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August 13, 2012
Members Present: Jon Meigs, Anna Stalter, Joe McMahon, Dan Hoffman, Ron Herring
Members Absent: Sarah Steuteville, Robert Wesley, Tom Whitlow, Aaron Donato
Also attending: Carol Cvimback, Natural Area Ranger; Chris Proulx, Common Council liaison
Designation of note - taker: Ron Herring
Minutes of the June meeting were not available for approval. There was no meeting in July.
Distribution of report from Douglas Brewer, Natural Area Ranger, 2012 Mid - Summer Monthly Status Report
for the Six Mile Creek Ecosystem. Informal discussion of contents.
Ranger's report from Carol Cvimback:
The major problems in the 6 -mile natural area are alcohol, garbage and camping. She broke down a camp
yesterday, the 12th, which contained a lot of garbage. Illegal parking continues to be a problem. The
rangers at 2nd dam kicked out everyone and it worked. There was some retaliation, however, against the
rangers. Doug's car was written on with obscene language; evidently an attempt to break in was made as
well. Carol said her policy was no tolerance for rafts and camping equipment. She believes that no one
should go down to 2nd dam. In her attempts to enforce rules of the NA, IPD has not been really receptive,
though sometimes they are. The problem is widespread knowledge of the area's attractive features, such
as swimming and cliff - jumping, via the internet. People travel hours to come here to jump off the cliffs.
Carol stated a Cornell - related website mentions the gorge as an area students appreciate for swimming.
The members present asked questions about enforcement and discussed the general problem, which is
long- standing. The problem is quite simple at one level: the rangers lack authority to enforce ordinances
and the police are typically unavailable or have higher priorities, resulting in a great deal of rule -
breaking, damage to the environment and unsafe behaviors.
Discussion of plans for marked trails: A map of existing trails was distributed, the same as the one in the
kiosk. Joe had marked the map indicating the areas where he thinks the trails should be marked with blazes.
Discussion followed. Might more signage improve compliance with on -trail hiking? Mixed feelings about
marking the trails were expressed: perhaps there will be increased litter and damage to plants if people are
concentrated on marked trails. More marked trails might mean more people staying on the trails, however,
leading to fewer rogue trails being established. There is no easy answer to these possible projections of
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behavior in different scenarios. One thing is certain: Many more people are coming in from outside Ithaca and
do not know where trails go.
The larger issue is what marked trails would accomplish. It is unclear, as both sides of the issue have some
intuitive resonance. Dan Hoffman wondered whether or not we actually as a commission have the authority to
make these decisions unilaterally. Perhaps we should be consulting a larger public, or discussion with Common
Council. The issue was left unresolved.
Incidental discussion: the issue of a CAC liaison was discussed. Anna Stalter was previously the liaison. The CAC
meets the same evening as the NAC, but later. It was felt that CAC and NAC should be in better touch than has
been the case previously. A recommendation for Dan Hoffman for that post was made, but it was unclear
what would be the mechanism for accomplishing that end.
Reports and Announcemnets:
Water plant: Chuck says the focus is now on design. Nothing can be done till the design is finished. They
should talk with us first, the members present suggested. As often, the question was: Can NAC have input
before pond design is settled?
Reports from the Chair:
Bank work near the kiosk has been done. Weed- cutting seems excessive: aren't there higher priorities for city
work? Fixing the bank is on the schedule, should be done in the Fall. The giant blocks will eventually not be
visible, we are told. The city is waiting for the DEC to approve plans, as any work in close proximity to the
stream must have DEC approval.
Ithaca Falls: Joe talked with Scott Ostrand, Project Engineer. They are still at the stage of information gathering
on the Fall Creek project. Ground water wells for testing are in the planning stage. They know that we want
updates and will cooperate.
Work in 6 -mile NA on trails and invasives with 10 kids was not as productive as hoped, but it was good to get
kids into the preserve and the trail did get mulched.