We are pleased to announce that Orleans County Tourism will host one of two workshops with speaker Chuck May who will share the experience of
the Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition in Michigan.



October 27, 2009
1-4pm
Tillman's Village Inn

Registration: call New York SeaGrant, Oswego 315/312-3042 or
sgoswego@cornell.edu.

Discussion will focus on how the Michigan experience can be transferred to New York's shallow draft harbors to maintain Great Lakes access and influence the federal budget process for dredging projects.

Wayne Hale, Jr., Director
Orleans County Planning Department
Orleans County Tourism
Orleans County Marine Park

14016 Rt. 31 W, Albion, NY 14411

1-800-724-0314 585/589-3187

Fax 585/589-8105

On behalf of the Great Lakes Small Harbor Coalition, NY Sea Grant, and our hosts, the Orleans County Tourism Office and Oswego County Department of Community Development, Tourism & Planning, we would like to invite you to join us at a workshop to discuss the goals and objectives of the coalition, and how it can help NY Small Harbors (both recreational and commercial) address their management and dredging needs.

The workshop will be held on both October 27 from 1-4 pm at Tillman's Restaurant (http://www.tillmansvillageinn.com) in Albion NY, and again on October 28 from 1-4pm at the Oswego Public Library (http://www.oswegopubliclibrary.org) in Oswego NY.

There is no cost for attending the workshop but pre-registration is requested so we can plan accordingly.

The Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition was formed as a successor to the Michigan Small Harbors Coalition which was created in 2007. The Coalition's primary objective is to advocate for a better way to appropriate federal funds for dredging small Great Lakes harbors and maintaining navigational access for recreational boaters and other harbor users. By broadening its membership and inviting member harbors from all eight Great Lakes states, the Coalition acknowledged that maintaining access to small harbors is a regional concern, not that of any one state, and thus requires a regional solution. While the Coalition in its previous configuration as a Michigan organization was able to successfully help generate millions more federal dollars for harbor dredging, we feel that as a Great Lakes regional organization, the Coalition will carry even more potential to leverage federal resources and give small harbors a more prominent and unified voice in budget and policy matters. In other words, we feel we can accomplish much more working together as a Great Lakes regional entity than we can singly or by state.

Please register by October 23 by calling NY Sea Grant at 315-312-3042 or emailing sgoswego@cornell.edu. Please be sure to indicate which workshop you will be attending and how many will attend. An overview of the Great Lakes Harbor Coalition and draft agenda are attached for your review.

We look forward to having you join us for this very timely and important discussion.

Sincerely,

Chuck May, Chair pro-tem,
Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition



Dave White
New York Sea Grant

David G. White
Recreation/Tourism Specialist
Great Lakes Program Coordinator
NY Sea Grant
315-312-3042

www.nysgextension.org