A sampling of results and impacts from recently completed New York Sea Grant's extension and education initiatives.

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New York Sea Grant Impact Statements Show Depth of Programming and Benefit to NY’s Shoreline Regions

Ithaca, NY, March 15, 2011 - New York Sea Grant Extension at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, has issued a series of impact statements for projects completed by the coastal science extension organization in 2010. Project beneficiaries range from New York’s public and private coastal property managers and municipal leaders to commercial fishermen, students, teachers, seafood safety inspectors and European fisheries managers.

“These New York Sea Grant (NYSG) 2010 Impact Statements demonstrate the important connections that NYSG extension specialists made with a variety of coastal stakeholder groups in New York and beyond in the past year. They illustrate the practical, economic, environmental, and educational benefits of New York Sea Grant outreach efforts to New York’s freshwater and marine coastal communities,” said New York Sea Grant Director James Ammerman.

Project stakeholder testimony includes gratitude from commercial fisherman John Scheu, who participated in Safety-At-Sea training. Scheu said, “Without a doubt, I’d rather learn here on the dock (in Montauk) than offshore when it’s 5 degrees in February.”  Until the 2010 NY Sea Grant program, there had been no formal Safety-At-Sea training conducted in the past 10 years.

Two downstate municipalities applied data from the East Coast Winter Storms website, developed by New York Sea Grant in partnership with NOAA’s Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, to obtain $1 million in funding for storm damage restoration and mitigation projects.

In the Great Lakes region, more than 1,400 New York boaters pledged to be environmentally-sound after visiting the 2010 Discover Clean and Safe Boating exhibit at events throughout the freshwater shoreline region. The 2011 edition of the campaign includes a fishing boat, a canoe, and national Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information on how boaters can reduce the spread of unwanted invasive species.

The VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia) virus combined research-outreach collaboration by New York Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist Dave MacNeill and Cornell University researcher Dr. Paul Bowser earned the first-ever National Sea Grant Research Application Award.

All Extension Impacts Statements

2010 Project Summaries Show Impact on Coastal Waters, Communities, Youth, Economy & Educators (pdf) [15 pp.]


Individual Extension Impact Statements

Project work in New York’s marine coastal district included:

• Advancing Effective Stormwater Management (pdf)
  Stormwater runoff is one of the top water quality issues on Long Island. A number of waterbodies no longer support shellfishing and swimming. The New York Sea Grant Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NYSG NEMO) Program helps municipalities improve stormwater management which protects public health, improves water quality, and supports the fishing, tourism, and recreation industries.
  
  
• Helping Local Leaders Understand Hudson River Shoreline Environments (pdf)
  New York Sea Grant Extension is part of the Hudson River Research Reserve’s Shorelines Project Team, which aims in part to understand how climate change may impact the river’s edge.
  
  
• I FISH NY: Sharing Fishing Facts & Fun in New York City and on Long Island (pdf)
  Despite a late state budget, no funding for nearly six months, and reduced staff hours, I FISH NY conducted a nearly full complement of angling outreach programs in 2010 in both New York City and on Long Island.
  
  
• New York Commercial Fishing Fleet Safety-At-Sea Training (pdf)
  Project stakeholder testimony includes gratitude from commercial fisherman John Scheu, who participated in Safety-At-Sea training. Scheu said, “Without a doubt, I’d rather learn here on the dock (in Montauk) than offshore when it’s 5 degrees in February.”  Until the 2010 NY Sea Grant program, there had been no formal Safety-At-Sea training conducted in the past 10 years.
  
  
• Helping Coastal Managers Respond to Nor’easters (pdf)
  Two downstate municipalities applied data from the East Coast Winter Storms website, developed by New York Sea Grant in partnership with NOAA’s Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, to obtain $1 million in funding for storm damage restoration and mitigation projects.
  
  
• Revising the Long Island Sound Study Website (pdf)
  With more than 8.8 million residents living in the Long Island Sound (LIS) watershed, the Long Island Sound Study Communications team — whose mission is to educate LIS watershed residents — must use the most effective and efficient tools possible.
  
  
• Strengthening Partnerships with Marine Educators (pdf)
  In 2010, NY Sea Grant partnered with NYSMEA to strengthen its communication tools to help the Association attract new members.
  
  
• NYSG Facilitates Online Training to Ensure Seafood Safety (pdf)
  In 2010, more than 1,150 individuals from seafood companies and state or federal regulatory agencies participated in food safety training programs conducted or managed by NY Sea Grant.

Project work in New York’s Great Lakes district included:

• Developing Educational Materials for NY’s Eastern Lake Ontario Region (pdf)
  To supplement ongoing efforts that promote environmentally-responsible use of the Eastern Lake Ontario Dunes and Wetlands Area (ELODWA) and the Sandy Creeks watershed, NYSG expanded its toolbox of educational materials that include a guidebook, brochure, traveling trunks and interpretive panels in 2010.
  
  
• The 2010 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign (pdf)
  In the Great Lakes region, more than 1,400 New York boaters pledged to be environmentally-sound after visiting the 2010 Discover Clean and Safe Boating exhibit at events throughout the freshwater shoreline region. The 2011 edition of the campaign includes a fishing boat, a canoe, and national Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information on how boaters can reduce the spread of unwanted invasive species.
  
  
• Assisting the Czech Republic’s Development of a Reservoir Trawling Program (pdf)
  In 2008, NY Sea Grant organized a trawl design workshop, from which, a Czech team reported in 2010 that the new vessel and trawling technique they learned enabled the FishEcU to obtain representative, quantitative fish samples in only 20 minutes of trawling in each reservoir, compared to the overnight gillnetting.
  
  
• Training Extension & Agency Educators in Climate Literacy (pdf)
  With funding from the NOAA Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, NY Sea Grant organized a two-day climate literacy training workshop in 2010 that effectively integrated information on climate science with potential impacts of climate change and stakeholder communication strategies.
  
  
• Preventing and Containing VHS in Aquaculture Operations (pdf)
  The VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia) virus combined research-outreach collaboration by New York Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist Dave MacNeill and Cornell University researcher Dr. Paul Bowser earned the first-ever National Sea Grant Research Application Award.
  
  
• Teaching the Next Generation of Concerned Citizens (pdf)
  In 2010, NYSG worked with 18,160 students and 900 teachers. By using a “teach the teacher” approach, NYSG was able to reach an additional 27,700 students, making the statewide total more than 45,000 students who learned about critical environmental issues such as water quality and invasive species.

2010 NYSG project funders and partners included (in alphabetical order):

• Alaska Marine Safety Education Association-trained instructors
  
  
• Baisley Pond Park area civic organizations
  
  
• Boating Industry Association of Upstate New York
  
  
• Buffalo Museum of Science
  
  
• Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Great Lakes
  
  
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Marine Program
  
  
• Cornell University Aquatic Animal Health Program
  
  
• Girl Scouts of America
  
  
• Great Lakes Seaway Trail
  
  
• Hudson River Research Reserve
  
  
• Inlet Seafood Packing House, Montauk, NY
  
  
• Lake Champlain Sea Grant
  
  
• Little Red Lighthouse Festival
  
  
• Long Island Occupational and Environmental Health Center
  
  
• Memorial University of Newfoundland
  
  
• Morgan Recreational Supply
  
  
• National Science Foundation
  
  
• National Sea Grant College Program
  
  
• National Sea Grant Law Center
  
  
• New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health
  
  
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: Coastal Resources and Hudson River Estuary programs
  
  
• New York State Department of State*
  
  
• New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation
  
  
• New York State Marine Education Association
  
  
• New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
  
  
• New York State Tug Hill Commission
  
  
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
  
  
• NOAA Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Initiative
  
  
• NOAA Northeast Regional Climate Change Center at Cornell University
  
  
• Oswego County BOCES
  
  
• Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District
  
  
• Pace University
  
  
• Peconic Estuary Program
  
  
• Pennsylvania Sea Grant
  
  
• Rhode Island Sea Grant
  
  
• Sailboat Shop
  
  
• SUNY University at Buffalo
  
  
• The Nature Conservancy
  
  
• Taylor Made Products
  
  
• Town of Brookhaven
  
  
• US Coast Guard
  
  
• USDA National Integrated Food Safety Initiative
  
  
• Western Suffolk BOCES Marine Studies Enrichment Program