PUBLIC STATEMENT
Park visitors are reminded to use caution when visiting the Olmsted Parks
After surveying the damage wrought by Sunday’s windstorm, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy has been working diligently to clear roads, paths and trails for many dedicated park users. Every Olmsted space was affected, and citizens will continue to see piles of limbs forming on the fringe of the park spaces as debris is collected along the Olmsted parks and parkways. No major damage to park structures was reported.
Olmsted’s Forestry team clearing debris at Delaware Park following the windstorm
Led by the Conservancy’s forestry team of certified arborist and arboriculture technicians, alongside park district supervisors and foremen, overall park damage has been assessed and debris removal plans are being executed. In our collaborative public-private partnership with the City of Buffalo’s forestry and parks teams, large equipment, vehicles and manpower are being coordinated for maximum efficiency.
The City of Buffalo reported on Monday (Feb 25, 2019) evening that the total number of trees lost in the city was approximately 50, and there is a sentiment of gratitude as that number could likely have been much higher. The Conservancy believes the minimal damage to Olmsted park trees overall was due to ongoing forestry practices of pruning trees regularly, and our efforts to remove many of the larger dead ash trees near public pathways. A generous three-year gift from Delaware North has also helped in the procurement of much needed small equipment and personal safety elements for the Conservancy’s forestry team.
Replanting efforts throughout the park system are being discussed internally, and several volunteer projects are anticipated for 2019.
For concerns relating to park safety, please call 311. For more information on the Conservancy’s clean up effort and/or corporate volunteer activities in the Olmsted Parks, please contact the Conservancy’s main office at (716) 838-1249, ext. 22 or email Catie@bfloparks.org.
Please click here for a PDF of this public statement.
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About the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy
The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is the first nonprofit organization in the nation to manage and operate an entire urban park system that consists of over 850 acres of parks, parkways and circles. The park system was designed more than 150 years ago by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. Today, over 2.5 million people use Buffalo’s historic and award-winning Olmsted Park System annually for recreation, relaxation and rejuvenation. Since 2004, basic maintenance of the parks has greatly improved since the groundbreaking public-private agreement between the City of Buffalo, Erie County and the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. The Conservancy is a membership-based, community organization whose mission is to promote, preserve, restore, enhance and maintain the Frederick Law Olmsted-designed landscape in the Greater Buffalo area. Learn more at: www.bfloparks.org.
The Buffalo Olmsted Park System includes:
Six parks: Cazenovia Park in South Buffalo, Delaware Park in Delaware/Parkside District, Front Park at the Peace Bridge, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park at Fillmore Avenue, Riverside Park at Niagara and Tonawanda Street, and South Park at McKinley Parkway
Seven parkways: Bidwell, Chapin, Lincoln, McKinley, Porter, Red Jacket, and Richmond
Eight traffic circles: Agassiz, Colonial, Ferry, Gates, McClellan, McKinley, Soldiers, and Symphony
Smaller spaces: Columbus Park, Days Park, Heacock Park, Prospect Park
