National RC&D Week Every year, National RC&D Week commemorates the anniversary of the founding of the RC&D Program and recognizes local RC&D Councils and their projects. This year, RC&D Week will be held from September 19 to 25.

July 2010 Project Updates Black River-St. Lawrence RC&D Project Updates: July 2010 Council Meeting: The next Council meeting will be on Wed, Sept 8th at 10:30. Tentative location will be Herkimer County Community College in Herkimer. All are welcome to attend. Please call Becca at 315-782-7289 x5 to rsvp. Forestry Committee Meeting: Becca is working with Linda to organize a face-to-face Forestry meeting after the Boonville WFD. Agriculture Committee Meeting: JJ Schell will be organizing an Ag Committee meeting soon. He is looking for at least one Council member from each County as well as ideas on other local folks to add to the committee. US Fish and Wildlife Service/Fish America Foundation Cooperative Agreement: The Council entered into a Cooperative Agreement with USFWS to manage $262,465.32 in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funds for the implementation of 3 projects: o Streamline restoration on 2 miles of the Salmon River in Oswego County- summer 2011. o Dam Removal at SUNY Oswego Fallsbrook Dam, summer 2011. o Stream bank restoration on 4200 ft of Sandy Creek, Jefferson County, fall 2010. Logging Safety for Farmers: The Council agreed to work with Julia Zhu, NY Dept of Health, to assist with organizing Logger Training for farmers. This would involve 1) assisting with distribution of “Logging Safety: A Field Guide” and 2) Assisting with planning Game of Logging Level 1 training for farmers (free of charge for the farmers). Herkimer County, St. Lawrence County and Oswego County were mentioned as potential locations. Algae Biofuels Project: The project committee has been meeting regularly to develop their research proposal. Please notify Chastity if you are interested in sitting in on these meetings- teleconferencing is usually an option. Recycling Ag Plastics: Cornell’s RAPP program is still awaiting the release of funding from the State for purchase of ag plastics balers. There are two balers waiting to come to NY as soon as the payment voucher is approved. The first two will go to Tompkins County and St. Lawrence County. There are four more slated to come to NY after production- one of these will come to Jefferson County. Discussions continue on how to make this process sustainable and locally controlled. Blake submitted a revised project proposal, for $50,000 to purchase and manage a baler, to Pepsi Refresh and it should be open for voting on Sept 1st. Keep an eye out for details on how, when and why to vote. RBEG Cape Vincent Community Wind Project: The contractor, SED, is working with the selected landowner and the Town Planning Board to secure the necessary permits and erect the meteorological tower. The tower will be up for one year, during which time the contractor will hold public meetings to discuss the formation of the community ownership model. Grass Pelleting Project: www.slcgrassenergy.org The RC&D Council received a $5,000 grant from NYPA to help support the Canton Biomass Boot Camp on September 17th. (The Regional Biomass working group will also be hosting a Biomass Boot Camp later this fall in Jefferson County.) The St. Lawrence County grass briquette demonstration project in is moving forward and is hoping to be on-line this fall/winter. Tom Lee is producing briquettes and tracking costs, Jim Thew plans to install a biomass boiler and also track costs and faculty and students from Clarkson and St. Lawrence Universities will assist with data collection and compilation. The group has also had an educational presence at several local events this summer and is planning to also attend the St. Lawrence Co. Fair. Planned Grazing Grant: We learned that the NYFVI grant for this project has no funding available (NYFVI lost their funding from the state budget). Trish is still working with the five farms, but on a more limited basis. She will maintain a monthly monitoring schedule throughout the growing season and will continue to provide the farms with reports and information. The RC&D Council submitted a joint proposal with Hudson Mohawk RC&D for $15,000 from Ben and Jerry’s Foundation to support 3 farmer to farmer discussion groups (1 in this area). Woodsmens Field Days: Due to the difficulty in scheduling volunteers as well as the need to move around the event space to network with potential partners, the Council decided not to have educational booths at the Tupper Lake and Boonville Woodsmens Field Days. Instead, the Council sponsored both events and will have their business card in event publications and receive passes to the events. Volunteers from the Council and Forestry Committee will receive passes to attend these events and network for the Council. Wayne Allen will be reporting to the Forestry Committee on Tupper Lake WFD and Linda Gibbs will be reporting to the Forestry Committee on the Boonville WFD. Chainsaw Safety: The Forestry Committee is working with Dan Tilton and the Ranger School to hold BOCES chainsaw safety workshops Sept 15 and 16. The Forestry Committee is working with Wayne Allen to potentially instruct chainsaw safety courses for the general public, trail crews and municipal workers in the future. Rails to Trails: Herkimer County mentioned a possible, local Rails-to-Trails project on a privately owned, 19 mile section of track. The Council will be hearing from one of the owners of this section of rail at the Council meeting in September. A private group in Jefferson County is looking at a potential project in the Cape Vincent area with assistance from Pat Crast, Jeff Co. Trails Coordinator. Lewis County received a grant to continue their work on acquiring sections of rail for their Rails to Trails project. The funding that was previously secured by the Village of Lowville for the section of proposed trail within the Village was returned to the funder after public controversy over that small section of the potential project. Watershed Groups: St. Lawrence River Watershed Partnership- The RC&D Council is working with partners to form a recognized group for watershed management planning and implementation activities. Franklin, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis and Herkimer Counties are involved from this area. Black River Watershed Management Plan- The Lewis Co. SWCD and the Tug Hill Commission took the lead in organizing the development of the Black River Watershed Management Plan. This is now completed and these organizations are working with local communities on developing implementation strategies. BR-SL RC&D is available as a partner to these communities as they move forward. Mohawk River Watershed- Oneida and Herkimer Co. SWCD’s are active in this group. Raquette River Blueway Group- This is a community based group promoting river stewardship, education and access. Several RC&D Council members participate in Raquette River Blueway events and meetings. Keep in Mind: Dry Hydrants- All counties interested. Waiting for project lead and funding opps. ISO Workshops- All counties interested. Waiting for project lead and funding opps. Aug. Meetings (C.L.): 8/3- USFWS Project Mtg.- Sandy Creek 8/9-8/11- NY RC&D Coordinators Meeting- Ellicottville 8/12-8/13- Grazing Project, Algae Project Mtgs.- Malone 8/18- Grass Pelleting Project Mtg.- Canton 8/19- Lewis Co. Ag Sub-Committee- Lowville 8/20- NY State Woodsmens Field Days- Boonville Respectfully Submitted, Chanda Lindsay USDA-NRCS Coordinator, Assisting Black River- St. Lawrence RC&D Council

Chanda Lindsay Receives Merit Award Chanda Lindsay, RC&D Coordinator, recently attended the NYS Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting where she received a Merit Award for the promotion of SWCD programs in RC&D.

USDA-NRCS Employees Who Assist The Black River-St. Lawrence RC&D Council CHANDA LINDSAY - RC&D Coordinator Chanda has been with the USDA NRCS, working with the Black River-St. Lawrence RC&D Council, since February 2008. She has found her niche working with the diverse array of projects and programs that the RC&D Council is involved in. Chanda says: “It’s all about being a jack-of-all-trades- at least that’s the way it works for me! From a Bachelors in Animal Science to a Masters in Outdoor and Environmental Education and from a zookeeping job to a RC&D Coordinator career- diversity has been the name of the game in my career path. What better place to be than right here in Northern New York? This area suits my personal preferences as an outdoor enthusiast as well as my professional preferences for diverse opportunities. As the coordinator for the Black River- St. Lawrence Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. (RC&D), I work with a council consisting of representatives from seven counties in the North Country to coordinate a wide array of resource conservation and rural development activities- from forestry to agriculture to recreation. The Council is made up of volunteer members from Soil and Water Conservation Districts, County Legislatures and At-Large members from the community. The Council members are the movers and shakers- who develop and implement project ideas which are as diverse as the council membership. The Council does everything from organizing Chainsaw Safety and Lumber Grading Workshops to assisting with Watershed Plans to working on local renewable energy projects. My job is to facilitate this process by making connections with local partners, assisting with grant writing and helping with follow up. I look forward to continuing to work with this fantastic team and all of our partners to offer some great opportunities to benefit residents and tourists alike in the North Country. I am grateful every day to be able to live and work here!”

BECCA HARE - RC&D Secretary Becca is an Adams Center, N.Y. native, who has found a perfect fit working part-time for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Prior to working for NRCS, she worked fulltime for a very busy local agricultural dealership. Becca works part-time performing the day-to-day operations in the RC&D business office. Becca manages to squeeze work or extracurricular activities into nearly every minute of every day. She coaches seventh grade girl’s softball in the spring and eighth grade girl’s volleyball in the winter at her alma mater, South Jefferson Central School, in Adams. Becca received a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from SUNY Potsdam in 1990 for Writing and Editing. Her husband is a Civilian employee as one of the managers for the Defense Commissary Agency at Fort Drum. Mark and Becca have two children, Benjamin (9) and Jillian (7). Becca has worked for NRCS since October of 2004.

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