New York State is ready to share $42 million with farmers and other landowners to help protect the Eastern Finger Lakes Watershed, including Skaneateles Lake. The funding fulfills a state commitment to support conservation and mitigation projects.
Runoff from farms, lawns, and roads is the main source of pollution for the Finger Lakes’ waterways. The result can be harmful algal blooms, which threaten drinking water sources, recreation, and public health. Interim Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Sean Mahar says they’re ready to put the funding to work.
“We're going to do is work directly with farmers to reduce water pollution at leaving their farms," Mahar said. "We're going to stabilize and protect streams to reduce erosion and run off. We're going to improve soil health and water quality with cover crops. And we're going to support nutrient reduction strategies and what the partnership with the soil and water conservation districts is going to do is allow us to work farm by farm, homeowner by homeowner.”
Doug Kierst is director of the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation district, one of eleven in the region. He says they'll focus on existing and new projects.
“Get out to the field, work with the land owners, identify projects, plan those projects and then implement those projects," Kierst said. “I know that every district probably has a stack of projects that they can get ready to hit the ground running on because there's never enough assistance that we can provide. We're still going to go after the existing grant programs because we know that need is there. This is going to help really glue a lot of the other stuff together.”
The funding can also help farmers address new challenges caused by climate change. Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball knows it firsthand.
“I know on my farm in the last 30 years I've seen five, 100-year events and I've seen one 500 year event, so climate is obviously something we got to think about as well.”
Ball says the $42 million infusion will build upon and expand decades of good practices that help farmers and improve water quality.
