JULES HOEPTING
Managing Editor
Note: Visiting the Fredonia Reservoir without permission from the Village of Fredonia is considered trespassing.
Water Concerns
Murky water, or water with high turbidity or a high concentration of sediment in it, has been a problem within the Fredonia Reservoir for decades. The reservoir provides drinking water to over 10,000 people in the Village of Fredonia, SUNY Fredonia and some residents in Pomfret, according to a 2016 study on the Fredonia Reservoir and treatment plant conducted by the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services. Because high levels of sediment stress water filtration, there have been multiple instances where the reservoir’s water was deemed unfit to drink due to high turbidity, including a nearly three-week span last fall.
Vegetation such as trees and grass help keep soil in place by absorbing water. The less vegetation there is, the less absorption occurs and the easier it is for particles of soil and other sediments to slide away, also known as erosion. Steep slopes and storms further increase erosion. These sediments end up elsewhere, often into the nearest body of water, and settle based on the particles’ size and weight, a process called sedimentation.
According to the Chautauqua Health and Human Services 2016 report, since the reservoir was constructed in the 1930s, it “has lost 43% of its volume to sedimentation; ongoing erosion processes and other storms have also deposited large amounts of sediment in the reservoir.” “Dredging projects,” the removal of built up mud, weeds and garbage at the bottom of a water system, “were planned in 1965, 1972, 1999 and 2001 but were never completed,” according to the report. Furthermore, the reservoir’s spillway has been listed as “severely inadequate” since 1980 and is prone to dam failure in the case of a large storm.
Thus, due to the reservoir’s history of high turbidity caused by increasing sedimentation and because the steep slopes around the reservoir naturally accelerate erosion, many residents are concerned the proposed logging around the Fredonia Reservoir will further detriment the water’s quality, which could lead to more instances of undrinkable water.
Forest Management Plan
Three years ago, the previous Fredonia mayor, Athanasia Landis, and an almost entirely different board of trustees approached Forecon, a forestry consulting firm the village has contracted with since the 1970s, to create a long-term forest management plan. This plan had been discussed with the public and an agreement between the Village of Fredonia and Forecon was signed by Landis in August 2019. Forecon has already been paid for the creation of a management plan, which samples over 80 spots within the studied area — an estimated 285 acres. Forecon’s “Village of Fredonia Watershed Properties Forest Management Plan 2020-2034” is available on the villageoffredoniany.com homepage by clicking “Watershed Properties Forest Management Plan.”
The 119-page plan and agreement provides a detailed analysis of the topography of the land, the species present, whether or not the trees present would be ideal for harvest, the effects of the removal of the trees, the estimated liquidated value of the lumber, the year of the last forest harvest in specific areas, the invasive species present and the management plans for the invasive species. Forecon has already marked trees for harvesting.
A different company would use Forecon’s plan to log the marked trees and would pay the village for the harvested lumber; Forecon would receive 10% of the income the village would receive from the lumber, as stated by trustee EvaDawn Bashaw during the Nov. 15 village meeting. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the forest management plan — and the logging around the reservoir — was never implemented. The Nov. 1, 2021 village meeting sought approval to grant the logging company with the highest bid, meaning the company that would offer the most money for the trees marked by Forecon, permission to carry out Forecon’s logging plan. Due to a spark in public concern during this meeting, a representative of Forecon was asked to present the firm’s management plan during the Nov. 15 village meeting. Thus, until the bidding is done, the village does not know how much money it would receive from logging the proposed trees, according to Bashaw. She also reiterated the plan was created with sustaining the forest and protecting the reservoir as the first priority, not logging as a revenue source.
Rick Constatine, 20–year employee and representative of Forecon, stated the management plan took an approach of “long-term sustainability with the utmost importance being the protection of the water resource and the sponge-like effect that the trees help provide within that watershed,” during the Nov. 15 meeting. The plan contained a “selective harvest” which is “a maintenance activity, just like removing trees on a roadway that are going to become a problem, or cleaning ditches.” He further explained the reservoir forest contains “a lot of, what we call as foresters, ‘unacceptable growing stock;’ Those are trees that have no merchantable value, but they’re there. They’re problem trees,” due to health issues and/or various other reasons.
Constantine noted the Fredonia Reservoir and all the drainage that flows into the reservoir are “considered a class A water body by New York State [Department of Environmental Conservation] (NYSDEC), which means they are a drinking water source and are therefore protected.” The plan created ensured “very little to no activity occurs around drainage areas” and designated “buffer zones in and around each and every drainage and water source that leads to the main creek that then [flows into] the reservoir. Within these areas there are guidelines, they’re not regulatory, but these are guidelines that [Forecon is] going to have the operators follow.” Essentially, logging equipment can’t be in the buffer zones, and approved crossing devices such as culverts and bridges would be needed for equipment to move through these zones.
He reassured the public that any logging operations were “100 feet away” from the steepest, inoperable banks of the reservoir and that the logging operations would occur more to the south of the reservoir. (See terrain map and forest study outline map.) As for trees within water drainages that have been marked, Forecon decided to remove these trees because their root systems are already exposed and there is a higher chance the trees would tip over and rip up land. “The last thing you want to have is woody debris in your drainage [from fallen trees] because that can cause erosion,” Constantine said. (See tree tipped over picture.)
Constantine stated a key piece to the planned logging would be the utilization of a former railroad bed located on the reservoir’s west side. “That rail bed’s been there for upwards of 150 years and that’s really key to this operation because all of the logs will be pulled uphill between the drainages and out on this rail bed.” The rail bed “already has the ability to cross anywhere that water would run” because of old culverts and other water crossing devices. Thus, the creation of new logging roads/paths — which heightens erosion — is minimalized.
The reservoir’s forest and watershed “should actually end up in a better condition in the sense that BMPs, best management practices, will be used,” Constantine concluded.
Logging Concerns
Erik Danielson, one of the directors of the Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York Inc. and a member of the American Forests National Cadre who assists NYSDEC with verifying champion trees and supplies data to VA Tech Dendrology’s Superlative Tree Database, shared his concerns on the logging after visiting the reservoir with permission from the village.
“Having known that it was a managed forest that has been selectively managed somewhat regularly in the past, I was not too concerned about what I read in the management plan,” Danielson said. “But then I went to walk the areas that had been marked for harvest and was a bit disappointed to see that, while there is [a] statement there will not be operation of equipment in the deep drainages and they will not be harvesting up to watercourses, the areas which I was most concerned about in terms of erosion … are very heavily marked,” Danielson continued. “I think it would be in the village’s benefit to consider involving a third party and making sure that the harvest as marked really aligns with the best practices and kind of goals of the village for managing that property.”
Sharon Annear, a resident who also went on a permitted reservoir visit, indicated there was not much left of the former railroad bed “that doesn’t have things growing in it,” contradicting Constantine’s statements about the railroad bed being stable for equipment crossing.
Jonathan Titus, SUNY Fredonia biology professor with research in local forest ecology, one of the directors of the Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York inc, a member of the American Botanical Society, WNY Land Conservancy, Friends of the College Lodge, and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, further amplified concerns.
“No matter how careful the contractor is, sediments flow off the site, the steep slopes and unstable soils of the reservoir watershed,” Titus said. “Also, every logging operation causes an increase in invasive species, which further destabilize the steep slopes and reduce biodiversity,” Titius continued. The management plan proposes the use of herbicides to control invasive species. Although Titus believes certain herbicides have their place in certain situations, he wanted the public to take note that “herbicide use is either banned or tightly controlled in drinking water reservoir watersheds throughout New York State.”
“The village does not have the personnel nor the expertise to ensure that logging occurs exactly as prescribed in the document,” Titus said. “I am by no means anti-logging. Much of Chautauqua County’s forest lands are managed for timber production; this country produces more than its share of wood. If the village wants to invest in forestry, there are many other places in the county more suitable for this.”
Jonathan Townsend, who has a masters degree in biology from SUNY Fredonia and a property that abuts the reservoir, said, “I wanted to reiterate some prior comments that there is a disconnect between how the timber is marked at the property and what we were told this evening.” He encouraged anyone who is interested “to walk the property for yourself [with permission] and see trees marked in steep drainage and see healthy trees marked for removal and unhealthy trees left” that will cause problems with forest regeneration.
Justine Bloom, a sophomore Earth studies major with an environmental studies minor, stated “On behalf of the student body and the general student and science department, we would all like to wholeheartedly say that we would strongly advocate either for you to find a third party to make sure that you hold loggers accountable to the plans that they say they’re going to do or seek a different alternative. Thank you.”
Lack of Resolution
According to Scott Johnson, Fredonia Village Board Trustee and SUNY Fredonia English professor, as of Dec. 3, “It appears the board is still undecided on whether or not to proceed with the logging … I suspect that this board will take no further action, and the next board will decide whether to permit the logging or not. It is important to note that even if this board decides through resolution not to proceed, the next board could simply pass a new resolution that authorizes logging.”
Johnson stated during his report on Nov. 15 he was against logging, but it was unclear where the other trustees stood.
“Whether to log or not as part of a forest management plan is clearly a complex issue, and there are credible experts with compelling evidence on both sides of the issue. Moreover, both sides obviously believe there are different ways to protect and sustain the forest around the reservoir. As a result, I would rather err on the side of the trees and animals, and leave the forest as it is. I also understand that this may prove to be the wrong choice down the road, and at that time, the board in place may well have to revisit the issue.”
To watch previous Village of Fredonia board meetings, visit the Fredonia Access YouTube channel. Meeting notes are available on villageoffredoniany.com under “Minutes & Agendas.”