Summertime is wonderful in Chautauqua County! Residents and visitors to our area are well aware of the recreational opportunities that our lakes offer. Lake Erie, Chautauqua, Findley, Bear, and the Cassadaga Lakes each receive their share of boaters, fisher(wo)men, swimmers, and paddlers, and ...

I love children’s picture books. They are simple, yet often powerful, stories capture my imagination and each illustrated page is a work of art. As a kid, one of my favorites was “Miss Rumphius,” written and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. It is a story of Alice Rumphius, who lived ...

The New York State 30x30 amendments to the Environmental Conservation Law adopted in 2022 set the goal of conserving 30% of lands and waters across the State by 2030, “to enhance conservation of the state’s unique and globally significant biodiversity and continue efforts to adapt to ...

Midsummer is a time for flying insects. They can be found deep in the woods and flitting around ponds and rivers, but wherever they may be, they have to land eventually. Recently, a few other people and I were floating around in a small bay on a river. Dragonflies kept landing on our ...

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy staff gets asked numerous questions about watersheds and water quality. Here are some of our more frequently asked questions – and answers! What is a watershed? A watershed is an area of land where all surface water and groundwater drain to a common ...

Mid-summer is typically the time of year that my family reunion occurs, and we come from Texas and Massachusetts and Virginia and closer to settle into Venango County for the weekend. It is where the now-elders grew up and where the childhoods of the cousins were bonded together. Their stories ...