Fall/Winter 2004 Newsletter - Onondaga Lake Partnership

A clean lake reflects well on all of us.
VOL 1, ISSUE 8 FALL/WINTER 2004 A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM THE O NONDAGA L AKE P ARTNERSHIP
P R O G R E S S M E E T I N G
REFLECTING OUR PROGRESS AND POTENTIAL—
ANNUAL PROGRESS MEETING 2004
The OLP Executive Committee responds to questions during the question and answer
session moderated by Matt Mulcahy
There was a standing room only turnout for the OLP
2004 Annual Progress Meeting held in the Art and
Home Center of the New York State Fairgrounds
Wednesday, November 3. Before the meeting started, the
room was a buzz of activity as the community viewed
more than a dozen displays and exhibits throughout the
Martha Eddy Room.
“To date, 35 projects have been completed since the
Amended Consent Judgment was signed in January
1998,” said Lt. Col. Timothy B. Touchette, Commander of
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District and
Chair of the OLP Executive Committee. “Particularly
noteworthy is that 25 of the 30 projects required by
the amended consent judgment have been completed,
many well ahead of schedule.” Touchette reported that
the total cost of all projects completed to date is
approximately $204.8 million and that seven projects
were completed in 2004 at a total cost of
$126.2 million.
THE ONONDAGA LAKE PARTNERSHIP (OLP)
Promotes cooperation among federal, state, and local
governments, and other involved parties in the
management of the environmental issues of Onondaga
Lake and the Onondaga Lake watershed in the Syracuse,
New York area.
The 20 minute “Year in Review” video highlighted
progress regarding the METRO ammonia/phosphorous
upgrade, groundwater drilling project, non-point source
pollution, stream bank stabilization, the Onondaga Creek
cleanup, the ambient monitoring program, the Tallman
Street sewer separation project, the Onondaga Creek
Sub-basin Revitalization Plan, Onondaga Lake Day,
Worldwide Monitoring Day and many other outreach
activities. All seven of the 2004 Public Education and
Outreach Mini-Grant recipients, announced in the Spring
2004 issue of Reflections, provided updates on their
projects as well.
For his fourth year in a row, Matt Mulcahy, WTVH-5
news anchor, moderated the question and answer session
between the audience and the OLP panel. During this
part of the program, the public expressed their opinions
and requested further information on certain OLP
projects. Opponents of the Midland Avenue CSO
Abatement project were present and indicated their
concerns with that project. Members of the OLP panel
responded to all questions and comments received. On
this year’s panel were Matthew J. Driscoll, Mayor of
Syracuse; Nicholas J. Pirro, Onondaga County Executive;
Kenneth P. Lynch of the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation; Norman Spiegel of the
New York State Attorney General’s Office;
Mario P. Del Vicario of the U.S. Environmental Protection
continued on page 2
In This Issue
Annual Progress Meeting.......................................................1
Photo Contest............................................................................2
Conservation Tour....................................................................3
Glacial History............................................................................4
2004 Mini-Grant Program...................................................5
World Water Monitoring Days...........................................5
Year-Round Variety on Onondaga Lake...........................6
2004 Creek Clean-up.............................................................7
Local Teachers’ Lake Workshop............................................8
Nine Mile Creek Watershed Day.........................................9
Lights On The Lake Display.................................................10
Aquatic Bug ID Course........................................................10
Yacht Club Water Chestnut Prevention.........................1 1
www.onlakepartners.org

P H O T O C O N T E S T
ONONDAGA LAKE PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCES PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
2
Ray Trudell was the grand prizewinner and first place winner in adult Flora and Fauna Category
We were very excited to receive 129 entries from 42
people for our photo contest this year. Our thanks go out
to CDM/C&S–A Joint Venture, for donating $650 in cash
prizes, Nicholas J. Pirro, Onondaga County Executive for
donating the passes to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and the
Lights on the Lake display, and Charles Wainwright and
Stephen Parker for judging the contest.
The grand prizewinner for the contest was Ray Trudell
for his picture titled “Silhouette of a Goose.” He also
received first place for this entry in the adult Flora and
Fauna category. Additional winners for the adult Flora and
Fauna category were Patti Rusczyk, second place winner, and
Tess Freedman, third place winner. P. Garry Klink received
honorable mention in this category. Gregory Dunbar won
first, second, and third place in the Flora and Fauna teen
category.
Winners for the Seasons category of the contest were:
Irena Felty, adult first place winner for her photo of “The
Shore of Onondaga Lake in the Winter,” Debora Stearns,
adult second place winner, and Paul Garvey, adult third place
winner. Gregory Dunbar received first and third place prizes
for the teen group in the Seasons category and Vanessa
Thrall received second place. Qiaree Porch was the first place
winner in the Seasons category for the 1 1 and under age
group.
Adult prize recipients in the Recreation category were: Tess
Freedman, first place for her picture, “Sailboat on a Summer
Day,”Ann Marie Leo, second place and Stacey Frank, third place.
Gregory Dunbar won all three places in the 12-17 age group for
the Recreation category and Carrie Curry was the first place
winner in the Recreation category for the 1 1 and under age
group.
The Onondaga Lake Partnership will hold the contest again in
2005. The area around the lake and its tributaries is very
beautiful and enjoyable. We encourage people to visit the area,
relax, enjoy and to take pictures that they can treasure for years
to come! Please watch the OLP website for new information on
the 2005 contest and keep those shutters clicking! ■
ANNUAL PROGRESS MEETING continued from page 1
Agency; and Lt. Col. Touchette. The Chairs of the OLP
Resource Committee, Project Committee and Outreach
Committee also provided responses to questions.
To request a copy of the “Year in Review” or the
Annual Progress Meeting DVDs, please visit the OLP
website, www.onlakepartners.org, e-mail us at
info@onlakepartners.org or call us at
1-800-833-6390. ■

CONSERVATION TOUR HIGHLIGHTS DISTRICT’S SUCCESSES
By Megan E. Henderson, Watershed Agricultural Resource Conservation Specialist, Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District
County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro and NY Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann present the
Conservation Farm of the Year Award to Scott Haynes and family
Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District’s
annual Conservation Tour was held this year on September
24th. The tour gives farmers, public officials, environmental
leaders, and interested citizens an opportunity to see, first
hand, some of the District’s “Best Management Practices.”
Funding for these projects is provided by Congressman
James Walsh through the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, New York State grants, the City of Syracuse, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Onondaga
Lake Partnership, and other sources.
The District presented several of their accomplishments to
the 80 attendees at this year’s tour. The tour stopped at
three sites in Onondaga County. At the Onondaga Creek
site, the tour participants saw natural stream designs and
bioengineering techniques that help to stabilize the streambank.
The purpose of the natural stream design structures
is to establish grade control, reduce stream bank erosion,
and enhance fish habitat. Soil bioengineering increases the
resistance of the streambank by binding the soil with root
systems and growing a vegetative cover. The focus of the
Onondaga Creek Project is to reduce or eliminate eroding
streambanks and sediment transport. This project will
improve the water quality in Onondaga Creek and aid in
reducing sediments entering Onondaga Lake.
The tour also stopped at two farms that are participating
in the District’s Agricultural Environmental Management
(AEM) Program for Onondaga Lake. AEM is a voluntary
program that helps farmers alleviate water quality
problems on their farms. At Silver Spring Farm, in the
Onondaga Creek Watershed, the tour participants saw an
installed concrete barnyard, roofwater management, and
high tensile fencing.
The 6,000-gallon manure storage tank with pump,
concrete barnyard and livestock exclusion from the
stream were the highlights at the Ralph Volles Farm, in
the Onondaga Creek Watershed.
After the farm visits, the group arrived at Orchard
Vali Golf Club for a luncheon. Carl Schwartz, U.S. Fish &
Wildlife, spoke about natural stream design projects.
Another highlight of the tour was the presentation of
the Conservation Farm of the Year Award. Onondaga
County Executive Nicholas J. Pirro and NY Senator
Nancy Larraine Hoffmann were present to award the
owner/operator of the Haynes Farm, Scott Haynes.
Many of Scott’s family members showed their support
by accompanying him to the banquet. Congratulations
to the Haynes Farm Family! ■
The tour group learns about best management practices at the Silver Spring Farm
Additional best management practices are viewed by the tour group at the Volles Farm
C O N S E R V A T I O N T O U R
3

G L A C I A L H I S T O R Y
4
GLACIAL HISTORY OF THE ONONDAGA VALLEY
Excavation of the
bedrock troughs and
valleys of the Finger
Lakes region of central
New York State was
part of a worldwide
process that began
about 1.6 million years
ago. The cooling of the
earth’s surface initiated
the movement of glacial
ice sheets from the
earth’s poles across the
upper and mid-latitudes
of the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres.
The climate cooled for
extended periods of
time (thousands of
years) and then
warmed; sometimes
Onondaga Valley Shaded-Relief Map, courtesy of the
USGS
those warm periods were much warmer than our presentday
climate. During each period of cooling, accumulation of
large masses of snow in the upper latitudes of the
Northern Hemisphere consolidated into thick sheets of ice
that would slowly flow south to eventually cover our
region with ice. At glacial maximum, the thickness of ice
may have exceeded 5,000 feet across central New York!
During periods of glacial advancement, the ice was being
supplied more quickly than it was melting at the ice front;
during periods of ice retreat, the replenishment of glacial
ice could not keep up with the rate of ice melting. During
each glacial period, the ice front advanced and retreated
(oscillated) many times and altered the land surface; during
ice advancement the earth’s surface was ‘bulldozed’ clean
and the underlying rock slowly eroded, widening and
deepening valleys and smoothing the hilltops. During periods
of glacial retreat the discharged sediment would partly fill
the valleys with glacial sediment while the water flowed
back to the ocean to then replenish the glacial ice as newly
fallen snow.
The last major period of ice advance and retreat (named
the Wisconsin period) occurred between 100,000 years and
12,000 years ago. This period of glacial erosion and
sedimentation completed the sculpting of the land
surface as we know it today. In central New York the
Wisconsin ice front reached its glacial maximum about
20,000 years ago when it was located south of the
Pennsylvania—New York border. For the next 5,000
years, the ice slowly retreated back (northward) across the
Appalachian uplands. In the Onondaga valley, the ice may
have retreated as far back as present-day Syracuse.
About 15,000 years ago the ice again moved forward
to create the Valley Heads end moraine complex (locally
known as the Tully Moraine) as it is located near the
village of Tully. The ice then oscillated back and forth for
several hundred years near the moraine, before it began
another retreat to the north.
When the ice receded northward, sand and gravel were
deposited atop bedrock and then proglacial lake (in front
of the glacier) silt and clay slowly settled-out as finegrained
deposits on top of the coarser-grained sediments.
The retreat of the ice in the Onondaga valley may have
paused just north of the intersection of the west and
main branches of the Onondaga valley (near U.S. Route
20) and then re-advanced into the Tully valley. The ice
again retreated from the valley and from the surrounding
uplands. As the ice retreated off the uplands it created a
series of outlet channels at successively lower land surface
elevations along the east side of the valley. The channels,
known as the “Syracuse Channels”, began with the
Smokey Hollow channel and ended with the Erie Canal
and Ley Creek channels. Green Lakes State Park is within
one of these Syracuse outlet channels and the force of
water eroded the bedrock to create the steep bedrock
cliffs (formerly waterfalls) and the deep lakes (plunge
pools) found below these cliffs.
Once the ice had left the confines of the Onondaga
valley, the glacial dynamics changed as the Onondaga
valley walls no longer controlled the position of the
subglacial flow system. Much fine-grained material was
deposited across the Lake Ontario Plain, north of the
Onondaga Escarpment. In Onondaga Lake, fine-grained
silt and clay from adjacent streams and lake tributaries
settled to the lake bottom over the past 12,000 years
adding to the glacially derived sediments beneath them.
continued on page 5

GLACIAL HISTORYcontinued from page 4
Also, the postglacial rise of the land surface (called
isostatic rebound) occurred following the retreat of the
very heavy glacial ice mass. This rebound caused the land
surface to rise and to reduce the slope of the valley floor,
which, in turn, caused Onondaga Creek and its tributaries
to discharge finer-grained alluvial (stream derived)
sediments across the valley floor, even as the valley floor
continued to rise.
Today the valley floor within the city of Syracuse is
capped with natural alluvial sediment and man-made fill
that ranges in thickness from several feet to several tens
of feet. Also, Onondaga Creek has been altered from a
naturally meandering stream course to a man-made
channel from Onondaga Lake to the southern end of the
city. These alterations were made, beginning in the early
1900s, to reduce flooding that occurred nearly every year
along the meandering channel of the creek.
While the glacial history of central New York and the
Onondaga Valley is much more complex than that
explained above, this summary gives one an understanding
that the landscape we see today is a combination of
hundreds of thousands of years of glacial ice advance and
retreat and a few hundred years of man’s influence on the
land surface. While our ‘alterations’ to the land surface are
minimal in comparison to the force and energy of glacial
ice and water flowing from the melting ice, whatever
actions we do within the watershed not only modify the
land surface but can also alter the quality of the water
resource that flows in our streams and the ground water
that flows beneath the land surface. ■
2005 MINI GRANTS PROGRAM
Does your organization need funds for a creative
environmental project?
The OLP Mini-Grant Program is offering $40,000 to
eligible recipients. The OLP supports projects that
encourage community education and involvement in
pollution prevention and habitat restoration work for
Onondaga Lake and its watershed. This year, there is a
special emphasis on educational projects. The maximum
amount per mini grant is $5,000. For additional
information please visit the OLP website at
www.onlakepartners.org.
WORLD WATER
MONITORING DAYS
September 30 and October 1, 2004
Henninger High School students Nazir Ibriham (left) and Jimeisha McBride (right) share
water sampling results with their teacher Suzanne DeTore
The Onondaga Lake Partnership sponsored its
3rd Annual Water Quality Monitoring Day event on
September 30 and October 1, 2004. Over 130 students
from six Syracuse area schools gained hands-on experience
in sampling for several water quality parameters in
Onondaga Creek, Kimber Brook and Webster Pond. Staff
from the U.S. Geological Survey, Upstate Freshwater
Institute, Onondaga Lake Cleanup Corp., U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation and demonstrated and
engaged students in water quality monitoring techniques,
stream sampling and aquatic insect identification. Students
conducted water quality testing experiments to measure
parameters such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and
turbidity. The students recorded their data and entered it
in the World Wide Monitoring Day website database at
www.worldwidemonitoringday.org. ■
Visit our website at:
www.onlakepartners.org
W ORLD W ATER M ONITORING D AYS
5

Y EAR-ROUND V ARIETY
6
YEAR-ROUND VARIETY WAS FOUND AT ONONDAGA LAKE
By Barbara S. Rivette
Spectators line Long Branch Bridge and the shore of the Outlet to watch the crew
races in 1936
Boating contests of many kinds, chowder parties on the
lakeshore and genuine “salt spuds” boiled in brine from
nearby salt works all were part of the Onondaga Lake
scene years ago. Fireworks are regularly recorded. The outstanding
event in many memories was the “water pageant”
that recreated Oliver Hazard Perry’s Battle of Lake Erie with
mock battleships, cannon blasts and, of course, plenty of
fireworks.
In winter, sail-powered “ice yachts” flew across the lake
like “flashes of lightning” as early as 1859. A thousand
spectators watched, some from the ice itself, as the ownerdesigned
and home-built ice boats sped by. The Onondaga
Ice Yacht Club had 100 members in 1901 and race teams
from businesses and resorts competed on Sunday afternoons.
The sport continued vigorously through the 1920s
with even a few races after World War II.
In summer, boats of every kind competed for prizes
offered by local businesses. Sculls, or “row boats” as they
were called, shared waterspace with sailboats and canoes.
Informal teams from neighborhoods or industries competed
and matches from resort to resort were popular.
Syracuse University came to Onondaga Lake in 1872
when an informal SU rowing crew met a team from
Cornell. Competitions grew and from 1947 to 1994 the
Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) annual regatta was
held here. At its peak, 25,000 spectators watched from the
shore or from boats during the three-day June events. In
the 21st century, the SU crew house remains on the Lake
Outlet and local teams are regularly seen.
Power boats began racing in the 1880s with naphtha
fueled launches being the most popular, followed in the
1930s by outboard motor racing. Hydroplane racing came
Ice boat races were fiercely competitive in the early 1900s
In 1886, boat houses were mixed with salt yards and brine pump houses near the
mouth of Onondaga Creek
to Onondaga Lake in 1948 and continued through the
1990s. Don Campbell chose Onondaga Lake to set the
world’s speed record of 225.6 miles an hour.
Nightly submarine races drew parked cars, with
two spectators in each, to lakeside parking along the
parkway from 1940 to about 1960.
Swimming and individual ice skating were rarely
referred to as Onondaga Lake activities, probably
because the canals and nearby streams provided more
opportunities closer to home. Swimming ended in 1940
when it was banned.
However, hunters found game plentiful on the
marshy shore. Ducks, geese, foxes and raccoons were
supplied to local markets as well as family tables. “Duck
pirates” and other illegal hunting were noted as early
as 1880.
The cycle of seasons has never failed to provide
some activity with Onondaga Lake at its center.
Barbara S. Rivette is a researcher, author and
newspaper editor whose life has been intertwined with
Onondaga Lake for more the 50 years. She is a
member of the OLP Outreach Committee. ■

2004 CREEK CLEAN-UP STICKS TO LAND
by Amy Samuels, Watershed Educator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County
Volunteers haul brush and debris from creek banks
Excessive rain this summer and a couple of hurricanes
this fall almost washed out the 2004 Onondaga Creek
clean-up. Because the creek was too high and fast to allow
folks to take to the water, we took to the land instead.
About 50 volunteers cleared dead brush, trimmed vines and
removed debris that had accumulated along the Centro and
Byrne Dairy gates in order to allow for easier trash removal
in 2005.Volunteers trimmed vines along fences on several
bridges that cross the creek to improve the view and
cleaned up litter and other debris at Kirk Park. All told one
huge walk-in dumpster was filled with brush, a few dozen
tires and an old TV.
Larger perhaps than all the debris collected, were the
dreams and ideas shared by folks as they worked. One person
envisioned jogging down a creek path from Armory Square
through the city. Another wanted access for fishing. One
said, “Clear the trees to improve the view”, while another
said, “Keep the trees. They make this place a birder’s
paradise,” and on and on.
Folks who are interested in Onondaga Creek should
watch for information about the Onondaga Creek sub-basin
revitalization project. Thanks to this effort there will be more
opportunities to share your ideas about Onondaga Creek in
the future. And hopefully next year, Mother Nature will be
less generous with rainfall and we will once again take to
canoes for the clean-up. If you are interested in being added
to the list of folks who receive information about the cleanup,
please contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of
Onondaga County, 424-9485, ext. 0 or ams71@cornell.edu.
After a hard day’s work, volunteers gather for group photo
Kudos to:
For a relatively straightforward event, the creek cleanup
requires a lot of behind the scenes work, coordination
and support.Volunteers John Allen and Bob Graham
deserve special recognition for all their time spent
surveying the creek and coming up with a trash removal
plan. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga
County would also like to thank the following businesses,
organizations and individuals for their support. The
clean-up was more effective, safer and a whole lot tastier
because of them:
Bronstein Container
Byrne Dairy
Canopy
Carousel Center
City of Syracuse
CENTRO
Chase Pitkin
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Syracuse
Colonial Laundromat
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Empire Glove
Green Hills
Harbor Freight Tools
Lakefront Development Corporation
Little Caesars Pizza
Nextel-the official communications sponsor
Onondaga County Environmental Health Council
Onondaga Lake Partnership
Nicholas J. and Patti Pirro
Wilcox Paper ■
C R E E K C L E A N - U P
7

L AKE W ORKSHOP
LOCAL TEACHERS LEARN ABOUT LAKE by Dr. Richard Beal, SUNY-ESF
The Onondaga Lake Partnership sponsored a special daylong
workshop about Onondaga Lake for local teachers on
Saturday, September 25 at the SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. The event
was sponsored by SUNY ESF, the Central Section of the
Science Teachers’ Association of New York State and OLP.
Twenty-five interested educators from local schools
participated in the program. The event was free and
participants earned six hours of professional development
certification.
The program opened with the OLP Year in Review video
titled “Reflecting on our Progress.” William Kappel of the
US Geological Survey then discussed OLP projects and
activities that USGS is working on to improve Onondaga
Lake water quality. He also described much of the unique
geologic history of Onondaga Lake and the associated Tully
Valley as well as some historical activities and events that
occurred in those same areas in the recent past.
practice reading and compiling stream survey data.
Sue Miller from the County’s Lake Improvement
Project Office concluded the day by describing educational
materials available through the OLP, which were designed
for classroom use on reducing urban nonpoint source
pollution.
Evaluation forms filled out at the end of the event
showed that teachers found the day very useful and
informative and they were pleased with all of the takehome
materials provided. Teachers also encouraged the
OLP to sponsor additional events similar to this. ■
8
Dr. Dudley Raynal, Dean of Instruction and Graduate
Studies at ESF, spoke about research and education and
showed samples of Halophytic (Salt Tolerant) plants
indigenous to Onondaga Lake ecosystems. Some samples
from the SUNY ESF plant collection were gathered by
scientists in the early 1800s. Presentations were also given
by Heidi Busa, a science teacher from Marcellus High
School and William Legg, Director of Project Watershed.
Busa and Legg described the programs they developed with
mini-grant funding assistance from the OLP, including a
program which enlists and involves students in monitoring
the water quality of tributaries to the lake. Teachers were
given the opportunity to try out some of the proposed
lesson activities.
With assistance from retired science teacher William Beal,
both teachers described how Project Watershed has created
a set of new science lessons that link their organization’s
extensive stream survey database to educational activities
that fulfill New York State math, science, and technology
standards. Teachers also did some computer work to
Retired science teacher, William Beal, assists teachers in ways to use computerized water
quality data in their classrooms
Teachers work at the computer to look for out of the ordinary values in stream data

NINE MILE CREEK WATERSHED DAY FOCUSES ON AREA’S
UNIQUE RESOURCES by Les Monostory,V.P., Nine Mile Creek Conservation Council
The "cavern" section of Nine Mile Creek Marcellus Falls site that receives groundwater flow
from the Disappearing Lake vicinity
The Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods
served as the host site for the Nine Mile Creek Watershed Day
conference held on Thursday, October 14 in Marcellus. Over 20
people attended this full day event, including two village mayors,
a town supervisor, and citizens from both within and outside
the Nine Mile Creek watershed.
The Watershed Day program objectives were described in the
conference brochure as follows: “The Nine Mile Creek
Watershed Day presents the opportunity for municipal officials
and interested citizens to explore some of the beautiful and
bizarre [unique] natural resources in the Nine Mile Creek
Watershed. The focus will be on sites that cross municipal
boundaries and therefore require inter-municipal cooperation to
provide for their long-term health.” Nine Mile Creek Watershed
Day was co-sponsored by the Nine Mile Creek Conservation
Council and Cornell Cooperative Extension, with the assistance
of a mini-grant from the Onondaga Lake Partnership.
Conference participants met early on at Baltimore Woods,
and they were offered rides via minivans to a series of field
trips during the morning hours between 9 a.m. to noon. The
field visit sites extended from Onondaga County’s Otisco Lake
Park in the Town of Otisco to the Lakeland canoe launch site
off State Fair Boulevard in the Town of Geddes.
Among the principal sites visited by conference participants
were the following:
• Disappearing Lake/Pumpkin Hollow wetlands located in the
Towns of Marcellus and Onondaga
• Otisco Lake Watershed and Water Supply located in the
Towns of Marcellus, Otisco and Spafford
• Camillus Valley Wetlands and the Coldwater Springs
located in the Towns of Camillus and Marcellus
• Nine Mile Creek—Erie Canal—Onondaga Lake Water Trail
connections located in the Towns of Marcellus, Camillus
and Geddes
The instructors/advisers at each of the field visit sites
were very knowledgeable about the significant and unique
features of their respective sites. Instructors included Doug
Fisher of the Onondaga County Soil and Water
Conservation District, William Kappel of the US Geological
Survey, Prof. Rick Smardon from SUNY-ESF, Dave Lemon,
fishery biologist with the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation, and Dr. David Beebe, director of the Camillus
Canal Society. Additional information regarding the land and
water trail crossings along Nine Mile Creek was provided by
Mary Burgoon, senior planner with Clough, Harbor
Associates, and by Benji Manton of the CNY Regional
Planning and Development Board.
Following a tasty lunch served at the Centers for Nature
Education conference center, the conference attendees were
invited to participate in a roundtable discussion regarding
the “State of the Watershed” and the various unique features
observed at the Nine Mile Creek field visit sites.
The Watershed Day program concluded with two
PowerPoint presentations made by Dr. Edward Michalenko,
director of the Onondaga Lake Cleanup Corporation, and
by John McAuliffe of the Honeywell Corporation, Syracuse
area program director for environment and remediation. Dr.
Michalenko described a proposal leading to a Nine Mile
Creek Conceptual Revitalization Plan, very similar in concept
to the Preservation Plan for Onondaga Creek whose funding
was recently approved by the Onondaga Lake Partnership.
John McAuliffe’s presentation was entitled “Progress on
Industrial Waste Remediation in the Onondaga Lake
Watershed,” and was focused on Honeywell’s Feasibility
N INE M ILE C REEK W ATERSHED
continued on page 10
9

L I G H T S O N T H E L A K E
LIGHTS ON THE LAKE
Come take a look at our OLP display at the Lights on the Lake holiday extravaganza! The show runs from
Nov. 23—Jan. 2 at Onondaga Lake Park. For more information, please check www.lightsonthelake.com or call
(315) 451–PARK. ■
NINE MILE CREEK continued from page 9
10
The Project Watershed Consortium sponsored an "Aquatic Bug ID Course" that was
held this past October at Centers for Nature Education, with a field trip to Nine
Mile Creek to collect and ID the aquatic organisms. The course was funded by a
mini-grant from OLP
Study, a comprehensive study and subsequent proposals for the
remediation of hazardous waste sites located both within
Onondaga Lake and in upland locations adjacent to the lake.
Honeywell is working closely with the NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation to complete work on the
Feasibility Study by the end of November 2004.
Nearly all of the conference participants remarked that they
knew much more about the Nine Mile Creek watershed and
its linkages as a result of the field visits and the 2004
Watershed Day program. ■

YACHT CLUB ORGANIZES VOLUNTEERS FOR WATER
CHESTNUT PREVENTION by Jeff Freedman, Onondaga Yacht Club
Water chestnuts choke waterways, outcompete native plants and reduce oxygen in water
An abundant infestation of water chestnuts has been
steadily approaching Onondaga Lake from both the east
and west directions along the Seneca River. Water chestnuts
are invasive annual aquatic plants that form dense mats on
the surface of waterways, obstructing and effectively
preventing navigation by recreational boaters.
With the support of a mini-grant from the Onondaga
Lake Partnership, the Onondaga Yacht Club has begun to
mobilize volunteers to identify and help prevent the spread
of invasive aquatic plants in and around Onondaga Lake. The
grant first enabled purchase and installation of a 32-foot
dock, located near Onondaga Yacht Club (OYC) in
Liverpool, to enhance small boat access to Onondaga Lake.
An educational workshop to train volunteers to identify
water chestnuts and other invasive aquatic plant species was
organized by Amy Samuels, Watershed Educator of Cornell
Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County, and was held
at OYC this past summer.
“Weeds Watch Out” volunteers at the workshop learned
that water chestnuts grow and float on the surface of the
water each summer, and propagate by developing large
brown seeds the size of walnuts with long protruding sharp
spines. Our plant survey revealed that the invasion of the
water chestnuts has turned the corners into both the east
and west channels around Klein Island, located between
the Onondaga Lake Outlet and the Seneca River, but so
far has not reached the Onondaga Lake outlet channel
or Onondaga Lake itself. Also, our survey by canoe
revealed that Nine Mile Creek, from Camillus to
Onondaga Lake, and the lower end of Ley Creek, are
both clear of water chestnuts.
Having found water chestnuts growing dangerously
close to the Onondaga Lake Outlet, we next conducted
two expeditions to the Klein Island channels to harvest
and remove as many water chestnuts as possible. Using
two motorboats from the Onondaga Yacht Club, each
with a small pram tethered to the motorboats, about a
dozen OYC volunteers collected by hand some 20
bushels of water chestnuts growing in the two channels
around Klein Island. We also located one extensive patch
about 100 yards long by 20 yards wide that was too
large to harvest by hand. Fortunately, water chestnuts
have not yet entered Onondaga Lake, except for a few
scattered isolated plants. The flow of water in the
Onondaga Lake outlet channel is bi-directional so that
water chestnut plants or their seeds could enter Willow
Bay and Maple Bay on the northwest end of Onondaga
Lake in the near future.
continued on page 12
OYC member Hal Henty busily harvesting in the midst of a patch of water chestnuts
W ATER C HESTNUT P REVENTION
11

C O M M I T T E E I N F O R M A T I O N
THIS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED BY THE
ONONDAGA LAKE PARTNERSHIP WITH FUNDING
PROVIDED BY THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY.
Executive Committee Members
Chaired by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation
• New York State Attorney General
• Onondaga County
• City of Syracuse
PROJECT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chaired by New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation
Representatives of Executive Committee agencies,
as well as:
• Department of Public Works
• Lakefront Development Corporation
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation
District
RESOURCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chaired by Onondaga County
Representatives of Executive Committee agencies,
as well as:
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Central New York Regional Planning and
Development Board
• U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service
• Metropolitan Development Association
• New York State Canal Corporation
OUTREACH COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Chaired by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Representatives of Executive Committee agencies,
as well as:
• Izaak Walton League
• Atlantic States Legal Foundation
• League of Women Voters
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County
• State University of New York — College of
Environmental Science & Forestry
• Onondaga Historical Association
The Executive Committee establishes and maintains
the mission of the partnership and the lake
improvement effort.
The Project Committee serves as the partnership
technical center of expertise on specific projects.
The Resource Committee develops and maintains
the funding strategy for projects.
The Outreach Committee works to enhance public
knowledge and understanding of the partnership and
the status of the lake improvement effort.
WATER CHESTNUT
PREVENTIONcontinued from page 11
A prudent strategic plan to minimize the chance of water chestnut
infestation of Onondaga Lake is to remove these plants from
the adjacent waterways around Klein Island. Additional volunteers
from other boating organizations using Onondaga Lake would be
helpful in this continued effort before the water chestnuts drop
their seeds next summer. For further information, contact Jeff
Freedman at 315-446-6329, or by e-mail at freedmaj@upstate.edu. ■
“Weeds Watch Out” volunteers back at the OYC clubhouse after their first water chestnut harvesting
expedition
Y ACHT C LUB O RGANIZES V OLUNTEERS
YOU CAN CONTACT THE ONONDAGA LAKE
PARTNERSHIP AT:
1-800-833-6390
info@onlakepartners.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE ONONDAGA LAKE
PARTNERSHIP WEB SITE AT WWW.ONLAKEPARTNERS.ORG
Water chestnut mat on Seneca River near Cross Lake
This newsletter is intended to provide general information to the public regarding the
Onondaga Lake basin and activities related to the cleanup and restoration thereof.
Approval for publication by the members of the OLP does not signify adoption or
approval for purposes of regulatory, enforcement or other legal actions, of the factual,
scientific, or legal assertions, characterizations or conclusions contained therein.
12