GLIN==> Press release: Great Lakes Small Harbor Coalition workshops to help NY's harbor managers

PRESS RELEASE:  Use by October 23, 2009, registration date please
Contact: Dave White, New York Sea Grant, 315-312-3042
Chuck May, Chair Pro-tem, Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition
 
Great Lakes Small Harbor Coalition Looking to Help NY¹s Harbor Managers;
Albion and Oswego to Host Workshops
 
Albion, NY; Oswego, NY ‹ New York Sea Grant, the Orleans County Tourism
Office, the Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism &
Planning and the Great Lakes Small Harbor Coalition are holding workshops in
Albion from 1pm to 4pm on October 27 at Tillman's Village Inn Restaurant and
in Oswego, NY, from 1pm to 4pm on October 28 at the Oswego Public Library to
help shoreline community leaders and harbor managers.
 
³The goal of the workshop is to discuss how the regional coalition can help
New York¹s recreational and commercial small harbor managers address
management, dredging and funding needs,² says Dave White, White, a
recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant¹s Great Lakes
Program.
 
A small harbor is defined as one of less than 14 feet of depth.
 
The primary objective of the Coalition, with members in all eight Great
Lakes states, is to advocate for better ways to appropriate federal funds
for dredging small harbors and maintaining navigational access for
recreational boaters and other harbor users.
 
Speakers at the workshop include Great Lakes Commission Special Projects
Manager Dave Knight, US Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District Operations
Chief Kathy Griffin, Great Lakes Small Harbor Coalition Chair Pro-Tem Chuck
May and White. 
 
³Maintaining access to small harbors is a regional concern, not that of any
one state, and thus requires a regional solution, so the Great Lakes Small
Harbor Coalition involves member harbors from all eight Great Lakes states,²
says May. ³We feel that as a Great Lakes regional organization the Coalition
carries even more potential to leverage federal resources and give small
harbors a more prominent and unified voice in budget and policy matters.²
 
The Albion and Oswego workshop topics include the economic impact of shallow
harbors in New York state and the issues that face shallow harbor managers
and users.
 
Michael Waterhouse, Sportfishing Coordinator with the Orleans County Tourism
Office, says, ³Not only do these great harbors provide important economic
input to the counties and to the state, they also supply fantastic
recreational opportunities for our residents right in their own backyard.
For years each harbor and small groups of harbors have been working hard to
maintain proper funding for maintenance of their harbors. The time has come
to join together and show those who control this funding the true value of
these small harbors.²
 
David Turner, director of the Oswego County Department of Community
Development, Tourism and Planning, says, ³Oswego County is blessed with 35
beautiful miles of Lake Ontario shoreline. Within that boundary, we have
four small harbors that generate millions of dollars every year in our
commercial and recreational business sectors. Joining the Great Lakes Small
Harbor Coalition provides us with tremendous opportunity to ensure that
these harbors can function at their highest level of service and that they
will continue to serve the business and leisure needs of our citizenry.²
 
The October workshops are free, however, pre-registration by October 23 is
requested. Contact New York Sea Grant at 315-312-3042 or email
sgoswego at cornell.edu with your choice of workshop location and how many will
attend. 
 
The Great Lakes-wide coalition was formed in 2009 as a successor to the
Michigan Small Harbors Coalition created in 2007. The Michigan Small Harbors
Coalition efforts helped secure $45 million in dredging appropriations for
federally authorized harbors in Michigan in 2009. #
 
 
 



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