DEWITTVILLE - The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy will hold its 20th Anniversary Celebration Dinner, Fundraiser and Annual Meeting from 4:45 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at YMCA Camp Onyahsa in Dewittville.
A welcoming reception will begin at 4:45 p.m. with seating for dinner beginning at 5:15 p.m. The event is open to both members and the public.
The annual meeting portion of the event will be a short presentation, with the rest of the evening dedicated to celebrating the past and future progress of the conservancy, including highlighting the agency's 20 years of conservation work and informing guests of the continuing challenges and need for good watershed and lake stewardship within the Chautauqua region's watersheds.
Becky Nystrom, a Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy founding director and Jamestown Community College biology professor, will be one of the featured speakers. The event will also include a short, live auction of several special items to help raise money for the conservancy's continued conservation work. Auction items wsill include an original painting by William Waite, a six-foot hand-painted bench from Camp Onyahsa and Claire Sleggs, two one-week gate passes (with parking) at Chautauqua Institution for the 2011 season, shirt cleaning and pressing of five shirts per week for one year from Anderson Cleaners, a four-hour chartered cruise for six people from Ready About Sailing, dinner for two and reserved lawn seats for the Sept. 4 performance of the Bemus Bay Pops from the Italian Fisherman, and dinner and dessert for six delivered to the winner's home from area chef Nick Rizzo.
The cost for the event is $45 a person, which includes dinner, dessert, wine from Mazza Chautauqua Cellars, beer from Southern Tier Brewing Company and door prizes. For more information or to make reservations, call 664-2166 or e-mail info@chautauquawatershed.org. Reservations are due by 5 p.m. Monday.
2010 marks the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy' 20th year of conservation programs in Chautauqua County. With a mission to preserve and enhance the water quality, scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams and watersheds of the Chautauqua region, it has led efforts to conserve 719 acres of land across the county and 1.8 miles of Chautauqua Lake shoreline and its outlet since 1990, including the conservation of the Cheney Farm Lakeshore, Stow Farm Lakeshore and Lakeshore Forest at the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center through its Chautauqua Lake - Forever Beautiful Forever Bountiful Campaign.
Its "Don't Feed The Weeds" campaign resulted in Chautuaqua County passing a law to improve lake water quality by regulating the use of phosphorus in lawn fertilizers. The conservancy has also educated the public and government officials on how to prevent and reduce water pollution, sedimentation of the lake, and excessive plant and algae growth in the lake through dozens of workshops and presentations.
