Beaver Island & State Park Foraging Rules
In early September, Patrick and I took our first trip to Beaver Island State Park in Grand Island. Patrick is a disc golfer (and tolerates my lack of skills), so we played a round. The park occupies the southernmost tip of Grand Island, which sits in the Niagara River northwest of Buffalo. The disc golf course starts on the southwest side of the park, running along the shore of the river and onto Beaver Island before circling back to the start.
As we played, we noted some sogginess along the trail. The course is only a few feet above water level, and wetlands are an important feature of this ecosystem. I later learned about a project completed by the New York Power Authority and Applied Ecological Services (AES) to re-vegetate the "shoreline and riverine wetlands" of Beaver Island. "This project was especially important because there are few wetlands along the Niagara River for fish and wildlife habitat. Little Beaver Island was once a diverse marsh area, but in the 1960s the area was filled and planted with turf grass, creating very low-quality habitat" (AES). I imagine the golf course in the middle of Beaver Island State Park helps to explain the turf grass installation.
AES has worked to restore a "wet meadow" ecosystem in approximately 8 acres of the park; an acre+ of "shallow emergent marsh," and over 3 acres of "deep emergent marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation zone" (AES).
We saw some of the 3,500+ tree and shrub plantings as we played our game. I imagine they're helping to prevent erosion of the shoreline, among other functions:
Foraging Rules: NY State Parks
To learn about foraging policies at Beaver Island and other NY State Parks, I was put in touch with Evyn Iacovitti, Environmental Analyst for parks in the region from Evangola to Golden Hill State Park on Lake Ontario.
Evyn emphasized that foraging is prohibited in New York State Parks-- and Beaver Island is an excellent example of why. She explained that, since foraging often requires veering off of established paths, it may cause damage to sensitive ecosystems being restored-- even if the only species being harvested are invasive.
I asked if it might be possible for foragers to partner with parks for invasive species harvest/removal projects. Foragers would take home edible + medicinal invasives, while the park works towards a management goal. Evyn said there is potential for such partnerships. I explained that safe foraging requires knowledge of chemical applications in the area, and asked about herbicide/pesticide application practices. Evyn explained that NY State Parks have a "pesticide reduction policy," with the intention of moderating use. Still, herbicides are used to manage invasive species. To give a few examples, Evyn said she doesn't believe garlic mustard has received herbicide applications in her region, but Japanese knotweed has. Chemical application records would be available for public viewing.
For those interested in volunteering for invasive species harvest/removal at a New York State Park, Evyn recommended getting in touch with her at 716.299.0807 or Evyn.iacovitti@parks.ny.gov.
Industrial Influence at Beaver Island
To be honest, I haven't felt the need to learn more about the herbicide/pesticide application history at Beaver Island. I have a feeling that, whatever the practices, they are only the tip of the iceberg of contamination concerns for foragers here. Before visiting, I was aware of the park's position directly downstream from Buffalo's industrial history, both past and present. This was difficult to ignore even while enjoying the beautiful area.
After disc golfing, Patrick and I hiked the Spaulding trail, which runs east to west just north of the golf course:
As we drove to the parking area at the east side of the trail, we spotted a large facility on the other side of the river, and wondered what it was:
When we got home, we learned it was the Huntley Generating Plant, a coal plant that operated from 1916 to 2016. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Huntley was Erie County's largest polluter from 2002 to 2011, and again in 2013 (Pignataro).
To use 2013 as an example: Huntley generated 440,000 pounds of pollutants in this year (Pignataro). According to the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, most contaminants were collected and transferred elsewhere, but about 56,000 pounds were released into the water, air, or soil (Pignataro).
At its Niagara River location, Huntley released 34,641 pounds of hydrogen fluoride, 20,514 pounds of hydrochloric acid, 884 pounds of barium compounds, 83 pounds of lead compounds, and 17 pounds mercury compounds (Pignataro).
Huntley isn't alone as a major Tonawanda polluter close to the riverfront. Less than two miles north, Tonawanda Coke was in operation from 1978 - 2018 (Spectrum). The site had been used to produce coke since 1917 (US EPA). Coke is a solid fuel produced by heating coal or oil. The process results in toxic byproducts, such as PAHs and benzene, which EPA regulations are intended to address (Rosenfield, 2011).
In 2009, Tonawanda Coke Corporation was convicted of eleven criminal violations of the Clean Air Act and three counts of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. According to William J. Hochul Jr., then U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, this was “one of the most egregious environmental pollution crimes in this area’s history“ (US Dept of Justice). The company was releasing toxic gas into the air without using required pollution control technology, and dumping solid hazardous waste illegally (US Dept of Justice). Huntley,
Tonawanda Coke, and other corporations have created a challenge that the Tonawanda community is stepping up to. To stay within the scope of this project, one question I was left with: with prevailing winds generally moving west to east, do we know to what extent this air pollution affected Beaver Island Park and the surrounding area?
I'm grateful for the research conducted by a team of SUNY Fredonia and University at Buffalo scientists, offering data towards this question. The judicial order calling for the study hoped to determine how much contamination was caused by Tonawanda Coke, specifically. This will be a challenge due to the proximity of Huntley and other polluters (Jerving). Regardless of the source, the map above delineates areas reported to have notable contamination "with a host of toxic chemicals" (Jerving). The study found "elevated" levels of toxins in the soil, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cyanide and PCBs (Jerving). In addition to the areas near the plant in Tonawanda, the map includes a section of Grand Island across the river.
Foraging Takeaway
I do not know whether Beaver Island State Park was tested in the study above, since residential and school areas are likely of higher concern. Still, seeing the likely migration of air pollution across the river on this map leads me to seek other places for foraging. Beaver Island's wetlands are not only a sensitive area ecologically; they also have a history of exposure to water pollution coming up the Niagara River. The portion of Beaver Island State Park that does not appear to be wetlands is mostly occupied by a golf course-- another type of land use with a reputation for repeated chemical applications. These seem like excellent reasons to respect the no-foraging rule at Beaver Island State Park.
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Sources:
Applied Ecological Services (AES). "Beaver Island Restoration." 2011. webpage.
Beaver Island State Park Map.
Google Maps. 2019. maps.google.com
Pignataro, T.J. "Town of Tonawanda’s Huntley power plant is biggest polluter in Erie County." Buffalo News, October 22, 2014.
Jerving, Sara. "Report: Tainted soil near Tonawanda Coke." Investigative Post. webpage.
Rosenfield, Paul E. and Lydia Feng. Risks of Hazardous Wastes. 2011. pg 84. Click here to view.
Spectrum Local News. "Tonawanda Coke Plant Completely Shut Down." Oct 23, 2018. webpage.
US Department of Justice. “Tonawanda Coke and Manager Sentenced for Violating the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.” March 19, 2014. webpage.
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). "Tonawanda Coke Corporation (TCC) Site." Feb 21, 2019. webpage.
