Contact:

Mary Austerman, Great Lakes Coastal Community Specialist, P: 315-331-8415, E: mp357@cornell.edu

Understanding and Managing Floodplains for Healthy Watersheds and Resilient Communities

To reach communities in New York’s Great Lakes Basin, New York Sea Grant and its planning team partners held the same workshop at three venues.

Lake Erie/Western New York
November 2, 2022; 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Clarion Hotel; 30 Lake Shore Dr E, Dunkirk, NY 14048

Agenda | PDF

Presentations:

• Local Climate and Weather Impacts — Judy Levan, National Weather Service | PDF

• Watersheds and Floodplains — Shannon Dougherty, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Joanna Panasiewicz, Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance | PDF

• The Fundamentals of Proactive & Protective Floodplain Management — Brienna Wirley, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation | PDF

• Collaborative Regional Conservation Implementation Strategy for Chautauqua — Twan Leenders, Director of Conservation | PDF

• Model Local Laws to Increase Resiliency — Barbara Kendall, New York Department of State | PDF

• Smith Mills Reservoir: Repurposing Aging Infrastructure with an Ecosystem-Based Management Approach — Cassandra Pinkoski, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District | PDF

Western Lake Ontario/Lake Erie
(as part of the annual Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council’s Fall Conference)
November 3, 2022; 9 am - 4:30 pm
del Lago Resort & Casino, 1133 New York 414, Waterloo, NY 13165

Agenda | PDF

Presentations: 

Local Climate and Weather Impacts — Judy Levan, National Weather Service | PDF

Watersheds and Floodplains — Emily Fell, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Kristy LaManche, Finger Lakes – Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance | PDF

The Fundamentals of Proactive & Protective Floodplain Management — Brienna Wirley, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation | PDF

Clean Water and Climate Vulnerability — Jayme Breschard, Barton & Loguidice | PDF

Watershed Assessments and Green Infrastructure/Retrofits — Andy Sansone, Monroe County Department of Environmental Services | PDF

The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System: a local case study — John Caterino, Town of Greece | PDF

Model Local Laws to Increase Resiliency — Barbara Kendall, New York Department of State | PDF

Eastern Lake Ontario
November 9, 2022; 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Tailwater Lodge, 52 Pulaski St, Altmar, NY 13302

Agenda | PDF

Presentations: 

Local Climate and Weather Impacts — Judy Levan, National Weather Service | PDF

Watersheds and Floodplains — Emily Fell, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Kristy LaManche, Finger Lakes – Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance | PDF

The Fundamentals of Proactive & Protective Floodplain Management — Mary Binder, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation | PDF

Nature-based Solutions Throughout the Watershed — Roy Widrig, New York Sea Grant | PDF

Model Local Laws to Increase Resiliency — Barbara Kendall, New York Department of State | PDF

Conservation Subdivision Design (CSD) Process — Jeanie Gleisner, Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board | PDF


More Info: Background On This Series

Credits: For most municipalities the Local Government Workshop fulfills state law required training for local planning officials. A certificate of participation may be requested for the number of hours of attendance. AICP CM Credits are pending.

Who attended: This workshop was geared towards planning boards, zoning boards, municipal boards, supervisors, mayors, code enforcement officers, conservation advisory boards, floodplain mangers, but anyone interested in learning more about floodplains, related risks and ways to maintain/enhance the health of our Great Lakes by protecting and managing their watersheds was encouraged to attend.

In Their Words: "As guided by New York's Great Lakes Action Agenda, sustainable land use practices are essential for achieving water quality, ecosystem health and resilient communities," said DEC Great Lakes Watershed Programs Coordinator Shannon Dougherty. "This training series provided local communities with the knowledge and tools to implement local planning decisions that benefit the health of our local waterways that feed our shared Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system in the world."

"Participants had the opportunity to explore different land uses to learn the impact they may have in their part of the Great Lakes' watershed before communities actualize them in real-time," said NYSG Community Development Specialist Mary Austerman.

"There is a real need for education for local boards to be able to address issues such as the impacts of development on stormwater volume and the ongoing costly repairs of damaged infrastructure, streambank erosion, water quality, and the degradation of aquatic habitats," said Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy Conservationist Carol Markham.

"These workshops offered information and resources to help local boards make better informed decisions about protecting the area's freshwater resources, while incorporating floodplain management practices to address development, climate change, and recreational demands," said Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance Program Coordinator Kristy LaManche.

Planning Team: Central New York Regional Planning & Development Board, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Finger Lakes Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance,  Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, Lake Erie Watershed Protection Alliance, New York Sea Grant, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York Department of State, and Tug Hill Commission. 

Questions? Email Mary Austerman at mp357@cornell.edu 

Funding for this workshop series was provided by: Federal Emergency Management Agency's Cooperating Technical Partners Program, National Sea Grant Office Visioning Funding, Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Alliance with support by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, and the New York State Environmental Protection Fund under the authority of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act.


Anglers along the Salmon River: How to have healthy watersheds and resilient communities was the focus for a series of Fall '22 local government training workshops, including one in Altmar on November 9th. Credit: New York Sea Grant

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.