Ecosystems of Oswego County

Ox Creek meanders through a state-regulated freshwater wetland just South of Fulton, New York; the DEC of New York has mapped its watershed (see DEC Environmental Navigator interactive map at http://www.dec.ny.gov/imsmaps/) as home to a variety of rare plants and animals. The EOOC team visited Ox Creek via County Route 14, immediately South of King Road, for the purpose of taking photographs and video of the area.

We are currently in the process of preparing an application for 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit unincorporated association. We have discovered a variety of related projects in New York State, and have learned much about governmental involvement in ecological stewardship. For example, we have at our disposal a means of submitting data from the field: the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (http://www.nynhp.org/) provides a relatively simple form with which anyone can add to the DEC’s mammoth database. Furthermore, the DEC of New York has published a draft of an encyclopedic survey entitled, “Ecological Communities of New York State” (http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/intro_TOC.pdf), which I am sure we will find invaluable. And furthermore, I discovered NAAMP, the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, to which I hope to contribute useful multimedia clips gathered at Ox Creek.

In a few short weeks, our energies seem to have greater focus and tremendous scientific and educational potential. Our immediate objectives are, at present, a) complete the organization and publication of our collected multimedia – preferably around a central summary document at cnx.org, and b) find initial sponsorship (to the tune of $300) to pay for our application to the IRS. If approved for exempt status, it seems as though we will be poised to seek greater sponsorship and thereby augment the scope of our future expeditions.