The Niagara River Greenway is a Rudderless Boat

The Niagara River Greenway is a rudderless boat

Author: Larry Beahan

Published Date: Jul 26, 2010 12:00 AM

The Niagara River Greenway is in danger of foundering in a cataract of well-meaning but disorganized and competing voices. The existence of a Greenway Commission sounds like someone is at the helm but the commission has no legal tools. It has no rudder.


More than 50 years ago, the New York Power Authority tapped the Niagara River to produce a bonanza of clean electric power. But the communities that contain the Niagara River have felt short-changed of its benefits. The Power Project, itself, mars the natural beauty of the gorge. The magnificent torrent of the falls is sapped of strength by water diversion. The chemical industries that it powers pollute the surroundings and tourists flock to the Canadian, not the American, falls.


Federal relicensing of the Power Project required reparations to these injured communities. The New York Power Authority and the state of New York arranged for the reparations to be delivered as $450 million over 50 years to fund a Niagara River Greenway. A Greenway Commission was appointed to develop a plan and make “recommendations” for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the Greenway.


An excellent plan was developed by the commission, but the implementation of the plan is faltering for lack of coordination. The actual money was awarded to four independent standing committees. They are required to ask only if the commission considers their spending proposals “consistent” with the Greenway Plan. But the Standing Committee may do whatever it wants after asking this advice.


I listened to Bob Kresse, the current Greenway Commission chairman, fume at a recent meeting. He watched a presentation by Wendel Duchscherer Architects on a plan for Greenway Signage funded by one of the standing committees. Many months ago the commission had found the proposal for the study “consistent” with the plan but had had no opportunity to influence this all-important matter of what the whole Greenway would look like, not even when signs were about to be painted.


I am Sierra Club representative to the Niagara Relicensing Environmental Coalition, which has a seat on the Ecological Standing Committee. We spent $100,000 to fund a project which inside of the year will provide a plan for the ecological restoration of the Niagara Gorge rim.


In light of this study, the commission tabled a decision on a proposal by Lewiston to build a dog park that will endanger a songbird habitat. Despite this lack of a finding of consistency and disregarding the $100,000 ecological plan, the “host community standing committee” immediately funded the dog park.


Somebody needs to coordinate the spending of this $450 million in a reasonable, consistent and agreed-upon way. The Greenway Commission must be given a rudder.


Larry Beahan is Sierra Club representative to the Niagara Relicensing Environmental Coalition.

© The Buffalo News

Debate stirs over Canadian falls hotel plan

Image via Wikipedia

“This will ruin the view from the American side,”

Debate stirs over Canadian falls hotel plan

NIAGARA FALLS — A plan is in the works to build a 57-story hotel and two more high-rise buildings on a prime piece of real estate overlooking the Horseshoe Falls in Canada.

The developer maintains that the project being proposed for the property which has been home to the Loretto Christian Life Centre for 148 years will provide patrons with a glorious view and jobs for perhaps as many as 1,000 people.

Opponents fear construction of high-rise building so near the Falls will have profound implications for the natural environment of the surrounding area and could detract from the experience of Americans and American visitors looking across the river to Canada.

“This will ruin the view from the American side,” said Catherine Buchanon, author “The Day the Falls Stood Still,” a novel that chronicles the early days of hydroelectric development on the Niagara River. “There’s seven acres of greenspace around the Loretto Academy that could conceivably become concrete and glass.”

The Loretto academy sits on a 7-acre parcel atop the Falls on the Canadian side. It is currently owned by Romzap, Ltd which purchased it in 2006 from the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Romzap believes the parcel is ideally suited for a 57-story hotel as well as two other high-rises that could be opened as either hotels or condominiums. If completed, the proposed 57-story structure would be taller than the Hilton hotel on Fallsview Boulevard, which at 53 stories is currently the city’s tallest building.

The developer was successful in its bid to have the property added to the city’s Tourist Area Development Strategy, a set of guidelines that establish acceptable locations and standards for high-rise development in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The company is now in the process of putting together a series of studies on the project’s potential impact in anticipation of making a formal request to the Falls city council for a change in zoning that would allow the development to proceed.

Romzap, owner and prominent Falls hotelier Tony Zappitelli said the project represents a potential investment in the city of about $250 million and would bring with it a wealth of new jobs and visitors to the area.

“It’s a fantastic site,” he said.  

As part of its hotel proposal, Romzap has agreed to preserve 1.6 acres of greenspace at the front of the academy building as well as the building itself.

“This development is not wall-to-wall with concrete on the property,” Zappitelli said.

Buchanan and other members of a group called Friends of Niagara Falls aren’t so sure. The grassroots organization has developed a Web site and created an online petition in an effort to put a stop to the project’s construction.

The Friends say the project will contribute to an existing concern above the Falls on the Canadian side. They cite reports from the Niagara Parks Commission, which owns and maintains the tract of Canadian parkland running along the river, that suggest misty days have more than doubled since the advent of high-rise buildings on the Canadian side. They point to a report from engineering consultant Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin which suggests the high-rises are causing airflow alterations that are drawing vapor toward the land and causing an increase in rain and mist conditions. At certain points during the year, they also maintain that such a tall building would cast a shadow over parts of Queen Victoria Park and would span the river as the sun sets, causing Terrapin Point on Goat Island on the American side to experienced darkened conditions as much as 90 minutes earlier per day.

“There are absolutely going to be people who think that the development is beneficial, but Niagara Falls is a natural wonder of the world,” Buchanan said. “I think a large part of the attraction is seeing it in its natural glory.”

Zappitelli said shadow diagrams already completed at the direction of his company show the impact of the building on the parks would be nowhere near as profound as some have suggested. He noted that his company is in the process of performing a variety of studies in anticipation of an upcoming city council vote on the request for re-zoning of the parcel. He said the ongoing analysis includes heritage, archeological, wind, tree, shadow and other studies as required by the council itself. In the end, he said, the study findings will be used by council members to determine if the re-zoning request should be granted. Zappitelli said there’s no firm timeframe for completion of the studies, but his company would like to have them completed as soon as possible.

“All of these studies that we are doing are part of the re-zoning process,” Zappitelli said. “We are working on these reports. If there are any concerns, we would outline that.” 

Preserve Natural Wonder of Niagara Falls - "It isn't Just The View Being Spoiled"

Image via Wikipedia

By Cathy Marie Buchanan. Article HERE.  Sign the online petition HERE. Website HERE.
Sign Niagara Heritage Partnership petition t HERE.

Buzz up!

With rampant development and a new hydroelectric tunnel to siphon water away from the river, Niagara Falls is threatened in ways that are eerily familiar. Way back, the falls were cordoned off, reserved by hucksters for the paying few, and gristmills overwhelmed the natural beauty of the place. But then in the 1880s, a groundswell of preservation sentiment led to the establishment of public parks on both the American and Canadian sides of the river. Here’s to hoping the old adage about history repeating itself is true, because today we are again failing miserably at preserving the natural wonder of the world entrusted to our care.

An unsightly wall of hotels extends downriver from the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of the river, and that wall is slated to infiltrate the seven acres of green space that today frame the Horseshoe Falls in nature when viewed from the American side of the river. In 2006, a Canadian hotelier bought Loretto Academy, the stately, 148-year-old convent school that stands atop the bluff at the Horseshoe Falls, and now the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, has amended its official plan, permitting the hotelier to replace the treed grounds of the academy with three high-rises, one a monstrous 57 stories in height.

And it isn’t just the view that’s being spoiled. According to the Niagara Parks Commission, the government agency that owns and maintains the tract of Canadian parkland running the length of the river, the misty days have more than doubled since the high-rises went up, and engineering consultants Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin, who modeled the area, say the high-rises are altering the airflow near the falls, drawing vapor toward the land and creating more days with rain-like conditions. Awnings and umbrellas have gone up and raincoats are now donned at plenty of spots where it was once possible to remain dry while taking in the staggering beauty of the falls.

The shadows of the new high-rises will cast parts of Queen Victoria Park beside the falls in gloom as the sun moves from the southern sky to the west and will span the river as the sun sets, bringing darkness to Goat Island’s Terrapin Point, the favored American vantage point for viewing the falls, 90 minutes early at certain times of the year. Worse yet, for a six-week period each spring and each fall, the shadows will interfere with the spectacle of the setting sun’s light on the Horseshoe Falls. Needless to say, when the sunshine is blocked, Niagara’s trademark rainbow will not appear.

Adding insult to injury, the magnificence of the falls themselves are set to take a plunge. In 2006 the world’s largest rock-boring machine began cutting yet another diversion tunnel under the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. When that tunnel — it’s six stories in height — is completed in 2013, Ontario’s capacity to divert water away from the river and falls for the production of hydroelectricity will increase by 30 percent.

The water available for diversion is legislated by the 1950 Niagara Diversion Treaty, which set the minimum flow over the falls at about 50 percent of the natural flow during the daylight hours of tourist season and 25 percent at all other times, and in the words of Ontario Power Generation, “Excess water above and beyond what is required for tourism is now ‘spilling’ over the falls some of the time.” Offensive as the statement is, it is true that during the “non-tourist flow” times, Canada is currently unable to siphon off all it is allowed. Worrisome, though, is that with the new tunnel, total diversion capacity, including both the Canadian and the American power installations, will reach a whopping 186,000 cubic feet per second, enough to divert 93 percent of the river’s average natural flow. Our history of relentlessly chiseling away at the volume of water flowing over the brink through a succession of progressively more lenient diversion treaties underscores the vulnerability.

When the New York State Reservation at Niagara Falls opened in 1885, it was with a declaration that Niagara Falls was “not property, but a shrine — a temple erected by the hand of the Almighty for all the children of men.” Yet we find ourselves on a path of turning Niagara Falls into a trifling, measly thing, framed not by nature but by looming, glass and concrete edifices erected for the financial gain of a few.

Cathy Marie Buchanan is the author of the novel “The Day the Falls Stood Still,” which opens at Loretto in 1915 and chronicles the early days of hydroelectric development on the Niagara River. She is a founding member of the conservation organization www.FriendsOfNiagaraFalls.org.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Niagara Falls Recommends RMP Removal (fadingintomyth.blogspot.com)
• Sign Niagara Heritage Partnership petition to remove the Robert Moses Parkway HERE. 
• Olmsted's Vision for Niagara Falls HERE.

Rare Bird Alert

Thursday, February 25, 2010

 Dial-a-Bird is a service provided by your Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo Ornithological Society. Press (2) to leave a message, (3) for updates, meeting and field trip information and (4) for instructions on how to report sightings. To contact the Science Museum, call 896-5200.

 Highlights of reports received February 18 through February 25 from the Niagara Frontier Region include EARED GREBE, WILSON'S SNIPE, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, TURKEY VULTURE and NORTHERN SHRIKE.

 At Dunkirk Harbor, EARED GREBE continues on the east side of the main pier, providing close up viewing of a rare species. BALD EAGLES in the harbor included counts of 19, 13 and 11 during the past week.

 Also in the harbor, at least 14 waterfowl species highlighted by 591 COMMON GOLDENEYES and 341 BUFFLEHEADS, plus GADWALL, RING-NECKED DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, HOODED MERGANSER and RUDDY DUCK. Also, 7 PIED-BILLED GREBES, 2 HORNED GREBES, very low numbers of BONAPARTE'S GULLS, 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS, and on February 19, 727 GREAT BLACK-B. GULLS.

 In southern Chautauqua County, February 18, at the pond in the Town of Clymer, 4 WILSON'S SNIPE. Not often reported, WILSON'S SNIPE have a history of wintering in the Southern Tier. February 23, it was reported that 3 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS have been at a feeder this winter in Jamestown.

 Small numbers of TURKEY VULTURES also winter in the region, but a TURKEY VULTURE over the Town of Lewiston on February 21 would likely be among the the first migrants.

 One of the few reports this winter of NORTHERN SHRIKE - February 19 to 21 on Mapleton Road in the Town of North Tonawanda.

 From the upper Niagara River this week - Two adult BALD EAGLES at Navy Island. 4 more BALD EAGLES, 124 TUNDRA SWANS and over 7000 CANVASBACKS between Strawberry and Motor Islands. 12 LESSER SCAUP still at Mid-river Marina in Tonawanda. MERLIN roosting in the loop drive woods at Beaver Island State Park. PEREGRINE FALCON on the lock at Squaw Island Park in Buffalo's Black Rock section and another PEREGRINE FALCON on the south Grand Island bridge.

 On the lower Niagara River, 2 LITTLE GULLS among several hundred BONAPARTE'S GULLS at the Lewiston Docks, and abundant LONG-TAILED DUCKS and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS continue off Fort Niagara State Park at Lake Ontario.

 Also this week - at the Dunkirk Airport, 2 BALD EAGLES, NORTHERN FLICKER, 12 AMERICAN ROBINS and 2 WHITE-THR. SPARROWS. In the Iroquois Refuge and Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area, 4 PILEATED WOODPECKERS. And on Youngstown-
 Wilson Road in Porter, 12 HORNED LARKS and 160 SNOW BUNTINGS. 

NY Natural Heritage Program - Federal Law Regulates "Taking" of endangered and threaened plants when they are affected by federal actions or the use of federal funds.

Image via Wikipedia

Federal Law

One of the results of the environmental movement of the 1960s and 70s was the enactment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (see the offsite link in the right-hand column of this page). The Act was designed to prevent the extinction of plants and animals, addressing problems of both exploitation and habitat destruction. The Act defines an endangered species as any species of animal or plant that is in danger of extinction over all or a significant portion of its range. A threatened species is defined as one that is likely to become endangered. The Act regulates the "taking" of endangered and threatened plants on federal land or when they are affected by federal actions or the use of federal funds. Specific protection is outlined in the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and states: It is unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to:

1. import any such species into, or export any such species from, the United States;
2. remove and reduce to possession any such species from areas under Federal jurisdiction; maliciously damage or destroy any such species on any such area; or remove, cut, dig up, or damage or destroy any such species on any other area in knowing violation of any law or regulation of any state or in the course of any violation of a state criminal trespass law;
3. deliver, receive, carry, transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever and in the course of a commercial activity, any such species;
4. sell or offer for sale in interstate or foreign commerce any such species; or
5. violate any regulation pertaining to such species or to any threatened species of plants pursuant to section 4 of this Act and promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to authority provided by this Act.

Exceptions to these provisions include seeds of cultivated threatened plants, under certain circumstances possession of plants in a conservation program by an employee or designate of the Service and those plants exempted by a special rule.
A particularly important section of the Act promotes the conservation of habitats of endangered and threatened species. The Act authorized the acquisition of land for the protection of habitats of these species and directs federal agencies to ensure that their activities or those authorized or funded by them do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered and threatened species.
The Act prescribes strict procedural guidelines for determination of status and listing of species. These provide that species be listed only after extensive input and review by biologists, the states and the general public. This procedure insures that only species in need of protection are listed, and it provides baseline data from which further population monitoring may proceed.
Presently, 11 New York rare plants are on the federal endangered and threatened list:

Endangered

Agalinis acuta - Sandplain Gerardia - presently known from Long Island
Schwalbea americana - Chaffseed - historically known from the Albany Pine Bush
Scirpus ancistrochaetus - Northeastern Bulrush - historically known from Washington County

Threatened

Aconitum noveboracense - Northern Monk's-hood - presently known from the Catskills
Amaranthus pumilus - Seabeach Amaranth - presently known from Long Island
Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum - Hart's Tongue Fern - presently known from Central New York
Helonias bullata - Swamp Pink - historically known from Staten Island
Isotria medeoloides - Small Whorled Pogonia - historically known from Central and Eastern New York and Long Island
Platanthera leucophaea - Prairie Fringed Orchid - historically known from Central New York
Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi - Leedy's Roseroot - presently known from the Finger Lakes Region
Oligoneuron houghtonii - Houghton's Goldenrod - presently known from Western New York
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulates federally endangered and threatened plants. This includes listing new species, developing recovery plans, reviewing projects, and assessing damage and penalties when plants are impacted. For this region, there are offices in Boston, MA; Cortland, NY; and Islip, Long Island.

State Laws and Regulations

Rare plants have been protected in New York State since 1933. After a long history of expanded protection efforts, the latest regulation was enacted in June 1989 and includes three rarity categories (endangered, threatened, and rare) and one non-rare protection category (exploitably vulnerable).
The categories of the rare plant protected list are defined as follows: Endangered Species: listed species are those with

1. 5 or fewer extant sites, or
2. fewer than 1,000 individuals, or
3. restricted to fewer than 4 U.S.G.S. 7 1/2 minute topographical maps, or
4. species listed as endangered by the U. S. Department of Interior, as enumerated in the Code of Federal Regulations 50 CFR 17.11.

Threatened: listed species are those with

1. 6 to fewer than 20 extant sites, or
2. 1,000 to fewer than 3,000 individuals, or
3. restricted to not less than 4 or more than 7 U.S.G.S. 7 1/2 minute topographical maps, or
4. listed as threatened by the U. S. Department of the Interior, as enumerated in the Code of Federal Regulations 50 CFR 17.11.

Rare: listed species have

1. 20 to 35 extant sites, or
2. 3,000 to 5,000 individuals statewide.

Exploitably vulnerable: listed species are likely to become threatened in the near future throughout all or a significant portion of their range within the state if causal factors continue unchecked.
The exploitably vulnerable category contains plants that are likely to be picked for commercial and personal purposes and affords the landowner extra protection ability.
Rare plants included on the list are protected under New York State Environmental Conservation Law section 9-1503. Part (f) of the law reads as follows: "It is a violation for any person, anywhere in the state to pick, pluck, sever, remove, damage by the application of herbicides or defoliants, or carry away, without the consent of the owner, any protected plant. Each protected plant so picked, plucked, severed, removed, damaged or carried away shall constitute a separate violation." Violators of the regulation are subject to fines of $25 per plant illegally taken.
The Nature Conservancy established the New York Natural Heritage Program in 1985 as a contract unit within the DEC. The program assumed from the state museum the job of compiling a status list for rare plants in the state. Each year a rare plant status review meeting is sponsored by the Natural Heritage Program botanist to review the ranks and taxonomy of the listed plants. The meeting includes the state botanist, a DEC representative, and other botanists from around the state who are familiar with rare plants. After the meeting the list is updated and each plant is assigned a global and state rarity rank devised by The Nature Conservancy. This list has no legal status but is used by the DEC as a basis for the legal protected list that they produce. Since it is updated yearly it often differs slightly from the DEC list which is updated over a multi-year time frame.
Since the Heritage Program began the status list has changed significantly. On the positive side many plants that were originally thought to be rare were shown to be more common after historical sites and potential habitat were searched. Over 70 plants that had not been seen in over 20 years were rediscovered, many of them with historical records over 50 years old. On the negative side many plants were determined to be extirpated from the state after years of searching failed to turn up a single plant. As time goes by and we gather more information on the status of rare plants the lists will become more refined and accurate.

State Environmental Quality Review Act and Lead Agency Regulations

In New York State, when a development or other type of project is proposed that may affect rare plants, an environmental impact assessment may be required as prescribed by the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). The SEQR process considers the environmental factors of a project and assists in the decision-making process at the earliest possible time.

Rare Bird Alert - Feb. 4, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

Thursday February 4, 2010

Dial-a-Bird is a service provided by your Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo Ornithological Society. Press (2) to leave a message, (3) for updates, meeting and field trip information and (4) for instructions on how to report sightings. To contact the Science Museum, call 896-5200.

Waterfowl were the highlight of reports received January 28 through February 4 from the Niagara Frontier Region.

Abundant waterfowl continue on the upper Niagara River off Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island. January 29, a mixed flock of over 10,000 SCAUP, CANVASBACK and REDHEADS, a dense flock of 6000 CANVASBACKS, and thousands of COMMON MERGANSERS and COMMON GOLDENEYES scattered among the ice floes. February 2 at Beaver Island, 271 TUNDRA SWANS and 71 GREAT BLUE HERONS, plus 2 BALD EAGLES. BALD EAGLES also reported nearby on the Beaver Island Parkway and the park golf course.

Also February 2, in Tonawanda at the Mid-river Marina on River Road, 26 LESSER SCAUP and an AMERICAN COOT. At Goat Island in Niagara Falls, New York, 30 GADWALL, 3 AMERICAN WIGEON, NORTHERN PINTAIL and 2 HOODED MERGANSERS, plus ICELAND GULL and 2 L. BLACK-B. GULLS. Also at Goat Island - BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN-CR. KINGLET, 20 AMERICAN ROBINS and WHITE-THR. SPARROW.

January 30 in the Iroquois Refuge, a pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS on Feeder Road near Route 77, and 2 BALD EAGLES near the nest at Cayuga Pool.

NORTHERN SHRIKE, January 30, at the towers on Warner Hill Road in the southern Erie County Town of Wales.

Other reports - PEREGRINE FALCON atop the south Grand Island bridges. A pair of WOOD DUCKS wintering with 75 MALLARDS on Ellicott Creek at St. Rita's Lane by the UB Amherst Campus. And a WHITE-THR. SPARROW at a feeder on Grand Island.

Dial-a-Bird will be updated Thursday evening, February 11. Please call in your sightings by noon Thursday. You may report sightings after the tone. Thank you for calling and reporting to Dial-a-Bird.

Rare Bird Alert from Dial-a-Bird

Image via Wikipedia

Thursday, January 28, 2010

 Dial-a-Bird is a service provided by your Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo Ornithological Society. Press (2) to leave a message, (3) for updates, meeting and field trip information and (4) for instructions on how to report sightings. To contact the Science Museum, call 896-5200.

 Highlights of reports received January 21 through January 28 from the Niagara Frontier Region include KING EIDER, RED-THROATED LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE and SNOWY OWL.

 From Buffalo, January 23, beyond abundant waterfowl on the Niagara River between the ice boom and Peace Bridge. Two KING EIDERS, a female and first winter male, were picked out of an an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 waterfowl, dominated by SCAUP, COMMON GOLDENEYE, COMMON MERGANSER, BUFFLEHEAD, CANVASBACK and REDHEAD. The eiders were seen from the tower at the Erie Basin Marina. A RUDDY DUCK was also found at the marina, and 2 adult BALD EAGLES on the ice boom. BONAPARTE'S GULLS at the Peace Bridge have ranged from abundant to absent during January.

 January 23 on Lake Ontario at Golden Hill State Park in Somerset, highlights were several rare in winter RED- THROATED LOONS and RED-NECKED GREBES, plus 26 HORNED GREBES. On the 24th, on the lake off Wilson and Porter, 11 RED-
 THROATED LOONS and 2 RED-NECKED GREBES. Also in Porter at Fort Niagara State Park, GLAUCOUS GULL and SURF SCOTER, plus numerous WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS and LONG-TAILED DUCKS.

 Still on the 23d, in the Lake Ontario Plains, the SNOWY OWL continues at Sawyer Cemetery on Route 18 in Somerset. Two NORTHERN SHRIKES in Yates and Somerset. It was noted that ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are missing from traditional winter locations in the plains.

 Other reports this week - on the upper Niagara River at Beaver Island State Park, Motor Island and Strawberry Island, 87 GREAT BLUE HERONS, 212 TUNDRA SWANS, BALD EAGLE and impressive numbers of mixed waterfowl. On the lower river, 2 LITTLE GULLS at Lewiston. At Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo, up to 60 AMERICAN ROBINS, 10 AMER. TREE SPARROWS and a WHITE-THR. SPARROW. Six EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in the Town of Wilson, and a single EASTERN BLUEBIRD on the West River Parkway on Grand Island.

Main Street Observation To Paul

At the NREC meeting today, I learned that at the last meeting of the Niagara River Greenway the Commission asked if you wanted to make a motion to rescind their consistency decision regarding The Lewiston Scenic Trail.

I understand you declined. No explanation was given for your inaction on Lewiston's incomplete proposal.

***

Should the MSBPA request a reimbursement for the mowed flowers at the Main Street Sign, please see my note below declines, though I appreciated their offer. M

"In land use decisions and actions, it is unethical to evaluate an area in isolation from its surroundings or from its development over time. Ethics impel us to consider an area in its broadest spatial and temporal perspectives." Richard T.T. Forman, Landscape Architect

-----Original Message-----
From: mv
To: Leslie T
Cc: van400
Sent: Wed, Aug 5, 2009 9:02 pm
Subject: Re: flowers

Leslie,
I don't want, need, or expect reimbursement or replacement from the city or anyone else. I just think it's sad.

Not because I purchased and planted them, but because some bright spot, flowers or hope, bloomed in this city despite all the crummy odds.

They didn't have to be destroyed. Call it metaphoric, or not, they left a dead tree standing.

M

A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Aldo Leopold

-----Original Message-----
From: Leslie T
Sent: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 01:52 PM
To: mv
Subject: flowers

M - let me know what you had in the flower bed ( type and cost) and I will call the city for reimbursement- replacement - whatever they can do.. thanks

___________
Leslie J. T
Main Street Business and Professional Association

Niagara Heritage Proposal to Remove the Robert Moses Parkway Meets and Exceeds the Niagara River Greenway Plan - Guiding Principals- 2007

NIAGARA RIVER GREENWAY PLAN 2007 (page 21)

C. Principles for the Niagara River Greenway

The principles for the Niagara River Greenway represent the general values that will guide greenway planning into the future. These basic principles have been presented and discussed in various venues,and have received broad general support on the part of the wide range of groups that have been actively involved in the development of the Greenway Plan.

The focus of these principles is to facilitate the implementation of the vision established for the Niagara River Greenway. They promote high-quality, ecologically sensitive and sustainable activities and development. All actions within the Niagara River Greenway should be evaluated against these principles, not only to assess their validity, but to help improve the quality of efforts that move forward.
CHAPTER 3: VISION AND PRINCIPLES


(page22) NIAGARA RIVER GREENWAY PLAN

The guiding principles for the development of the Niagara River Greenway are:
Excellence – Existing Greenway resources are globally significant and Greenway projects will meet world class standards.

Sustainability – The Greenway will be designed to promote ecological, economic and physical sustainability for long-term viability and effectiveness.

Accessibility – The Greenway will be designed to provide and increase physical and visual access to and from the waterfront and related resources for a full range of users(youth, seniors, persons with special needs).

Ecological Integrity – The Greenway will be focused on maintaining and improving the health, vitality and integrity of natural resources and wildlife habitats. Emphasis will be placed on restoring and retaining ecologically significant areas and natural landscapes,both in and over the water and upland.

Public Well-Being – The Greenway will be designed to achieve and promote physical and emotional wellness through the experience that it offers to the public. Availability of
both land- and water-based recreational facilities, and access to both active and passive recreational opportunities should be considered in the development of Greenway assets.

Connectivity – The Greenway will increase connectivity and access (trails, pathways,parks, water access), promote the continuity of open space and habitats, and provide for connections to related corridors and resources across the region,including connections across the international border with Canada.


Restoration – The Greenway will be designed to encourage the restoration of ecological resources, the appropriate reuse of brownfields, and the revitalization of existing urban centers along the corridor.

Authenticity – The Greenway will establish a clear sense of “place” and identity that reflects the traditional spirit and heritage of the area. Projects and activities should have a connection to the character, culture and/or history of their location.

Celebration – The Greenway will be designed to celebrate local history, diversity,cultural resources, and the natural and built environments, and will seek to share this diverse tradition with local residents and visitors to the region. Projects that support education, interpretation are encouraged, as are events and activities that help build social interaction and shared experiences.

Partnerships – The focus of the Greenway will revolve around cooperation and reciprocal compromise. Relationships and partnerships must be formed and strengthened to achieve coordination and integration of efforts throughout the Greenway.

Community Based – Greenway planning will reflect the preferences and plans of the local communities, while respecting other stated goals and the communal vision of the Niagara River Greenway.

The above principles present a guide to actions and development within the Niagara River Greenway over the long-term, so that the cumulative effect of projects is to move toward achieving the shared vision for the Niagara River Greenway. The principles are applicable to municipalities without waterfront lands as well as those fronting the River.

They promote access and connections, including trail linkages. They support high quality, ecologically-sound projects throughout the region. They are fundamental enough to remain relevant over changing circumstances, providing consistency with flexibility.

Open letter about road removal between Lewiston and Niagara Falls

Emerson,
Here are my candid observations about your email urging peers to “consider both sides of the Robert Moses Parkway (RMP) issue before blindly signing” the Niagara Heritage Partnership (NHP) online petition for road removal between Niagara Falls and Lewiston.

In the last four years, you and the Parkway Preservation Committee have ignored the benefits of road removal.

Your unsubstantiated opinion is the RMP is “an artery” for Old Fort Niagara State Park. You ignored Main Street, Youngstown, the Fort’s mainline front door.

The NHP proposal repairs the aneurism Robert Moses caused when he built the RMP, bypassing every Niagara Falls’ business direct. Main Street, Little Italy's Pine Avenue, Third Street and Niagara Street.

Removal rehabilitates that urban-decay abscess. It creates a new life support system with documented economic stimulus numbers and new urbanism thinking.

1. Hundreds of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in tourism revenue. Data supplied by cities implementing road removal.

2. Seoul, Korea reclaimed a stream for open space. They removed 6-lanes. (Feb. 2009, Scientific American, pages 20-22)

3. USA Niagara proposed the 6-mile segment along the lower river gorge from Niagara Falls to Lewiston be removed." (A View From The Falls: The Demand and Opportunity For Hotel Development in Niagara Falls, page 51.)

4. The Curriculum Guide for Green Infrastructure Planning: "There are economic reasons for protecting "viewsheds" since they are important to attracting…Heritage Tourists...spend[ing] on average two-and-one-half times [more] than other tourists."

5. The New York Natural Heritage Program's Conservation Guide: roads and their associated run-offs are detrimental to calcareous cliff communities. page 2

6. The Smart Growth Network's "Getting to Smart Growth: 100 Policies for Implementation" pages 43-44- Chapter 6- "there is a sense of urgency to saving critical environmental areas. Communities MUST work with other communities in their region and political leaders to expend the resources and develop the innovative techniques to make open space preservation a reality."

7. RMP removal between Niagara Falls and Lewiston is what the Niagara River Greenway aspires to. See the 11 guiding principals, chapter 3, Niagara River Greenway Plan.

8. Counter compromise merely means keeping the current two lanes open.

Emerson, lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Trading Places. One month with one person. Who? Why?

Give me a month, thirty-one days, and I’ll change places with Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.

I’ll roust his bony frame out of a certain slow-rollover with an imperative; look how they’ve blackened a vision. See how pavement and Moses have transmuted dreams for the Niagara Reservation State Park, Goat Island, and the Niagara River gorge.

Before I go under, I’ll exchange Olmsted’s rose-colored eyepiece for my paper reams: lists, resolutions, petitions, memos of understanding, newspaper articles, letters, presentations, and some guiding principals about a greenway. Here, I’ll say as I thrust that ultimate, final pulp fiction into his hands, here are the names of the commissioners. Are their documented words consistent with their actions? Here’s a paperless address for an opinion, please.

Building A Community

A river. A waterfall. Human faces undeveloped nature. I’m a community of ones. Introspection. Ambition. Reflection. Domination. Conversation. Desperation. Can words swim? A lifejacket’s irony.