate to determine the best path forward to manage starry stonewort in the lake.

For more information, contact Twan Leenders at Twan@chautauquawatershed.org.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy‘s Twan Leenders discusses his efforts to deal with aquatic invasive species and an update on the eradication of Tree of Heaven.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders presents on Phase 1 Chadakoin River Restabilization Project to Jamestown City Council (June 6, 2022)

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy plans to submit another funding request to the City of Jamestown to combat the invasive species, Tree of Heaven, along the Chadakoin River.

CWC Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders presented to City Council on the Phase 1 of the stabilization of the lower Chadakoin River from the Warner Dam to the City-Falconer line, “The guys removed over 100 dead standing Ash trees from the riverbank. And again, you’ll be driving around and see dead trees standing but they’re not in the river channel, they’re in someone’s backyard or away from the river far enough that they weren’t part of the scope of this project. And I couldn’t even give you an accurate number on how many hundreds of cubic yards of logs we removed from the river, debris dams that were there that were taken out, places that blocked the river and caused the current to go into someone’s backyard or into someone’s business that now just flows where it’s supposed to go again.”

City Council had approved $277,750 in American Rescue Plan funds at the end of 2021 for the first phase of the project.

Leenders said the next big concern is the invasive Tree of Heaven, which came into the area as an ornamental tree.

He said there are three core areas of the trees in Jamestown that have gotten out of control to the point that there’s almost a forest stand of the species, “These trees exude chemicals into the ground that make them out-compete everything else and once you have them established nothing else grows there anymore. They re-sprout from the roots and they have a system of stress hormones that even if you try to cut one of these trees down, even if you just ding it, especially when you cut one down, it sends these stress hormones into their root system, and it sends 20 to 40 new young shoots. So every tree you cut with the best intentions multiplies the problem exponentially where you get 20 to 40 more.”

He said the only way to get rid of the trees is a very specific set of chemical treatments to kill them and the root system before they’re then removed. He added this process has to be done at a very specific time, usually in the month of July.

Leenders said the other great concern is that the Tree of Heaven is a preferred host of emerging pest, Spotted Lanternfly, which is a bug that feeds on fruit trees and grape vines.

While he’s in the process of obtaining funding from other sources including state funding, Leenders said he hopes to present an ARP funding request to Council this month in order to try to have that in place along with permits in order to move forward with the eradication of the trees.

Leender’s presentation coincidentally coincided with the start of the state’s 9th Invasive Species Awareness Week.

The State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Agriculture and Markets are holding free daily webinars through Friday. The link to the calendar can be found at https://nyis.info/events/category/nyisaw/2022-06/.

Invasive species are plants, animals, insects, and pathogens that are not native to an area and cause harm to the environment, agriculture, economy, or public health. New York is particularly vulnerable to these pests due to its role as a center for international trade and travel.

County Executive PJ Wendel, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Twan Leenders

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has kicked off an effort to certify Chautauqua County as a National Wildlife Federation Community Habitat.

Officials, including Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, as well as representatives from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, Jamestown Public Market, and Master Gardeners gathered at an event Thursday in the South Basin area of the Jamestown Riverwalk.

CWC Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders said the restoration area of the south bank of the Chadakoin River by the Board of Public Utilities is now part of the certified habitats, “Which has native plants on it. It has habitats for wildlife in it. We’re not using harmful chemicals on it. It provides all kinds of resources for native plants and animals, and those are really the criteria needed to certify an area, your backyard, a park, as an accredited wildlife habitat.”

CWC Board President Becky Nystrom said there are 98 gardens of the 400 needed are already certified in Chautauqua County.

Leenders said anyone can certify their yard by filling out an online questionnaire. He said this is also how the National Wildlife Habitat Federation tracks how many habitats are in a county, “But it could be any scale, it could be a preserve. Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s preserves certainly qualify. The city has already agreed to work with us for city parks. The county, various community partners, corporate, non-profit.. Really, it’s a very easy process but it’s really a way to collaboratively get them into the mindset that if we manage any kind of property that we manage in a way that we provide resources, a place to live, and food for native wildlife we can make this whole area greener, and better, and healthier.”

The certification checklist and link to certify for your property can be found at nwf.org/certify.

The total $51,024 in State Conservation Partnership Program Capacity and Excellence grants will use $36,000 for the development of a Collaborative Regional Conservation Implementation Strategy for Chautauqua County.

The grant will allow CWC to run a land cover analysis over the entire county to help better prioritize conservation dollars by applying them to where they will have the biggest impact. There hasn’t been a a standardized analysis done of the whole county in terms of the most erosion prone or flood prone areas. However, CWC has run some models in the Chautauqua Lake watershed.

CWC officials say the development of the Regional Conservation Implementation Strategy will involve significant outreach to inform municipal leaders, landowners, and other stakeholders on the presence of high priority conservation areas in their respective jurisdictions. Ultimately, this project will form a road map to recognition and protection of natural resources, areas of scenic beauty, and biological diversity.

CWC Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders will lead the effort with mapping geographic information system (GIS) analysis to be performed by biologist Jonathan Townsend.

The second part of the grant of $15,024 will be used by CWC for accreditation preparation and application support. These funds will enable CWC to add needed capacity to augment and document its policies and practices and properly archive important records to become an accredited land trust in 2023.

Accreditation will allow CWC to apply for conservation grant programs that make that designation a prerequisite for funding.

The grant funded programs are tentatively scheduled to run from now through June 2023.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley talks with Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy‘s Twan Leenders about clean-up work that’s about to start on the lower Chadakoin River.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders presents to Jamestown City Councl

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is requesting over $600,000 in American Rescue Plan funds from the City of Jamestown to improve the safety and resiliency of the lower Chadakoin River.

CWC Ecological Restoration Manager Twan Leenders made the presentation before City Council. He said there are 5.75 miles of the Chadakoin River within the city limits, with .9 miles of that being the section between McCrea Point Park and the Warner Dam. He said that section gets more attention due to its connection to Chautauqua Lake and because it’s more navigable for boats.

Leenders said the 3.5 miles of river past the Warner Dam has not received a lot of attention for quite a while and there is a lot of bank destabilization and erosion, “You see challenges like this throughout the length of the river where banks are washing away by the simple existence of rain and gravity. You know these are things we can’t prevent. They will always be there. So I think it behooves us to maintain the water quality of the Chadakoin. Keep run off, keep erosion from happening by armoring these banks properly.”

Leenders said there is a lot of tree debris in the river, “When you think about the abilities to use the river, for example, for kayaking, for canoeing, it is absolutely impossible right now. It is tremendously dangerous to take a boat on this river cause you don’t know what’s underwater. What’s also really critical is that, especially right now, these obstructions cause the river to not properly drain floodwaters from the city. So areas, neighborhoods, backyards, businesses, are flooding right now because the river cannot simply discharge the water fast enough.”

Leenders presented a proposal that includes removing debris from the river, including dead hazard trees from the bank, and addressing compromised trees that lean into the river. The plan also would stabilize the banks and remove invasive species that are replaced with resilient, native plants. Leenders said that at the same time the restoration work would happen they recommend putting together a master plan for the entire Chadakoin River, “Which looks at all the banks for 3.5 miles between the Warner Dam and the Falconer Village line and identifies and maps all of the trouble spots that exist along that bank. So 3.5 miles both sides, that’s 7 miles of riverbank where there are trouble spots that need to be addressed.

The plan also would look at opportunities to increase the city’s climate resilience and involve property owners and the community in exploring ways to activate the lower Chadakoin. Leenders requested $633,908 in American Rescue Plan funds for the project as an initial investment is needed in the river to get to a point where there’s enough data to apply for other funding streams.