North Country Humming With Improvements Linked To Power Authority Licensing Pact

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Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov

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April 1, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHITE PLAINS—Work now going on in communities along the St. Lawrence River that are, or were, included in the boundary of the New York Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, is changing the look at some of the area’s favorite recreational and environmentally-sensitive locales.

Phase one of improvements and enhancements to recreation facilities in Massena, Waddington and Lisbon are scheduled for completion in May of this year.

Power-Authority funded rehabilitation and improvements at Robert Moses and Coles Creek State Parks has begun and will continue on various projects through 2009. A variety of new facilities, improved recreational sites and environmental enhancements will make the state parks even more attractive to area residents and tourists. The work is being conducted by the Thousand Islands Region of the New York State Office of  Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 

A large portion of eroding shoreline at Whitehouse Point will be stabilized by the Power Authority this fall.

Habitat improvement projects include:

• Osprey nesting platforms at Whitehouse Point, Bradford Point and near Massena Intake will be installed by early April

• Grassland bird nesting habitat management on Whitehouse Point and Ogden Island will be implemented beginning this summer with the installation of fencing, mowing selected areas and the erection of bluebird houses.

• Common Tern nesting enhancements will be made this spring on nine St. Lawrence Seaway navigation aids.

Design work is scheduled to be completed this spring on improvements to the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area. Projected work includes new dike work, dike restoration, new control structures in some dikes and construction of an alternate outlet for water to be released for wildlife management purposes. Construction work is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2007.

Design of an eel ladder at the Robert Moses Power Dam is virtually complete and installation is scheduled for later this year.

The $1 million St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund to provide financial support for environmental research and education projects is expected to issue requests for proposals later this year.