Between Two Great Lakes

Continuing with our Coastal Resiliency discussions, we moved inland to meet with Allen Fagan, district manager for Wyoming County Soil & Water Conservation District.You might think "why talk about coastal work in Wyoming County?" The county sits at the start of two watersheds in New York. What happens there can impact the waterways downstream. Fagan shares how the department works with landowners in the region to protect groundwater sources while also leading initiatives to shore up shorelines of creeks and supporting plans to enhance aquatic life in those waters.

The Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed in New York State contains 1.5 million acres of land and has more than 1.1 million people living in it. Today's show looks at how the region can be protected by working together.The watershed covers 116 municipalities, 5,543 miles of rivers and streams and 1450,000 acres of state and federally listed wetlands. Many people and groups work to protect this watershed, which is a large undertaking. An organization supporting this effort is the Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance (LEWPA). The group coordinates efforts between Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Erie counties to address water quality issues in this region. Learn more about them here: https://www3.erie.gov/environment/lake-erie-watershed-protection-alliance

This the kickoff to our ongoing Coastal Resiliency series. We're talking about how we and our partner organizations are working to create a resilient coastline for Lake Erie and the surrounding communities. This episode highlights how Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is defining coastal resiliency, what challenges are out there and future steps towards improvement. It's a vast project we hope to make easier for people to understand and know why this is such an important time to look at these issues and what it means for the Western New York community. Continue learning about how we are building a resilient coastline at https://bnwaterkeeper.org/climate-resiliency/ Music on today's show is from Snowbelt. Listen to them here: https://snowbelt.bandcamp.com/

Tell everyone you know: New York is a Great Lakes State. Our Legal Director Margaux Valenti stops by to share what this means. And after you listen to this episode, you'll understand the importance of that message and why we are spreading it far and wide. Now all together: New York is a Great Lakes State! Music from Snowbelt, a Buffalo based band.

Artist and fly fishing guide Alberto Rey talked to us about his current exhibit focusing on the Niagara River and how the art can reflect the importance of the river's natural heritage and challenges. This is Part 2 of a two part interview. Alberto Rey's art exhibit, Biological Regionalism: Niagara River, Western New York, is on display until Feb. 25, 2024 at the ⁠Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University⁠. You can learn more about Alberto at https://albertorey.com/ Music in this week's show is from Snowbelt. You can stream their music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0fM7g40BsQRxtS8XepPuZF?si=zTPaYdIyQSGc5tpML7JO2w

Did you know Scajaquada Creek is 13 miles long and begins in Lancaster? Did you know there are sections of it buried, including under the Walden Galleria Mall? On this edition of Between Two Great Lakes, we're going to take you along a tour of Scajaquada Creek, giving a bit of a history of it as well as some plans Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper has for the future. As a note, this is the audio only version. We collected drone footage of the creek and used that during our Scajaquada September Lunch and Learn series. You can view that video tour on our website, www.bnwaterkeeper.org and search for the Lunch and Learn series. Or watch through our Spotify account. Music in this show is from Snowbelt and their latest album, Norris Ave.

Our latest edition will take you on a trip to Harlem Road in West Seneca to learn more about plans to enhance a future Buffalo Blueway site. This one is basically at the start of the Buffalo River, where Buffalo Creek and Cayuga Creek merge together. Today's show features Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper's Jeanne Beiter to discuss the upgrades at a current fishing site and kayak launch.

On this edition, we talk about the scientific data we collect regarding our waterways at Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, including who does the work, how it's done and what we do with the information.

For Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper's first edition of Between Two Great Lakes, we talk to staff about those "forever chemicals" known as PFAS and what people should know about them. We also share news about our upcoming Spring Sweep, a huge volunteer effort to clean trash and litter from around our waterways on Earth Day.