Central & Western NY Outdoors  
January 2007

Happy 2007 !!

~~~ IN THIS ISSUE ~~~    

Aqueduct Getting a Lift with New Grant

Traditional Native American Adventure Challenge Announced

Work Begins on Lakeside Trail

Livecam of nesting Maine Eagles

Footprint Press receives the 2006 Tourism Legacy Award

New Book on the North Country Trail

 

 

     Aqueduct Getting a Lift with New Grant-
     Plan would restore Camillus Erie Canal Park structure, which dates to 1844. 
                                                                                                    by Jerry Rosen, syracuse.com

Two years after unexpectedly high bids crushed hopes for restoring the historic Camillus Erie Canal Park aqueduct, officials have received a $1 million federal grant that should let them start the project.
Camillus Parks & Recreation Director Tom Kehoskie doggedly pursued money for the mile-long project that would give the park what Dr. David Beebe says would be "the only restored, navigable aqueduct in New York state."

"We're going to go out for bids, that's for sure," said Kehoskie, who has worked with Beebe, founder of the Camillus Erie Canal Park, on the aqueduct project for about 11 years.  Beebe said restoring the 1844 canal aqueduct, which carried the canal over Nine Mile Creek, has been on his agenda for more than three decades. It's on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We've even talked about restoring it since the late '70s," he said. "This is what we've been hoping for."

In September 2004, Kehoskie and Beebe, with $1.2 million accumulated through grants and local fundraising, felt as if they had taken a punch to the gut when the low bid came in at nearly $2 million. This time, Kehoskie said he's confident about getting the job done. "I think it's going to be within $2 million to $2.5 million," he said. "The search is still under way for one more grant. We're waiting to hear about a Canal Corp. Canalway grant for about $250,000."

The heart of the project is a 144-foot-long wood laminate trunk that will sit on the stone piers and carry the water over the creek. "By the time it's done," Beebe said, "the (state) Canalway Trail will be open from Route 173 (in Camillus) to Buffalo. We've noticed a huge increase in bicyclists already."

To see the location of this aqueduct, go to page 176, Erie Canal Park in "Take Your Bike - Family Rides in New York's Finger Lakes Region."

          Traditional Native American Adventure Challenge Announced

Centuries ago, before Europeans were in this land, there was a culture and life that existed everyday among the people here.  This event is an opportunity for you to experience in the very same place, some of those challenges in a day of fun competition with other teams.

• *Teams of 4 working together, at times joining with other teams strategize to gain the most beads in 10 events.

• Using wampum belts, pictographs and other traditional means of communication each teams decides the best way to earn as many beads as posible in the day.

• Events will all involve skills important to the people who lived at Fort Hill hundreds of years ago

• Designed for families, corporate groups and groups of friends.

• Beginning and ending traditional ceremonies with Elders

• A very unique day to increase the connection between your group members, the wider community, the Native culture and the land.

• AM includes training in skills helpful in the afternoon such as tracking.

• Noon to 4 PM, August 18th is the final event. Ganandagon State Historic site

Sponsored by Pack Paddle Ski, Ganandagon and Victor Parks.

For more information send us an email.  info@packpaddleski.com

          Work Begins on Lakeside Trail - Irondequoit Path Expected to Open in 2007
                    by Sheila Rayam, Staff Writer D&C

 

 

 (September 26, 2006) — IRONDEQUOIT — Work has begun on a $2.4 million Irondequoit Lakeside Multi-Use Trail that will run from Sea Breeze to the Col. Patrick O'Rorke Bridge.

The 4.7-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail will go from the north side of Culver Road in Sea Breeze to Pattonwood Drive to the Col. Patrick O'Rorke Bridge. It will run along Culver Road, St. Paul Boulevard, Lake Shore Boulevard and Sweet Fern Road.

The Irondequoit Public Works Department has begun clearing and digging a portion of the path along Lake Shore Boulevard, said Irondequoit Supervisor Mary Ellen Heyman.

Work on the trail is a joint project of Irondequoit and Monroe County. Crane-Hogan Structural Systems Inc., the contractor hired by the county, is expected to begin work on the trail "very shortly," said Michael Garland, the county's deputy director of environmental services.

Construction of the trail is expected to be finished by Labor Day 2007, Garland said.

The trail is being paid for with $1.2 million in federal funds, $705,000 in county funds and $460,000 in cash and in-kind services from the town of Irondequoit, Garland said. The multi-use trail has been in the works for about seven years. Originally, the project was conceived as a $7.5 million project that would have included a segment following a former CSX railroad track bed to Seneca Park Zoo. That land was not acquired, Garland said.

The multi-use trail will run through county and town rights of way. No private property was required for the project.

The majority of the work on the trail will occur along the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard and Sweet Fern Road, between Rock Beach Road and Culver Road.

The trail will include trail signs, rest stops and a 13-foot-wide timber boardwalk/bridge crossing Tamarack Swamp.

"We think it's a great project for the community, for all residents of Monroe County," Garland said.

"It's been a long time coming ... and we're happy to see the project moving forward."

          Livecam of nesting Maine Eagles

Bald Eagles are the majestic fliers of the sky. But before they become the symbol of the U.S., they have to be hatched and taught. 

      Footprint Press has received the 2006 Tourism Legacy Award for Branding.  

Canandaigua , NY –

Branding -- it is word and image association – a capturing of the essence of a place in just a few words or striking images. Footprint Press (www.footprintpress.com) and its series of guidebooks on outdoor recreation in the Finger Lakes Region have captured the branding space for Finger Lakes hiking and biking. Sue and Rich Freeman left Kodak to pursue a better lifestyle – and turned that passion for the outdoors into a series of guidebooks. When you’re looking to direct someone to a trail for hiking or biking in the Finger Lakes Region, these books are the resource of choice.

There are also online newsletters, articles for other publications – like Rochester Healthy Living and Nature’s Health Club and a website. It’s a whole package – as branding should be! “It was the Finger Lakes Region’s loss last year when Rich and Sue Freeman, authors and publishers of Footprint Press relocated to Florida – or perhaps not,” said Valerie Knoblauch, President of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection, “we now have an advocate for our wonderful region working from another locale.”

The Tourism Signature Legacy Awards were presented by the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection on October 30, 2006 at the Bristol Valley Theater in Naples. This event is held biannually to honor individuals and organizations within Ontario County who have significant achievements, made significant contributions, or have demonstrated marketing or service excellence in the tourism industry.  There were three signature awards for this event – one for individual achievement; one for product development; and one for tourism industry support.

  A total of 15 individuals were recognized for marketing service and excellence at the event. Winner presentations ranged from website excellence, frontline service, behind the scenes, exemplary personalized service, and genuine hospitality to hard work. A complete listing of winners can be found at www.VisitFingerLakes.com/partners.

Finger Lakes Visitors Connection is the official tourism promotion agency for Ontario County, located at 25 Gorham Street in Canandaigua , NY. Its mission is to create visitorship and economic vitality for Ontario County by marketing its tourism assets and positioning the area as a premier leisure and meetings destination.  

      New Book on the North Country Trail

New York to North Dakota, snowbanks or blazing sun, afternoon strolls and backpacking treks, Joan Young serves up an eclectic collection of essays chronicling 2300 miles of hikes on the longest footpath in the United States, the North Country National Scenic Trail.

North Country Cache: Adventures on a National Scenic Trail is the first book by a hiker of that trail.  The book has received an Honorable Mention in the 2005 Independent Publishers award contest in the category: Regional, Great Lakes, Non-Fiction.  The NCT is a 4600-mile footpath which stretches across seven states from New York to North Dakota.

On her quest to hike the entire 4600 miles of the trail she encounters the best and worst of people. Sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, always honest, it's a great read for hikers and non-hikers alike. With color pictures, riveting talesand endless adventures the book is a store of those experiences which have been distilled from memory, savored and saved, and presented for the enjoyment of all. Partway through the book you almost start thinking you could do it too.

Never mind 106 degree days in treeless North Dakota prairies, ferocious thick mosquitoesin wet Minnesota, little stream crossings grown into neck-deep beaver channels, or snowshoe treks through deep, white, thigh-throbbing blankets! There are always enough spectacular mountain-top views, autumn colors, secret lakes, and heart-warming tales of both canine and human goodness to keep the author and her friends walking, and the reader turning pages.

She continues to hike, on a quest to complete the entire trail.

The book is published by Books Leaving Footprints.  An excerpt may be read at www.booksleavingfootprints.com.

 

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