Ontario Bays Initiative - News & Events

As we prepare to enter 2012, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on 2011. What a terrific year for Ontario Bays Initiative, Inc.!

Our major accomplishment was the closing of the conservation easement for Downybrook, a sprawling Brownville wildlife sanctuary. The agreement was several years in the making and prohibits development on the spectacular 182-acre property, which is owned by Helen and Mary Eldrett. The easement was made possible from funding by grants from the New York State Conservation Partnership and the Land Trust Alliance, as well as a matching grant from the Northern New York Community Foundation.

OBI also welcomed two new board members in 2011. Kevin Smith and Jacquie Keating joined the Board of Directors in April. Longtime board member and OBI Secretary, Verna Docteur retired from the board (Read A THANK YOU to Verna Docteur on page 6 of this newsletter). Verna will certainly be missed.

In the early months of 2012, we will be completing a comprehensive assessment of OBI according to Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices. OBI received a $5,000 grant from the Land Trust Alliance this spring, and OBI Board members have spent the last few months working with an independent consultant to complete an assessment (Read An Assessment of the Board on page 2 of this newsletter). OBI will no doubt be a stronger organization when this assessment is complete!

This is the first time an assessment has been done for our organization, which was established 18 years ago by asmall local group who took a hands-on approach to conservation. Our mission involves seeking to preserve andprotect ecologically significant land, open spaces and wildlife habitats in Jefferson County’s shoreline communities.

OBI worked on several important projects this yearthat further that mission. One was the Point Peninsulaconservation options assessment, which takes a closer lookat the natural resources and best options for conservationwithin an eight square mile area on the interior of PointPeninsula. The project is an important step in what will be along-term process that will involve working with interestedlandowners in taking steps to preserve grassland and wetlandareas located here.

The Point Peninsula project was funded by two grantstotaling $12,000 – an $8,000 grant from the Land TrustAlliance and a $4,000 matching grant from the NorthernNew York Community Foundation – that were awarded toOBI in 2009. Shrinking wetlands and grasslands are a concern across the northeastern U.S. and this report completedthis year will help guide OBI’s activity on Point Peninsula for years to come.

OBI also teamed up with the Town of Cape Vincent and SUNY Potsdam Biology Professor Dr. Glenn Johnson ona “Turtle Crossing Project,’’ which aimed to save the lives of the Blanding’s turtles as they ventured into roadwaysaround Wilson’s Bay Marsh. Every June, many turtle deaths occur when cars hit them as they attempt to cross theroad on their way to nesting sites.

Temporary signs were put up to encourage drivers to slow down, and OBI launched an effort to educate the publicabout the increased turtle traffic and the significance of the Blandings, which is officially listed as a threatenedspecies in New York.

The effort spared the lives of many turtles and also helped increase visibility for OBI due to all the terrific print andtelevision media coverage of our efforts.

Conserving property is an expensive proposition and fund raising has to be a very important part of OBI. The year2011 was a great year, resulting in many donations from supporters in Northern New York and beyond. We addedmore than a dozen new "Friends of OBI."

This is a great time to consider renewing your friendship for 2012, or consider becoming a first-time Friend of OBI. We need your help to build on our success.

Also, a big THANKS to Urban and Sally Hirschey for hosting our annual cookout at their Cape Vincent home. Theevent was a great success.(Read Recap of Our 2011 Summer Fund Raiser on the first page of this newsletter).

Our accomplishments this year further the vision that the founders of OBI established back in 1993, when our allvolunteerland trust first was created. We look forward to great things in 2012. Thanks to our volunteer OBI Boardof Directors and all of our supporters! None of it would be possible without you!

Jim LaPlante

OBI Chairperson

As fall is upon us, with winter not far behind, I am seeing Red-tailed Hawks sitting on wires, hay bales, and fields within the OBI service area. It reminded me that it is so important to conserve our lake areas, to maintain the habitat for thesehawks and other wildlife for years to come. Elsewhere in this newsletter, Gerry Smith will tell us a little more about theRed-tailed Hawk in northern New York.

As 2010 comes to an end, it is time to reflect on the year for OBI and look to 2011.

While we did not obtain or protect any new property in the year, we are in the process of finishing up a comprehensiveconservation assessment of Point Peninsula to identify possible conservation opportunities. This was funded by grantsfrom the NY Land Trust Alliance and the Northern New York Community Foundation.

We also have ongoing negotiations underway on several pieces of property. They are in various stages of completionand we hope to close at least one of them soon!

We also updated our 5-year Strategic Plan during 2010.

On the fundraising front, we had a fairly successful year in a tough financial climate thanks to the new Friends of OBIprogram. I would urge you to become a friend of OBI! If you are already a friend, please renew for 2011! There is aform elsewhere in the newsletter. It is very important, especially in these challenging times for us to have the funds tocontinue the effort to conserve our very valuable lake and near lake lands!

We are an all-volunteer organization with all board members devoting a great deal of time to OBI activities. In addition toour monthly board meetings, board members plan and execute those plans for our annual picnic (including supplying allof the food and drink), which seems to get better each year! Also, we have had several "outings" where board membershave helped to identify and eradicate swallowwort, as well as assisting our Land Steward Lee Russell (thanks Lee for ajob well done!) in his stewardship duties on the various properties which we own or hold conservation easements.

Board members are also involved in our fundraising activities, writing grant proposals, press releases and articles forthis newsletter, amongst other duties. Thanks to our board! I also want to give a special thanks to Verna Docteur, whois "retiring" as Secretary after 8 years! Happily, Verna will still remain as a member of our board of directors! Vernaexemplifies the volunteer spirit, participating in many of our activities.

One of our shortfalls this year was not adding any new board members. We hope to add at least 2 more memberssoon!

We are submitting a grant application to The NYS Land Trust grant program to conduct a consultant facilitated boardassessment, which will help us all better understand our function, and strengths (as well as weaknesses!). This will occurin 2011, and will make our board and OBI much stronger. Board development on all fronts will be an OBI priority in2011!

I attended a conference this fall sponsored by the NYS Land Trust Alliance and attended by board members and stafffrom several land trusts around NY. It was very informative to me, especially the exchange of ideas! One of the surprisingthings I learned is that NYS is 49th out of 50 states in per capita spending on environmental activities - that includes ALLenvironmental spending - and that was BEFORE the financial crunch that the state is experiencing. This makes the landtrust movement even more important in the scheme of things, possibly partnering with various government agenciesand conservation organizations to conserve property, similar to the Eagle ridge property, where we are partnered with adeveloper, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Indianabat. We hope to have more opportunities like that in the future, but as I mentioned above, part of that future depends onYOU to support us financially, so we can take advantage of those opportunities as they arise!

Thanks to all of you for your support, whether it is as a Friend, attending our annual picnic, or making donations, anddon't forget to visit our website: www.obilandtrust.org for up to date info on the organization! We look forward toseeing you and hearing from you in 2011. You can contact us on the website, or feel free to email me at jlap@tds.netwith any comments or suggestions.Have a great Holiday season!!

Jim La Plante, Board Chairperson