No paddle race: Feeder Canal Alliance awaits Canal Corp, for downed trees, other work

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

“We again cannot have the Canoe Race this year,” says Feeder Canal Alliance executive director Pattie Simone, “because of the uncertainty of the timing,” of when the New York State Canal Corporation will remove downed trees blocking parts of the waterway.

“We don’t have a ‘start at X’ date yet. I’m waiting to hear back from my primary contact…but the bottom-line is, they’re going to work on it this year, at some time within the next few months,” she said.

“People can still paddle,” Ms. Simone says. “There’s different sections that they absolutely can paddle,” and the canal has been “watered up.”

The Feeder Canal canoe and kayak race goes back more than 30 years. It has not been held the past four years, first due to Covid and then because of ongoing work on and around the canal.”

Ms. Simone says her first message is “letting people know…the Feeder Canal Alliance doesn’t own the Canal,” or the adjacent towpath trail, but serves as a steward for both. The canal and path are owned by the State Canal Corp, which is responsible for their maintenance.

Shane Mahar, spokesperson for the New York State Canal Corporation, told The Chronicle that they’re alert to the Feeder Canal and that so far this year they have removed 15 “danger trees,” between the Richardson Street dam and Haviland’s Cove.

Mr. Mahar said they’re gradually removing other downed trees and branches, fitting the work in-between prepping the Champlain, Erie, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals for the navigation season that opens on Friday, May 17.

He said the Canal Corp oversees “524 miles of navigable waterway, and then all the associated trails, dams, earthen embankments, culverts.

“In total, the Canal Corporation owns, operates and maintains upwards of 2,700 civil assets, physical pieces of infrastructure,” including the Feeder Canal.

“The priority for us is the locks. That’s not to say that the Glens Falls Feeder Canal is not a priority, because it is.

“The water that is carried in the Feeder Canal from the upper Hudson to the summit level of the Champlain Canal in Fort Edward is critical for our operation.”

Mr. Mahar said, “Resources are limited. We’re trying to triage and work on some projects along the Champlain Canal that need attention as the working canal” — still used for shipping and recreational boating — and still tackle and manage projects along the Glens Falls Feeder.

He notes, “It’s local crews working on local infrastructure,” out of Fort Edward at Lock Seven, working the 60-mile Champlain Canal from Whitehall to Waterford, as well as the Feeder Canal and trail.

The Feeder Canal Alliance itself has sought permits from the State to do some work themselves, with volunteers.

But especially with larger trees, “we’ve been told we shouldn’t be dealing with anything like that because there’s a lot of risk and liability,” Ms. Simone said.

There are also access issues, if the fallen tree or other obstacle is on private property, for example.

Ms. Simone said she received a quote of $24,000 to remove downed trees.

“We can’t afford that, and they (the Canal Corp) know it’s their responsibility to deal with those things.”

“Priority decisions are based on safety factors,” Ms. Simone said, such as the risk of dams or embankments failing anywhere along the canal system.

Mr. Mahar said they’re evaluating the Feeder Canal bridges, benches and embankments for long-term maintenance, strategizing with the Canal Alliance about fund-raising and volunteer efforts, and “continuing conversation about downed trees in the water and the cleanup.”

Ms. Simone said, “Part of what we’re talking about with them is improvements just to amenities like benches, but there’s obviously more serious historic preservation initiatives,” such as removing overgrowth at the Five Combines that is impacting its limestone walls.

She says, “The Feeder Canal is a 200-year-old piece of infrastructure that is still very important to Canal Corp, in that it’s still performing its job of feeding water from the Hudson into the Champlain [Canal], which is a navigable commerce driven thing….

“They are all very well aware of the challenges that need to be dealt with. And they’ve got it on their radar.”

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