Summer 1998 --- ANNUAL NEWSLETTER --- Issue No. 11
This series, which started in the early summer, will also run through fall, to provide maximum opportunity for people to participate.
For more information, and to register for events, please call The Nature
Conservancy at 298-2040.
The Private Landowners Committee was very pleased to schedule a meeting with representatives of the International Joint Commission and the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control on June 16th in Sackets Harbor prior to the Board's annual public meeting. At our three Landowners Committee meetings in the Summer of 1997, there was much discussion about how the lake level is regulated. We felt that we needed more information and education about this topic and planned on a possible panel presentation in 1998. After several communications with various parties of interest during the Fall and Winter, it was decided to attempt to meet with members of the St. Lawrence Board. We made the point with the Board that there were no public meetings held in Oswego or Jefferson Counties in the Fall of 1997 regarding the proposed revised regulation plan. Some Landowners Committee members were able to gather to come up with some questions to present to the Board. We were treated with courtesy by the members of the Board and Commission who met with us on the 16th. Some of the main points discussed were:
* they cannot control what comes into Lake Ontario from the other Great Lakes
* the lake level is kept within a four foot range
* many interests need to be considered: in addition to riparians (shoreline residents) up and down stream,
* hydropower, domestic sanitary facilities, navigation and others
* no interest is given priority over the others
* The board is in weekly contact (more often if emergencies) by conference call.
Members of the Landowners Committee are responsible to distribute information to their Associations. A written report will be distributed to all Committee members in the near future. If you have not received this information and wish to, please contact the Chair of the Dune Coalition, Dave White, at 315.341.3042 and he will arrange for someone to contact you.
The Landowners Committee would like to remind all Personal Watercraft (jet ski) Operators to be considerate of shoreline residents on the lake and ponds in our area.
* Stay a reasonable distance from shore - be aware of swimmers, especially in the lake where sand bars extend far from the shore in some areas.
* Be considerate of those fishing, kayaking, and canoeing.
* The noise and exhaust fumes are disturbing to many shoreline residents; please stay far enough from the shoreline so as not to disturb humans and animals.
* NYS law requires those ages 10-18 to obtain a safety certificate before operating any mechanically propelled boat without adult supervision.
* PWC are not to be operated after sunset.
Local residents have been noticing for some time that the broad sandy beaches of eastern Lake Ontario have become progressively narrower, or even non-existent in some areas. Lately cobbles have dominated the shore as far north as Sandy Island Beach. We ask, where has the sand gone? Will it come back? And ultimately, will eastern Lake Ontario's dune barrier disappear entirely, along with its dunes, birds, fish, wetlands, sheltered moorings, cottages, and lovely swimming beaches? All of us who care about the eastern shore of Lake Ontario want to make sure that doesn't happen, but planning for effective action depends on good information about how the natural system works. It has been a goal of The Ontario Dune Coalition for several years to clarify the issue of where the sand comes from, how it moves along the eastern shoreline, and where it ultimately has gone.
With support of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office, and Dune Coalition partners, The Nature Conservancy began to assemble that information. Preliminary assessments by Tom Cutter and Geof Steadman defined the problem: while some studies of sand movement have been done in eastern Lake Ontario, the results have been inconclusive. Some have thought sand moves from south to north, others think that's true for the southern portion of the sand resource, but that movement is north to south in the northerly sections. Most agree that no new sand is entering the system, and that sand is therefore continually being reworked onshore and offshore. We can see impacts and changes onshore, but how things have changed offshore is much less clear. In addition, major development of the shoreline has occurred since any study has been done. Steadman interviewed over 30 experts for his assessment, and concluded that the sand movement pattern in eastern Lake Ontario is just not understood by scientists at this point, and that some research into the issue is needed in order for all of us to be able to plan for the management of our various properties, and for the conservation of the overall sand resource we all share in common.
Coalition members gathered a year ago to form a Sand Trans-port Advisory Committee to get research done. Broad membership and expertise has come from the various agencies, and urgency has come from the local land owners and managers. Members include NYSDEC, NYS Department of State, US Army Corps of Engineers, US EPA, NY Sea Grant, Oswego County Planning, Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Town of Sandy Creek, The Nature Conservancy, and a variety of private citizens. The group has identified a team of geologists and applied for funding. The team is led by Dr. Donald Woodrow of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Dr. Woodrow's work in the late 1960's provides a benchmark against which new measurements can be compared. His team includes Drs. William Ahrnsbrak and John Halfman, also of Hobart and William Smith, Dr. Charles McClennen of Colgate University, Drs. Jill Singer and John Grant of SUNY Buffalo, and Dr. Norman Rukavina of Environment Canada. Using a variety of state-of-the-art techniques, the team will map the extent of the sand resource, describe its shape, both underwater and above, and map the distribution of various sized sediments. They will core the sand mass to determine its depth and character throughout the sand sheet, and look for buried wetland layers. Current meters will track how currents close to the sandy bottom move sand at the outer edge of the sand sheet. Data from the various techniques will work together like a jigsaw puzzle to piece together the story of how sand moves.
The research team is being assisted by Jim Walker of Lighthouse Marina in Port Ontario. Jim has made his newly acquired 45 foot, steel hull research vessel available for this work. The vessel, piloted by skipper Joe Amoral, is fully outfitted with cutting edge underwater research equipment. Skipper Amoral's experience with ocean-going underwater work will be a great boon to the research team. Work on the project began in July, with the installation of a current meter in the lake off Sandy Pond.
The Town of Sandy Creek has taken the lead, along with Richland and
Ellisburg, to seek state funding for the project from the Environmental
Protection Fund, through NYS Department of State's Local Waterfront Revitalization
Program. Additional funding has been sought from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Private funds raised by The Nature Conservancy have allowed the project
to get underway this summer. A two year research project is anticipated.
As a grassroots volunteer group, the Friends of Sandy Pond Beach have relied on the energy and enthusiasm of local residents. In the past 12 months our group has evolved into one that works on conservation efforts throughout the year. When the winter weather arrived we turned our attention to the local school children, and developed a program to present to them.
During the early part of 1998, a committee of Friends members met weekly to assess how we could best inform the students. Out of these meetings we came up with our target group, and what learning tools we felt would make the best impact. The grade levels we worked with were the 4th and 5th grades at Sandy Creek Central School. When the presentations were given, we showed 15 minutes of slides, and talked about the sand dunes and how people can have both a positive and negative impact on them. In addition to the slides, Ron Fisher demonstrated how a dune is formed using the sand machine. The students could really appreciate the processes involved when a dune forms, and how easily they can be destroyed when treated improperly. These visits to the classrooms were very well received and have given the Friends a building block to take the program further in the next school year.
Another major project this season is a 2nd beach grass plantation. This site is located in Pierrepont Manor. A local farmer has let the Nature Conservancy use a section of corn field for beach grass. It is hoped that this beach grass plantation, along with the one at Grindstone Farms will provide enough re-growth to sell. The Nature Conservancy wishes to maintain the native beach grass type that grows along the Eastern Shore of Lake Ontario, and wants to provide property owners with a source of the native grass.
As they have for the past 3 summers, the Friends of Sandy Pond Beach
will continue to provide support for the management of the Sandy Pond Beach
Natural Area. Members assist the staff with cleanup days, and aid the Dune
Steward with the public relations on the beach.
The Friends brought the Dune Machine to Sandy Creek schools last spring,
to the delight of the fourth and fifth graders. The machine is available
for demonstration. Please contact the Friends for more information. Inquiries
can be made to Tom Jones at 387-5505.
Julie Burgess is a recent graduate of SUNY College at Oswego, with a biology major and geology minor. She lives in Dexter and has a special way with people as well as animals. Julie's field trip schedule has been full this summer, as has her work-load of fencing repair and weed
Amy Wanamaker hails from Watertown, with a recent degree in environmental
studies from St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont . Amy has proved
a quick study in the ways of Sandy Pond. Working with The Friends of Sandy
Pond Beach, the NYSDEC, and The Nature Conservancy, Amy greets over 1000
visitors a day on sweltering summer weekends. Stop to say hello to her
as she moves between the walkover and the bird sanctuary next time you
see Amy.
The Ontario Dune Coalition newsletter is produced and distributed by
NY Sea Grant and The Nature Conservancy
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Lake Ontario Sand Dunes and Wetlands Main Page
