Events
Upcoming 2010 River Tours !
Have you ever taken a moonlight paddle? Hiked the bottom of the Niagara Gorge past the point where the Falls first began 7,000 years ago? Biked along the industrial relics of the Buffalo waterfront? We’ll take you there! Hike, Bike or Paddle, what’s your pleasure? We have hikes along the bottom of the Niagara Gorge, bike rides along the Niagara from the power intakes to Devil’s Hole in Niagara County and along Riverwalk in Erie County, paddles on the Niagara, the Buffalo, and the Tonawanda, and even cruises on the Miss Buffalo, AND….
New this year, RIVERKEEPER is offering private tours! Ideal team building and learning experiences, the tours can be customized to meet your time needs, location, activity level, and interests of your group. See our Tour page for how to arrange one.
Designed to connect people to their local Western New York’s extraordinary waterways, here are our upcoming public River Tours;
In July—on Saturday July 31st, join us to tour those silent giants—the grain elevators of the Old First Ward—as we bike through Buffalo’s industrial past and discuss their connection to the life in the Buffalo River, and Riverkeeper’s work in the First Ward Community. We will dismount at the RiverWright grain elevator in South Buffalo and explore the structure from the inside! Do NOT miss this exciting opportunity!
In August–we narrate a cruise on the River aboard the Miss Buffalo on Sunday August 1st.
On Saturday August 21st, come see the ‘Power of the River’ including the mighty Niagara Falls and where we get our hydropower, as we bike along the Niagara River.
Most tours are suitable for ages 12 and up, but some tours and Miss Buffalo tours are family-friendly and suitable for children 5 and up accompanied by an adult. For prices, starting times, starting points, registration (pre-registration is required), requirements, and more, visit our River Tour page.
And we hope to see you out on the water!
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2010 Habitat Restoration Projects-
RestoreCorps
Invasive Water Chestnut:
Rogue water chestnut populations have virtually covered the surface of Tonawanda Creek near Ellicott Island Park and portions of the Erie Canal. This invasive, aggresive plant species overtakes an entire waterway squeezing out native plants, forming a dense layer on the surface that blocks sun from reaching fish and plants underneath. It takes people to restore ecosystem balance.
RestoreCorps, Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER’s new habitat resotraiton program, is mobilizing volunteers in conjunction with U. S. Fish and Wildlife’s Great Lakes Fish and Conservation Office (LGLFWCO) to remove the water chestnut. LGLFWCO has contracted a mechanical harvester and operator to remove plants for six days starting August 2nd, working approximately from 8am to 6pm daily. During this time, an estimated 200 metric tons of plant material (equivalent to a blue whale or a Boeing 767) will be removed from the 6 acres behind Ellicott Creek Island.
Volunteers are needed in two ways:
- From Monday, August 2 through Friday, August 6, between 8am to 6pm daily, volunteers are needed to off-load plants from the harvester onto a conveyor system escalating up the bankside to the parking lot, where they will be loaded into dump trucks and transported to a compost facility.
- On Saturday, August 7 from 8:30 am-12:30 pm, volunteers are needed to hand pull any remaining plants from the shoreline and from the water by canoe, kayak, and boat. Volunteers will be trained by LGLFWCO staff in proper removal techniques.
Water chestnut is on the doorstep of the Niagara River. “It’s not there yet but once it gets there it has the capacity to spread exponentially, through the tributaries, and all over,” says Bryan LoVullo of RIVERKEEPER. If you can help, please contact Bryan LoVullo by calling 852-7483, extension 23 or by email blovullo@bnriverkeeper.org.
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Attention:Rain Barrel SALE!
As a special promotion with the National Garden Walk Festival, we are offering 10% off rain barrels if ordered before August 1, 2010. To order, visit us online , or come in by Aug. 1st.
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Mark you calenders!
The Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper’s huge Fall Clean up is fast approaching! In conjunction with the American Littoral Society and the 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup we are poised to clean up and beautify over 35 sites in and around Buffalo, but we can not do it without YOUR help! Registration will begin soon, but in the mean time, look over our past sites here, and find out more about the American Littoral Society and see the data from the past International Clean Ups.
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Nominate a Trashy Site! Or volunteer as a Cleanup Captain!
We are in immediate need of a few Site Captains to help direct the clean up at a few sites. We are also looking for new sites to adopt! If you know of a park, street or area that needs some love,(in addition to the sites linked above) or would like more information on being a site captain please contact Brooke Rickettson at brickettson@bnriverkeeper.org or 716-852-7483 x 19.
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Job Opening: Watershed Restoration Coordinator
Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER is expanding its habitat restoration program and is now offering an opportunity for an individual to share their skills and apply their fresh ideas to a variety of urban renewal projects. Watershed Restoration Coordinator is multi-disciplinary position intended to promote environmental stewardship within our community and to help strengthen Western New York’s natural ecology. If you are interested in this position contact Kerri Bentkowski Li at kbentkowski@bnriverkeeper.org or call 716-852-7483 ext. 11.
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Buffalo River Restoration Information Session
2010 will be an exciting year for the Buffalo River and the surrounding community. Many new and significant projects will be commencing. One of the most ecologically significant is the start of contaminated sediment removal this fall! Help us spread the word: please forward this message to all your friends whom you think might be interested.
Thank you,
Jill Jedlicka, Director of Ecological Programs and Buffalo River Remedial Action Plan Coordinator
Information about the Buffalo River Restoration Project, associated project partners and background information is available at http://www.buffaloriverrestoration.org.
For more detailed information, please contact Jill Jedlicka with the Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER at 716-852-7483 or email jedlicka@bnriverkeeper.org.
