The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network is a community organization with citizens, businesses, associations, and local governments from throughout the Cayuga Lake Watershed. Members protect and improve the ecological health and overall beauty of the watershed, which supports thriving and prosperous communities.

Located in the Finger Lakes Region of central New York, the watershed is comprised of three counties with lake shoreline (Cayuga, Seneca and Tompkins) and four counties (Cortland, Ontario, Schuyler, and Tioga) in the uplands of the watershed.

Directions to the Watershed Network Office

The Watershed Network office, Wells College Campus, Aurora, NY

Take Route 90 to the Village of Aurora

The Office is located in Room 202, a suite in Zabriskie Hall on the campus of Wells College at 170 Main Street, Aurora, NY.

There is visitor parking near Zabriskie.
The Watershed Network's phone number is 315-364-2992. Contact Us.

Volunteers Make It Possible

Looking for a way to try out some new skills to build your resume? Want to meet new people? Need to feel you are doing things that make a difference? Any of these and many more are reasons that our members volunteer. We tailor the volunteer experience and commitment to your needs. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking about the perfect role for you!

A History of the Network

With New York’s 1996 Clean Water, Clean Air Bond Act came discussions among several long-time Cayuga Lake watershed residents. They talked about a watershed- oriented organization aimed at protecting Cayuga Lake that would be competitive for Bond Act and other funding. Over the years there have been many individual group efforts aimed at lake preservation, but there never has been an organization with a focus on the watershed as a whole.

In 1997 the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network was unofficially born and by midyear started meetings monthly, chaired by James C. White, retired Cornell professor. The vision for the new organization was further developed at a conference hosted by the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance and during the first “Neighbors Around Cayuga Lake” mini-conference. The Cayuga Nature Center and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County were instrumental in providing administration.

The steering committee agreed that the new organization should:

• focus its efforts on the entire watershed rather than on lakeside properties;

• establish a Board of Directors with balanced representation from the three principal counties in the watershed with opportunities for representation from the other watershed counties that have less land in the watershed;

• include all major watershed interests;

• open its membership to individuals, families, organizations, businesses and local governments who have a stake in the use, prosperity, protection and environmental and economic sustainability of the watershed;

• serve as a constructive, informed, collaborative advocate for the economic environmental sustainability of the watershed.

Later that year, John Fessenden, a local dairy farmer from Cayuga County, became chair of the steering committee. They drafted a mission statement and bylaws, secured startup funds, received a certificate of incorporation from New York State as a not-for-profit educational organization and formally assumed the name of the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. Funding support came from Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, the Open Space Institute, and the NYS Legislature thanks to the Honorable Marty Luster.

In August 1998 the first annual meeting was held at Goose Watch Winery in Seneca County. A Board of Directors was established, chaired by Gene Hocut, retired manager of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. That fall the newsletter was launched.

Membership had grown to 665 by early 1999 and offering of educational programs was underway. Our numerous programs have included Welcome to your Watershed: How it Works, How you can Help; Water In, Water Out; Water Quality: What Is It and What Affects It; Neighbors Around the Lake; Cayuga Lake Dynamics - A Citizen's Seminar; Coping with Creeks and Controlling Erosion; How Well is Your Water; Seneca Meadows Forum; and annual events such as the Fall Creek Cleanup, the Essay Contest, Lakefest, and a lake-wide citizen monitoring program. In addition, we participate in the annual Earth Day Festival and Water Week activities, among other events. In the summer of 2000 the Network hired its first Watershed Steward. The staff has since grown to three.

Centered on education, communication and leadership, the Network sees many projects and programs on the horizon. These include promoting the use of best management practices, educational programs for homeowners and visioning workshops to help shape collaborative efforts for the watershed in the 21st century.