Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Fall Creek Watershed Committee Minutes
October 4, 1999

Present: Steve Penningroth, Jim Skaley, Sharon Anderson, Janet Hawkes, Deb Grantham, Marshall Taylor, Ray Rabeler

1. What model to use for forming a watershed committee? The Caroline Watersheds Committee is municipally based, and has official advisory capacity. An alternative model is one that would encompass the whole watershed, regardless of political boundaries. After discussing the benefits and challenges of each model, the group decided to form a committee based on the actual watershed. The key challenges are its large geographic area and its socio-economic diversity. That challenge is balanced by the need to work on the watershed scale in order to be effective, especially in a watershed of this size.

2. Involving others: initial contact has been made with relevant agencies in Cayuga and Cortland Counties (Soil and Water Conservation Districts and WQCC equivalents). They will help with identifying people who might be interested in the committee. Meetings will need to move to other locations around the watershed. Everyone on the committee is invited to submit names of potential committee members to Sharon, indicating if you are willing to contact the person yourself.

3. Goals: potential goals for the committee fit into 4 broad categories:

• Advise municipalities
• Educate
• Influence policy
• Citizen action

Specifics included identifying specific, local problems; offering people information that is relevant to them (e.g. stream erosion control, storm water regulations, information on the Clean Water Act and agricultural viability); gathering existing information and putting it in lay terms; working on ongoing projects such as Dryden's IMPACT project, making sure Fall Creek watershed concerns are included in the larger Cayuga Lake Management Plan; securing funding to complete needed work; and connecting diverse citizen's groups/perspectives to their municipalities.

4. Next Steps: The Clean Water Act was chosen as the topic for a focused public event that would be meaningful enough to bring people out. During the event, the newly forming Fall Creek Watershed Committee would be presented and members of the audience invited to participate in future gatherings. Planning needs to begin soon if the event is to take place in January or February.

5. Next Meeting: Nov 1 at 7:30 at McLean Firehouse, 2 The Square, McLean.

Submitted by Sharon Anderson