Jill Jedlicka, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper executive director says the Buffalo Blueway has been a division for our region for more than an decade and now that we have made substantial improvements in restoring and protecting this waterway, and it is on a road to recovery we want to open it up so everyone can enjoy it from a recreation stand point and to be able to access it for their own use.
One of those locations is on Smith Street at Red Jacket Park where they will building out this location to make it easier for people to access the water. Jill says it is important for us to create and enhance access points so people can come down if they want to paddle, if they want to bird watch, or if they want to watch the sunset. Jill says they are improving access to up to at least ten sites along the Buffalo River and the outer harbor. Some are owned and operated by the Erie County, like the Red Jacket Park where they will be enhancing the shoreline, making safe access into and out of the water. They have several other sites up and down the river and they really want to encourage paddling in the quiet water section of the Buffalo River. She says it is a hidden secret here in Western New York.
You can go to Buffaloblueway.com and you can plan out your own trip. Jill says there is an interactive mapping tool that you can identify and scope out where you want to go ahead of time. It will tell you what you are going to see when you get there, what you can expect and there is something for everybody.
She says that is important for people to keep in mind that these are wild and natural places so be safe; it is not an amusement park so you have to be responsible and they also encourage safe paddling, safe access and be a responsible steward of the water. Please don’t leave your trash around, clean up after yourself, and we can all protect this water together.
For more information visit bnwaterkeeper.org
716-8527483
