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Download the 2010 Visitors Guide (18MB) |
published by The Post-Standard
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Click here to link to the 2009 Fall Program Guide
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ONONDAGA LAKE PARK MARINA ENHANCEMENTS BEGIN
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Onondaga County Parks Commissioner Bill Lansley(pictured left), NY Assemblyman Al Stirpe (right) along with NYS Canal Corporation Director Carmella Mantello kicked off the Parks for Tomorrow II Marina Enhancement project at the Onondaga Lake Park Marina in Liverpool, NY on October 5, 2009 The $727,000 capital project, supported by a $225,000 grant from the Canal Corporation, will convert old wooden docks at the Works Project Administration era facility to industry standard floating units and add utilities to portions of the facility so that usage and revenues can be optimized. When updates are completed in the spring, the Onondaga Lake Park Marina will be able to accommodate 96 craft of all sizes for seasonal and transient stays, as well as growing interest in boat launch and boat/kayak rental services. For information on marina slips for the 2010 season, boat owners should call Onondaga Lake Park at (315) 453-6712. Details on the overall Parks for Tomorrow II plan can be reviewed at www.OnondagaCountyParks.com/about. |
RESTORING AN INLAND SALT MARSH GARDEN
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Thousands of travelers along the Onondaga Lake Parkway will be able to watch the rebirth of an inland salt marsh with the last of the plantings completed on June 15, 2009 by Parks Commissioner Bob Geraci and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry President Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr. Former Parks Commissioner Geraci and President Murphy finished up the work started by the Onondaga County Parks Department and students in the ESF Department of Environmental and Forest Biology under the direction of Dr. Donald Leopold and doctoral student Tony Eallonardo. Dr. Leopold explained, “The area around Onondaga Lake was once extensive inland salt marsh with dozens of different species of very special plants only found in a few other non-tidal salt marsh locations in the eastern United States "We want people to see the natural beauty of what was once here and |
demonstrate that the reintroduction of native plants that actually thrive in salty conditions show what we need to be planting along roadsides and in our urban landscape,” said Eallonardo, who has been studying the few remnant inland salt marshes in New York and using this information to guide in the restoration of this globally endangered natural community.
“This inland salt marsh garden along the parkway also gives people an idea of what’s being done in the Solvay Settling Basins, where similar plantings are being used to create a natural habitat while preventing erosion and runoff into waterways that empty into Onondaga Lake,” said Murphy.
The 600-square-foot site, known as the Gale Salt Spring, is planted with perennials native to inland salt marshes, such as seaside goldenrod, prairie cordgrass, black grass, common three-square, salt meadow grass, smooth cordgrass, foxtail barley, saltgrass and marsh mallow.
Also planted in the site are annuals native to an inland salt marsh that offer quick cover as well as being salt tolerant. They are bearded sprangletop and fall panic grass.
These plants are quite attractive, provide long-term cover with low maintenance and are salt tolerant.
The Gale Salt Spring was built in the 1930s during construction of the Onondaga Lake Park and parkway. During construction, workers uncovered an old brine well that had been used by the Thomas Gale Salt Works and a stone memorial landscape feature was added to the Parkway.
Wegmans Ups Investment in Onondaga Lake Park
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On Thursday, October 9, 2008 County Executive Joanie Mahoney announced that the primary entry and activity section of Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool has been officially named Wegmans Landing. Mahoney thanked Wegmans for their continuation of the Parks department's most significant sponsorship program. "This $1.5 million, ten year investment has provided the embellishments which have transformed the "Central Park of Central New York" into a resort-like attraction. Over 1.3 million visitors a year partake of wonderful, primarily free recreational services courtesy of Wegmans and Onondaga County." Wegmans Landing encompasses approximately ten acres of the the area which previously was Griffin Stadium, with elements on the grounds including two ballfields, the Onondaga Lake Park Skatepark, Wegmans Boundless Playground, sports courts, the Joseph A. Griffin Visitor Center, trails and waterfront. |
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Onondaga County Lifeguards Best in the State!
Onondaga County Parks' lifeguards won the 40th annual New York State Lifeguard Competition held at Green Lakes State Park on August 5, 2008, winning the two-guard rescue with CPR event and scoring enough points in five others to claim the title over 17 other teams from across the state.
Brothers Dan Liddell and Connor Liddell, lifeguards at Jamesville Beach County Park, and Kayla Ehle, a lifeguard at Oneida Shores County Park, comprised Onondaga's winning team.
Chenango Valley State Park won second place and Delta Lake State Park came in third at the competition, which took place Tuesday at Green Lakes State Park in Manlius.
If you are interested in joining our award winning team of lifeguards next year, call Jamesville Beach at 435-5252 or Oneida Shores at 676-7366. Lifeguard certification is required.
Zoo elephant Mali gives birth in Canada
Mali, the Asian elephant on loan from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, has given birth in Canada to the first third-generation calf born in North America, zoo officials said Tuesday.
The 235-pound male was born July 15, 2008 at the African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario, home to North America's most successful Asian elephant breeding program, with more second-generation captive births than any other North American institution. The calf is the 12th elephant born at African Lion Safari since 1991.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse has had five successful births of its own and is considered one of the top breeding programs. Asian elephants are an endangered species in the wild, where only about 52,000 remain.
It was the first calf for the 11-year-old Mali and the fourth for the father, Rex, said Lorrell Walter, a spokeswoman for the Syracuse zoo.
Zoo officials in Canada named the calf "Chuck," after Chuck Doyle, the director of the Syracuse zoo and a longtime elephant handler who was instrumental in the success of the Rosamond Gifford breeding program, Walter said.
Mali, and her mother, Targa, have been out on loan to the African Lion Safari since May 2006. The pair was relocated to give them more space and to allow Mali to begin breeding.
African Lion Safari is a drive-thru wildlife park that is home to over 1,000 birds and animals that roam freely throughout large game reserves. The park now has 16 elephants in its herd.
-by the Associated Press
Parks Beautification Plantings at Oneida Shores Park
Onondaga County Parks officials joined volunteer CommuniTree stewards in the beach area of Oneida Shores Park on Saturday, May 31, 2008 to take the next steps in the Park Beautification plantings. Designed to assure gateway and highly visited areas of the County have optimal first impressions upon residents and visitors, this special 2008 initiative of the Onondaga County Legislature is focusing upon Oneida Shores Park and Onondaga Lake Park. Under the guidance of Cornell Cooperative Extension, select flower beds walkways, signed areas and building fronts are being accented with a combination of mulching, colorful annuals, perennials and trees.
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What's Next...Parks for Tomorrow II...
Parks for Tomorrow is the theme for early 21st century investments in the Onondaga County Parks system, with Phase II addressing improvements to six properties and highlighted by upgrades to visitor and animal features of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The Legislature approved five of the six projects in late 2007, with nearly $2.3 million of grant support offsetting a portion of the $12 million venture.
The Zoo will see pedestrian friendly repairs made to a courtyard worn by twenty years of steady use, Primate Island reclaimed into an exciting display with a rotating variety of monkeys, and the elephant facilities upgraded to assure our stature as one of the world’s premier pachyderm breeding institutions.
Investments in Oneida Shores roadways, parking areas, boat launch amenities including fishing tournament docking and restrooms, plus the adjacent campgrounds, will assure enjoyment by anglers, with beach goers and Arrowhead Lodge customers receiving greater value through playground equipment and landscaping upgrades in their respective activity areas.
Lodges in the forest parks are in high demand. Camp Brockway at Pratt’s Falls, a circa 1949 building, needs drainage, masonry, and kitchen repairs. In addition, WPA era infrastructure along the North Rim Trail will be repaired from storm damages. Highland Forest’s modern Skyline Lodge, one of the jewels of Parks for Tomorrow I, needs to be landscaped to provide optimal use for weddings and large group functions.
Onondaga Lake Park will benefit from renovations and expansion at colorful Wegmans Playground and continued repair of the crumbling Griffin Stadium columns. The sold-out public marina will be modernized and expanded so that access to the rejuvenated waters of Onondaga Lake can be further enjoyed by residents, an exploding market of bass fishermen, and Erie Canalway transient boaters.
Media Contact Information...
Questions regarding Onondaga County Parks should be directed to:
- Bill Lansley, Commissioner, (315) 451-7275
- Robin Augello, Public Relations Coordinator, (315) 451-7275 x111 or raugello@ongov.net
For Rosamond Gifford Zoo information:
- Chuck Doyle, Director, (315) 435-8511 x103 or cdoyle@ongov.net
- Lorrell Walter, Director of Public Relations & Marketing, (315) 435-8511 x110 or lwalter@rosamondgiffordzoo.org
- Janet Agostini, President, Friends of the Zoo, (315) 435-8511 x175 or jagostini@rosamondgiffordzoo.org
For specific park information:
- Alliance Bank Stadium, Brian Elwell, (315) 435-1412 or belwell@ongov.net
- Beaver Lake Nature Center, Bruce Stebbins, (315) 638-2519 or bstebbins@ongov.net
- Carpenter's Brook Fish Hatchery, Travis Stanek, (315) 689-9367 or tstanek@ongov.net
- Highland Forest/Spafford Forest, Brian Kelley, (315) 683-5550 or bkelley@ongov.net
- Hopkins Road Park, Gary Lopez, (315) 451-7275 or glopez@ongov.net
- Jamesville Beach Park, Kevin Merrill, (315) 435-5252 or kmerrill@ongov.net
- Oneida Shores Park, Judy Talbot, (315) 676-7366 or oneida@ongov.net
- Onondaga Lake Park, Dale Grinolds, (315) 453-6712 or dgrinolds@ongov.net
- Pratt's Falls Park, Bernie Feldman, (315) 682-5934 or pratts@ongov.net
- Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Ron Abbott, (315) 484-1564
During your visit Onondaga County Parks, you may be photographed, videotaped, or filmed by Onondaga County Parks or authorized parties. Your attendance/admission serves as permission for use of these images by Onondaga County Parks. Commercial photography or filming is prohibited without permission of Onondaga County Parks.