By Victoria Pavlock
Chautauqua Lake Watershed Conservancy is an organization established to preserve Chautauqua County in numerous ways. The nonprofit organization has the mission to assist our community in ways of land conservation, environmental education, along with watershed stewardship. The ecological appearance and well-being of our area is so important, and the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy plays a huge role in bringing awareness to this. The Watershed owns approximately 1100 acres of preserves amongst Chautauqua County. There are nine featured preserves within the conservancy’s ownerships that the public is always welcomed to explore and enjoy. You can find these beautifully maintained trails all over our county in areas such as Cassadaga, Fluvanna, North Harmony, Mayville, Lakewood, etc.
Along with providing the public with protected woodland and wildlife at all times, the Chautauqua Watershed also provides their services through events of many kinds. The Mothers’ Day Wildflower Walk will be held May 14th, 2023 at the Bentley Nature Preserve. “Local naturalist Jack Gulvin will lead the walk and seek out flowers, ferns and other natural treasures commonly encountered in the region in springtime”. This walk will take place through the Pamela A. Westin Wildflower trail. Inclusions of the trail are “picturesque” and will be a perfect start to a relaxing Mothers’ Day. Although this event has no registration fee, there is required registration that is limited. Luckily, the organization has many more nature walks and events planned for the future, according to Jill Eklund, the Director of Communications for the Watershed. The walks that the Conservancy provides for the community typically last around an hour and a half and include an educated tour guide that shares their knowledge on the gems of nature within Chautauqua County.
The Chautauqua Watershed pushes to expose the public to their natural surroundings in ways that go beyond nature walks on their preserves amongst the county. Some of the Conservancies upcoming events include a Native Plant event on May 13, 2023, from 10am-12pm. This same event will return on May 18th, 2023 as well. This event will be located at the Westfield Nursery and has the purpose to educate people on the many benefits native plants hold. This event will even give the community a chance to purchase plants that will not only upgrade your landscape, but benefit the ecosystem around you! Another event upcoming for the Watershed includes the annual Charity Pro-Am Golf Tournament on June 26th, 2023. The purpose of this event is to support land conservation, pollution prevention, and watershed education that The Chautauqua Lake Watershed is trying to promote. “You can sponsor the event and advertise your business or name on the course, in the event program, in our newsletter, and more!” All proceeds for this event go to the Chautauqua Lake Watershed. By simply checking out the Chautauqua Watershed webpage, you can stay up to date on even more events and plan to even register for one!
The Chautauqua Lake Watershed Conservancy strives to assist and maintain the bestland, wildlife, and water sources of our area. The organization has been able and plans to educate the local area about what’s outside and how we should take care of it. Thanks to our Watershed Conservancy, our community has been able to make a positive impact within nature through compelling, fun, invigorating experiences. Taking care of our beautiful area is so important for the wellbeing of our environment and even society. Volunteering or signing up for an event held by the Watershed is a great opportunity to start taking action on helping our physical environment. Taking the time to learn about the nature we live upon goes a long way in making a difference. Even just taking a walk on one of the many nature preserves we have accessible to us and appreciating the place that we are privileged to call home is a great way to take care of Chautauqua County.