Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District

06/23/2026

ATTENTION ‼‼

The walking trail at Totman Gulf is TEMPORARILY closed for a lumber harvest. This is a small-scale salvage harvest meant to clear the trail and clean up storm damage. It is expected to be closed for a few weeks, at most. We will share when it has been reopened!

For those interested in other trails, we recommend checking out Williams & Parks or Washington Park in the meantime.

Please call our office at 315-782-2749 if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!

06/18/2026

Our water sampling team has been hard at work this spring! Now that the Sandy Creek 9-Element Plan is entering its final stages, our crew has begun sampling in our next target area: the Stony Creek Watershed.

Our crew will be sampling 8 locations across the watershed, collecting both field data and physical water samples for lab analysis. Sampling is done twice a month, every month, and they will finish up in November!

This data will later be used to create a computerized model of the watershed, allowing us to target education and best management practices to the subwatersheds that need them most. The ultimate goal is to develop a 9-Element Plan for Stony Creek Watershed as well!

06/18/2026

  At CCE Jefferson County, we connect local communities with the research and resources of Cornell University while fostering opportunities for growth, learning, and innovation. From free or low-cost workshops on topics ranging from organic gardening and canning to parenting and youth development,...

06/15/2026

06/11/2026

We kicked June off with attending & presenting at a couple of local conferences and hosting our annual Rain Barrel & Garden Workshop! 💦🌳🛢

Sam Anderson, Forester, presented on 'Tree Planting Pilot Programs with The Nature Conservancy' at the 16th Annual Black River Watershed Conference & Sarah Trick, Environmental Resource Specialist, presented at the 9th Annual Indian River Lakes Conservancy Water Quality Conference on 'Your Lake and Septic Pollution.'

Thank you NYS Tug Hill Commission and Indian River Lakes Conservancy for having us! These conferences are a great way to get local community members, leaders, and stakeholder groups together to teach, learn, and collaborate!

Yesterday evening, George Birth, Environmental Resource Specialist, led our 4th Annual Rain Barrel & Garden Workshop at the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown. Participants learned about the importance of rain gardens and rain barrels, and 45 rain barrels were provided to participants to capture rainwater for years to come! Thank you Flower Memorial Library for hosting, it was a great turnout!! Funding for the materials were provided by Finger Lakes - Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance

SNEAK PEEK: We just finished up with 120 acres of tree planting 🌳🌱🌲Stay tuned for some very cool drone footage - COMING SOON! 😁

06/08/2026

REMINDER ‼️The Rain Barrel & Garden Workshop is on Wednesday, June 10th at 6:00 PM at the Roswell P. Flower Memorial Library in Watertown, NY 💦🛢

Due to high interest and limited space, this event is by REGISTRATION ONLY. We have reached out to those that made the registration list to confirm their attendance. PLEASE let us know if you are no longer able to attend so we can open your spot to someone else!

You can confirm or deny your attendance by calling our office at 315-782-2749 or messaging us here on Facebook. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you then!

FOR THOSE ON THE WAITLIST -- We will call you if a spot becomes available.

If you believe you have registered but did not receive a call/text from us, please call our office!

04/30/2026

It was another great year teaming up with Indian River Central School to plant trees with their students to create a riparian forest buffer! Sam, District Forester, worked with Indian River High School's Biology teacher, Lindsey Steblen, and Andrea Inserra, Indian River Lakes Conservancy, to lead 3 classes to properly plant, stake, and tube 75 tree seedlings last week. Students planted Quaking Aspen, Swamp White Oak, and Red Maple seedlings to create an effective buffer. 🌳🌱🍁

The buffer will help reduce runoff and erosion as well as provide shade for the stream. The shade will increase the oxygen available for fish in the stream. This project is in conjunction with Trout in the Classroom 🐟 www.troutintheclassroom.org

A special thanks goes out to Mike Kiechle for providing use of the land! This was the perfect way to celebrate Earth Week! 🌏🌳

Funding provided by Finger Lakes - Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance

04/30/2026

Sandy Creeks 9E Watershed Plan Update: Monitoring, modeling, and scenarios are complete!

Upstate Freshwater Institute (UFI) has calibrated the GWLF-E watershed model to the Sandy Creeks watershed using the real-world results of our 2023 water sampling efforts and evaluated the community-selected scenarios, including:

- Increased precipitation
- Reduced manure spreading
- Increased development (solar farms, housing, etc.)
- Conversion of fallow agricultural land to forests
- Water quality impacts if septic systems in watersheds leading to the Sandy Pond subwatershed were sewered

Join us to:
- See how these scenarios could impact future water quality
- Review draft goals and recommendations
- Share your feedback and help shape the final plan

Our goal is for the completed Sandy Creeks 9E Plan to reflect community values and guide future water quality protection efforts. This plan will help municipalities, organizations, and landowners focus resources where they’ll have the greatest impact and strengthen future grant applications.

Be informed. Weigh in. Help shape the future of your watershed.

We hope to see you there!