WEBVTT

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- This was part of one of three hab--

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(horn blows)

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habitat restoration projects
on the Buffalo River.

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Again, what we were trying to do is

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target that transitional habitat

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between the water and the upland.

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Rather than just planting,

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we wanted to minimize stone
use as much as possible,

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so we used large trees,

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basically two-foot diameter trees,

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that we sunk on concrete
blocks into the water.

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What they do is basically
act as a breakwater.

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They'd help reduce that wave energy.

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They'd help to reduce some
of the scouring effects

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when the river's up and running.

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They'd help to keep ice
flow out to the river

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and not scour the shoreline.

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They also help to trap
sediment in the near shore.

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The idea is that we'll still provide

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that transitional zone, right?

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That habitat for fish,
that habitat for insects,

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and also that aesthetic.

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So we can really demonstrate
to the local community

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and local population that
there's other solutions

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than just dumping stone
out onto your shoreline

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or putting steel sheet wall or concrete.

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And you can see our fenced-in areas.

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Those are our planting areas.

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They're protected now.

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We'd expect to really start
seeing growth by the end of June

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and really reaching a
climax in early August.

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- So we use the Economy Act authority,

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so basically we're using EPA's authority

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we're an agent for EPA to
make these projects happen.

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The money also flowed through NOA,

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through the Great Lakes Commission,

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through Waterkeeper in some projects.

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Erie County has managed
some of these projects.

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EPA has managed and implemented

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some of these projects directly

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with some pretty close
and direct involvement

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from the Department of
Environmental Conservation.

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So it's a case where we're
all kinda learning together

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what works within the system.