Our new video about the environmental emergency in Cayuga Inlet in Ithaca, NY

As many know by now, the extremely aggressive invasive aquatic weed called hydrilla was found this summer in Cayuga Inlet and the mouth of Cascadilla Creek in Ithaca, NY at the south end of Cayuga Lake. Cayuga is the longest of the eleven Finger Lakes in central New York, and it is connected to other waterways through the canal system.

If not suppressed immediately

and allowed to spread, this rapid-growing pest will ruin Ithaca’s waterfront and all shallow areas of Cayuga Lake, and it could spread to a much larger area beyond.

We have produced a 15-minute video about this alarming problem and what is being done about it, featuring Holly Menninger, Coordinator of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute at Cornell Unniversity. You can see the video from a link on our blog post at http://ithacafingerlakes.com/2011/09/24/environmental-emergency-in-cayuga-inlet/ which includes other information including a map and a link about hydrilla.

Or, you can go directly to the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUV5QBD0XwA .

Please share

this information with others.

Thank you,

ITHACA NY — The goal of the Tour de Frac http://www.tourdefrac.org/ is to raise awareness in the greater Ithaca community and Southern Tier region about the conflicts between our society’s demand for energy and its desire for a healthy environment and planet. Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale using hydrofracking is a great example to explore such conflicts. Our goal is not to encourage uninformed people to take sides in the debate based on the opinions of others, but to encourage them to become informed and develop their own opinions.

We want participants to ride through beautiful environments where the land is already leased to drilling companies so that they can see what might be impacted. However, we also want participants to think about the financial hardships faced by people not very far outside Ithaca and realize that some of the people living there see gas drilling as an opportunity to rise above their current economic hardships. In addition, we all need to come to grips with the reality that the coal Ithaca currently relies on to provide much of its electricity is mined, often by mountaintop removal, in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. These practices are much more environmentally destructive than the gas drilling with hydrofracking already going on in Pennsylvania and proposed for New York.

The choices we face are complicated. Just saying no to hydrofracking may help protect our local environment, but it does so by passing on the environmental problems to somebody else. It is essential to engage an informed public in finding more holistic, fossil-fuel-free solutions to our energy and environmental problems from local to global scales. The Tour de Frac is intended to help promote such public engagement.

When: Saturday, September 24, 9 am – 2 pm

Where: Cornell Business and Technology Park, Thornwood Drive

Description: The “Tour de Frac” will be a cycling event in Ithaca, NY to be held on September 24 associated with the Moving Planet activities being organized by 350.org. The event will consist of two rides, a longer ride out to Genoa and back and a shorter ride remaining within a 10-mile radius of Tompkins County Airport. For insurance purposes, all registered riders in the Tour de Frac must be members of the Fingers Lakes Cycling Club (FLCC). To become a member visit the following website: http://flcycling.org/?page_id=51. Individual membership is $10, and family membership is $12. Donations to support 350.org will be greatly appreciated. Donations over $100 will qualify riders to receive beautiful FLCC/Tour de Frac jerseys based on the Earth graphics of local artist Jay Hart. To see the jersey design and order one, contact Chuck Greene at chg2@cornell.edu.

ITHACA NY — (by David Hill) The trail registry book at Lick Brook recently had entries made by groups from Hamilton, Ontario, Canastota, Britain and Israel.

The combination, it occurred to Finger Lakes Land Trust Executive Director Andy Zepp, shows the appeal and potential of trails in the region.

Zepp will talk more about trails’ attraction and potential at the Finger Lakes Trails and Greenways Conference Sept. 23 and 24 at Cornell University. The Land Trust and the advocacy group Parks & Trails New York scheduled the conference to share success stories and ideas on creating, improving and linking trails for hiking and multiple users, both for the recreational benefit of local residents but also as an amenity for tourists and immigrants.

“We not only want to offer tools and strategies for effective trail advocacy, promotion and development, but also strengthen and broaden the increasingly diverse trails constituency to foster greater understanding and new working relationships among the trails, planning, business, tourism and health care communities,” Parks & Trails Executive Director Robin Dropkin said in the announcement.

Ithaca was chosen in part because the Finger Lakes Land Trust was involved but also because it’s at the center of growing interest in trail development, said Frances Gotcsik, director of programs and policy for Parks & Trails. It also offered chances for field visits on Sept. 23 to the Lick Brook Gorge Trail, the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, Cascadilla Gorge Trail inside the gorge and the Catharine Valley Trail in Montour Falls.

Another point of emphasis will be trails as attractions. A scheduled speaker on the second day is Craig Della Penna, who runs a bed and breakfast along a trail built from a former rail line in Northampton, Mass., and a real estate company that specializes in trail-side property.

Other speakers will talk about how trails helped revitalize their communities, including Pittsford along the Erie Canalway Trail, and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association in Dutchess County. Finally, discussions are planned on water trails in rivers, canals and even lakes, such as a network of landings with services envisioned along Cayuga Lake for canoeists and kayakers.

Organizers hope for 150 to 200 attendees, Gotcsik said. More information is at www.ptny.org or Parks & Trails New York at (518) 434-1583.

Article by David Hill - Star Gazette - http://www.stargazette.com/article/20110821/NEWS01/108210349/Ithaca-conference-push-trails-attractions-amenities

Registration for Conference http://www.ptny.org/greenways/conference/registration.shtml

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 5:30-7:30PM - Networking reception. Explore the new award winning Nevin Welcome Center at Cornell Plantations while joining in lively conversations with friends old and new.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 - Experience a dynamic mix of keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions at Robert Purcell Community Center on Cornell University’s North campus featuring timely issues, implementation tools and strategies, and interesting case studies designed to develop the skills to build, maintain, and advocate for trails that support healthy active living, tourism, economic development, sustainability, and alternative transportation. Includes continental breakfast, lunch, and morning and afternoon breaks.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 - An opportunity to get out in the field and see first-hand what others are doing to design terrific trails, raise funds, overcome challenges, and motivate volunteers.

Catharine Valley Trail, Montour Falls, 1-5PM, $20
Walk along a 1.5-mile section of this 9-mile stone dust trail in the area of Montour Falls and learn how this former rail and canal corridor, owned by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), is being developed and managed as a multi-use trail by OPRHP in partnership with the non-profit Friends of the Catharine Valley Trail. The Friends will offer tips on trail programming based on their experiences with history and birding walks, senior wellness programs, and a newly launched OnCell initiative that allows trail users to access interpretive information and trail directions on their MP3 player or cell phone. Includes bus transport from Ithaca. Meet at the parking lot for Ithaca Children’s Garden on Route 89, Taughannock Blvd., at the southern end of Cass Park.

Cascadilla Gorge Trail, Ithaca, 2-5PM, $8
See why people say that Ithaca is Gorges. The lower section of Cascadilla Gorge is truly a “gorges” display of rock, water and trees. Cascadilla Creek drops 400 feet from Cornell’s campus to downtown Ithaca, carving through 400 million year old bedrock. Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Director Todd Bittner will discuss the major renovation of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail, and cover topics related to maintaining trails in urban and riparian settings. Meet at Cornell Plantations Nevin Welcome Center parking lot.

Lick Brook Gorge, Ithaca, 2-5PM, $8
Join Land Trust executive director Andy Zepp for a tour of Lick Brook Gorge and a popular segment of the Finger Lakes Trail. Located just outside of Ithaca, Lick Brook features several waterfalls, nesting ravens, and mature forests of hemlock and hardwoods. Andy will provide an overview of the site’s ecological features, its history of conservation, and both the current and future management challenges associated with public access to the site. This trip will involve hiking up steep trails so participants should be in good physical condition. Meet at the trailhead. Directions to the trailhead.

Cayuga Waterfront Trail, Ithaca, 2-5PM, $8
Walk a 2-mile loop of the first phase of the 6-mile Cayuga Waterfront Trail with trail designer and coordinator Rick Manning, ASLA. The focus of the presentation will be on the development of trail amenities, including the trailhead, overlooks and special gardens, interpretive signage, brochures and furnishings. Site history and the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce partnership will also be discussed. Rick will also provide an overview of the Ithaca Children’s Garden, for which he prepared a master plan and designs for the Growing Gardens and Gaia the Turtle Sculpture. Meet at the trailhead at Cass Park Rink and Pool parking area. Directions to the trailhead.

ITHACA NY — Judy’s Day: Harvesting History. September 18, 2011 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at Cornell Plantations, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Step back in time to experience the lives of children in 19th Century Ithaca. From work to play, passages from real diaries bring to life the plant connections they relied on every day. Enjoy exhibits, stories, music, food, at this free learning festival, in the beautiful outdoor setting of Cornell Plantations, F. R. Newman Arboretum. Rain or shine. Free parking at Cornell’s B-lot off route 366. From there, a shuttle bus will make regular runs to the arboretum. To volunteer, create an exhibit or assist with activities contact Raylene Ludgate RGL3@cornell.edu or 607 255-2407 Dave Ruch will be providing NYS historical music geared toward the kids in all of us. See http://www.daveruch.com/ =and= http://www.cornellplantations.org/learning/youth-programs/judys-day for more information. Photos from previous years on the home page here http://cinst.org/

DRYDEN NY Sept 07 2011 - Neither rain nor flood could stop the people concerned about gas drilling and hungry for answers from showing up at the fire hall in Dryden Wednesday night (Sept 7). They came from Syracuse and Skaneateles, Utica and Cooperstown, and many Tompkins County towns looking for information. The forum they came to participate in, originally organized by the Dryden Safe Energy Coalition (DSEC), was hampered by area flooding when one of their speakers, a representative of Chesapeake Energy, was unable to get to Dryden. The moderator arranged for the event, Dave Veiser of WHCU, was kept busy at the radio station airing flood updates.

However, two other speakers, Bill Kappel of USGS in Ithaca, and James Northrup of Cooperstown, did complete the wet trip to Dryden and arrived on time for the meeting ready to make their presentations. A half hour before the scheduled start of the meeting, with about 45 people already in the hall, Henry Kramer of DSEC announced that he was cancelling the event.

All of the people present, including the speakers, made the request that the meeting go on. After some negotiating, and with the hall filling up with people who drove through flooded streets to hear the message Kappel and Northrup brought, it was agreed to allow the meeting to go forward although the sponsorship of DSEC was withdrawn.

Bill Kappel gave the standing room only audience an excellent understanding of the geology that lies under our feet. He talked not only about the Marcellus shale layer, but also of limestones and sandstones, the Utica and other shales. He gave good clear explanations of the fracturing process and how far the fractures may extend outside of the well bore.

James Northup talked about the very real problems that have occurred in other areas of the US where gas well development is happening, stressing that most of the problems are associated with surface spills and accidents. According to Northup, 80% of the dollar value that comes out of the ground under NY in the form of methane (natural) gas will leave the state as corporate profits and worker pay checks. Without a severance tax in NY, the state gains nothing but the income tax on royalties paid to lease signers. He told of better laws regulating the industry in TX, CO, and NM, among other states. With a Texas-sized sense of humor he brought laughter to an otherwise dark subject.

Stressing that public comments are vital to NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on the just released revised draft of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (rdSGEIS)** that will guide the permitting of hydrofracked gas wells, Northup also focused on home rule ordinances, saying that local road use and land use ordinances are in place out West where gas extraction by use of hydrofracking is common, and that towns in NY should adopt local land use ordinances and support Home Rule.

** Northup and Bill Huston have a guide for responding to the proposed rdSGEIS: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=2011_SGEIS_Flaws(NY)#Strategies

William Kappel’s background and qualifications:

William (Bill) Kappel has been a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, New York Water Science Center at Ithaca, NY since 1979. Previous to that time he served as a hydrologist for the U.S. Forest Service for 5 years in the National Forests of Missouri, and the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin. His Survey career started with two projects, the National Urban Runoff Program (NURP) in Rochester, NY and the West Valley Nuclear Waste Facility Characterization project at West Valley, NY. These studies were followed by a series of groundwater studies in the Niagara Falls region in the 1990s. At the same time the study of ‘unique’ hydrogeologic phenomena known as mudboils or mud volcanoes began south of Syracuse, NY in the Onondaga Creek Valley. This long-term study also lead to a series of several unusual hydrogeologic studies including landslides in glacial lake clays, land-surface subsidence due to various anthropogenic activities, and the use of ‘forensic’ hydrogeologic techniques to further understand the hydrogeology of these study areas - Carbon-14 age dating, dendrogeomorphology, dendrochronology. Bill has also served as Study Section Chief of the Ithaca office over this time.

James Northup’s background and qualifications:

· General partner in a 1000 acre suburban real estate development. General partner in a 40-acre development in downtown Dallas TX.

· Partner and investor in the acquisition and sale of offshore oil rigs, including the Teledyne fleet and WR Grace fleets, and an investor in oil and gas projects.

· Co-owner of Northrup Energy, which was sold to ARCO Solar, which subsequently became BP Solar, the largest solar energy company in the world.

· Served on the Governor of Texas’s Energy Advisory Council.

· Co-author of one US patent.

· Co-founder of the White Rock Boathouse, Inc., the largest rowing boathouse in the world, the Ursuline (Dallas) Crew and the Jesuit (Dallas) crew.

· Brown University, BA, Southern Methodist University 1973, MBA, Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania, 1976.

Contact: Marie McRae mmmcrae@juno.com

Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition http://draconline.wordpress.com

More on this topic on the FORUM http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeski/viewforum.php?f=11

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DRYDEN NY - It looks like Hammond Hill State Forest escaped the worst of the wind and water damage that many other parts of NYS received from the hurricane. We do have some wind damage. There are a lot of small branches and trees down on the trails, most of this can be cleaned up by conscientious trail users if they take the time to do a little each time they are out.  For example, my small exercise group removed 2 medium sized trees with help from my handy little folding trail saw this past Tuesday night.

Send BIG tree locations to me and I will post them here on this forum thread http://canaaninstitute.org/bikeski/viewtopic.php?p=1756#1756 in anticipation of the upcoming fall trail session … so we have kind of a list.

We (”Friends of Hammond Hill”) will be posting a date and time soon (here on this BLOG) for our annual fall trail cleanup. This is in anticipation of the winter recreation season and is traditionally a combined effort of many different trail users: equestrians, mountain bikers, hikers, xc-skiers and so forth.

UPDATE: Date set for trail work session at Hammond Hill: Trail Work Session Sat Oct 15th 2011 at 10:00 am starting at Ann & Charlie Leonard’s house. Their driveway is on the left just before the HH parking lot.