Genesee River Wilds Project

Committees of Sponsoring Organizations

H. Kier Dirlam, Allegany County Planner, Crossroads Conference Center, 6087 State Route 19N, Belmont, NY 14813
E-mail: dirlamhk@alleganyco.com
Phone: (585) 268-7472 Fax (585) 268-7473

Chair, Water Resources Council, Allegany County Soil and Water Conservation District, Ag Service Center, 5425 County Route 48, Belmont, NY  14813
For District information, see http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/soilwater/contacts/county_offices.html#Allegany

Eric Grace, Executive Director, Genesee Valley Conservancy, P.O. Box 7, Geneseo, NY 14454
E-mail: eric@geneseevalleyconservancy.org
Phone: (585) 243-2190
For Conservancy information, see
http://www.geneseevalleyconservancy.org/

Sherry Grugel, Executive Director, Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, Suite 140, Crossroads Conference Center, 6087 State Route 19N, Belmont, NY 14813
E-mail: sgrugel@alleganychamber.org
Phone: (585) 268-5500 or (585) 610-5393
For Chamber information, see http://alleganychamber.org

William Hart, Chair, Genesee River Project Committee, Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, Suite 140, Crossroads Conference Center, 6087 State Route 19N, Belmont, NY  14813
E-mail: billypeavy3@hotmail.com
Phone: (585) 268-5500 or (585) 610-3422
For Chamber committee, see
http://alleganychamber.org/committees.aspx

Donations

The Genesee River Wilds Project applies a number of approaches to advance its goals, including negotiating conservation easements and other cooperative agreements with landowners and community officials.  But its major strategy is acquiring land that can be protected and developed in ways that enhance the project’s combination of environmental and recreational goals.  This is accomplished both by purchasing land and by accepting donated land.  Purchasing and developing land depends heavily on donated funds.  Donations are also essential to securing matching grants and collaborative aid from external funding sources.  Since the project is a coalition rather than a single organization, its basic strategy can be employed by more than one of its partner organizations.  Expertise in handling conservation easements and management of donated land is easily accessible through the Genesee Valley Conservancy, whose executive director (Eric Grace) is a member of the Genesee River Wilds committee ( http://www.geneseevalleyconservancy.org ).  A centralized “Genesee River Wilds” account is also managed by the Genesee River Project Committee, Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, Suite 140, Crossroads Conference Center, 6087 State Route 19N, Belmont, NY, 14813, phone (585) 268-5500.  UPDATE, May 2010:  A separate and independent non-profit corporation is being formed that soon will be able to accept these donations with the customary tax benefits associated with non-profit status.  The formation of this new corporation will help set the stage for a gradual improvement of this website.

Volunteers

The Genesee River Wilds Project benefits from the insights and work of professionals and trained specialists, such as officials in state conservation offices and other public departments.  However, the bulk of the work is done by volunteers who supply technical expertise, heavy equipment for building trails and other recreational infrastructure, tools for tree planting and other conservation work, and a variety of other investments of resources, skill, and energy.  At present, volunteer efforts are channeled largely through the Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce (above) and other organizations active in the Genesee River Wilds (see Helpful Links).  Municipalities with complementary park programs, village betterment associations, educational institutions, and other organizations may provide additional opportunities for volunteer work in their own particular area of the Genesee River Wilds.   Contact the Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce or one of these other organizations to volunteer for an existing program that fulfills the goals of the Genesee River Wilds Project.  Or help your group initiate a complementary program of its own.

Questions?

The Pine Creek Gorge in Pennsylvania already offers a fully developed recreational infrastructure.  Plans for connecting this recreational system to the Genesee River Wilds Project in Potter County, PA, have now reached an advanced stage on the PA side.  These plans are being administered by the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission in consultation with the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Potter County Planning Commission, Pashek Associates (a private consulting firm), and other public and private organizations.  Information for developments on the PA side is available through Genesee River Wilds committees (especially Allen Kerkeslager); the North Central Regional Planning Commission (http://web2.ncentral.com/ncentral/cd.html, contact Matt Marusiak); and the Potter County Planning Commission ( http://www.pottercountypa.net, contact Charlotte Dietrich).  The Genesee River Wilds Project has also reached an advanced stage in planning discussions in Allegany County, NY.  Collaboration with the Allegany County legislature is reaching the point in which significant and concrete projects alongside the river will become increasingly visible in association with planned bridge reconstruction, flood control, and other needed county work.  This support operates in conjunction with the work of the individuals on the overlapping committees of the organizations listed above.  These individuals may be contacted via the information above.   Questions also may be addressed to the contact person below.  Please do not send donations to this address.

Allen Kerkeslager, Ph.D., Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Saint Joseph’s University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA  19131-1395.
E-mail: akerkesl@sju.edu
Phone:  (610) 660-1121