Beginning September 11, 2023, customers in the 716-area code region in Western New York requesting new mobile or landline telephone service, an additional line, or a move in the location of their service, may be assigned a number in the new 624 area code. The creation of the new area code is expected to provide additional needed phone numbers for residents and businesses in the existing 716-area code region for years to come. [Read more…] about New 624 Area Code Takes Effect For Western New York
Allegany County
Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Located in Allegany County, Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area is a designated Bird Conservation Area (BCA) in the aptly named town of Birdsall.
The 708-acre parcel, located about 13 miles northeast of the village of Angelica and six miles southwest of the Village of Canaseraga, includes nearly 530 acres of shrub swamp, emergent marsh, and open water wetlands and approximately 150 acres of brush and grassland. The area is primarily made up of wetland habitat and is home to a variety of waterfowl and song birds. [Read more…] about Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Rangers Rescue 15 Rafters; Recover Body; Make Rescues at Fish Creek, OK Slip Falls, Whiteface, Colden, Phelps, N-P Trail
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Rangers Rescue 15 Rafters; Recover Body; Make Rescues at Fish Creek, OK Slip Falls, Whiteface, Colden, Phelps, N-P Trail
Forest Rangers Find Marijuana On State Land; Investigate Separate Possible Arson Incident
On Friday, August 11th, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers Richer and Thaine destroyed marijuana growing on the Crab Hollow State Forest in the town of New Hudson, Allegany County, NY. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Find Marijuana On State Land; Investigate Separate Possible Arson Incident
Amid Dry Conditions, Wildfires Plague Upstate New York
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers battled at least four wildfires in three Upstate New York counties last week, amid unusually dry winter conditions. [Read more…] about Amid Dry Conditions, Wildfires Plague Upstate New York
100 Acres Added to Klipnocky State Forest, Allegany County
In the winter of 2021, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) acquired 100 acres in the Klipnocky State Forest. Already a unique forest, this new property adds a new level of habitat diversity to the area. It is composed of 25 acres of hay fields and 55 acres of early successional habitat that is chock-full of blueberries, thornapple, and dogwoods. The remaining acreage has open ponds that are home to beavers and the occasional wood duck. [Read more…] about 100 Acres Added to Klipnocky State Forest, Allegany County
Marijuana Plants Found On State Land
On September 23, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers located 15 large marijuana plants being grown on Swift Hill State Forest in the town of Centerville, Allegany County, NY.
Swift Hill State Forest covers a total of 1,569 acres and contains a mixture of native hardwood species and planted conifers. The area was settled in the early 1800s when much of the land was cleared for agriculture. [Read more…] about Marijuana Plants Found On State Land
Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
Rev. Calvin Cornelius Fairbank was born November 3, 1816 in Pike, Wyoming County, NY. He began his academic studies at a seminary in Lima, Livingston County, NY, and became a licensed preacher in 1840. In 1842 he was ordained an elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he graduated Oberlin College in Ohio two years later. At Oberlin he met John Mifflin Brown (1817-1893), a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and an Underground Railroad activist.
Fairbank was a radical abolitionist who not only spoke out against slavery, but actively worked to free as many enslaved people as he could. [Read more…] about Calvin Fairbank: Imprisoned 17 Years For Helping Enslaved People to Freedom
DEC Releases Draft Plans for Hanging Bog, Canadaway Creek Wildlife Areas
Draft Access and Public Use Plans for Hanging Bog and Canadaway Creek Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are complete and available for public comment. The draft Access and Public Use Plans’ objectives include maintaining existing features, such as roads, kiosks, parking areas, and gates. The draft plans are located on each property’s webpage. [Read more…] about DEC Releases Draft Plans for Hanging Bog, Canadaway Creek Wildlife Areas
America’s 250th Student Fellowships Funded In Western NY
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has awarded SUNY distinguished professor of history Michael Leroy Oberg, the SUNY Geneseo Center for Local and Municipal History, and a consortium of six other colleges and universities, a three-year grant of more than $300K for American War of Independence Semiquincentennial student fellowships.
Several of the institutions in the fellowship program have committed $150K of matching funds for the project, bringing the total to over $450K. [Read more…] about America’s 250th Student Fellowships Funded In Western NY