On Monday, October 2nd, Letchworth Gateway Villages and representatives of all the partners and participants in The Genesee Valley Trail Towns Initiative (GVTT) gathered on at Breezeway Barns & Garden in Perry, NY to recognize and celebrate accomplishments from 2023. Representatives from each of the 10 Trail Town Communities presented on recent project completions and future goals for their committee. Click the link below to view the Community Spotlight presentation slides from the Fall Gathering.
2021 LGV Visitor Survey Results Now Available
Letchworth Gateway Villages is excited to present the results of the 2021 Genesee Valley Trail Towns Visitor Survey which build from the foundation of the 2017 Visitor Survey. Letchworth Gateway Villages (LGV) and its network of Trail Town partners ran a visitor survey campaign from June-October 2021 to gain a deeper understanding of the visitors who come to the Genesee Valley’s outdoor recreation attractions like Letchworth State Park, the Genesee Valley Greenway, local lakes, the Genesee River and area communities.
This visitor survey aims to provide information that will help each Trail Town’s local businesses and municipal leaders work to provide high quality visitor experiences and establish baseline data to track performance over time.
The Trail Towns communities are part of the destination development project that LGV kicked off in February 2021 with funding from USDA Rural Development and the Northern Border Regional Commission. Participating communities include Wheatland, Avon, York, Perry, Mount Morris, Geneseo, Nunda, Hume, Caneadea and Cuba.
The Town of York Trail Town Committee presents an evening with Special Guest Craig Della Penna on 10/5
Join us on Wednesday, October 5th at the York Central School Auditorium to hear from Craig Della Penna on “the on-the-ground reality of getting places, neighborhoods and communities to “YES” on the idea of a trail.”
Parks & Trails New York announces $50,000 in grants awarded to Genesee Valley Trail Town communities
Grants will provide amenities for residents and visitors along Genesee Valley Greenway State Park and in nearby villages and towns.
ALBANY, NY – Parks & Trails New York today announced the recipients of $50,000 in grants to support communities participating in the Genesee Valley Trail Town initiative.
“The Genesee Valley is truly one of the most stunning regions of New York State,” said Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York. “This funding will not only help local communities showcase the unique attractions, services, and amenities available to both visitors and residents, but will also allow them to better promote the diverse experiences that this region has to offer.”
The grants will enable the ten Genesee Valley Trail Towns to take advantage of visitation to the Genesee Valley Greenway and other outdoor recreational resources in the area, foster place-making efforts, create safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians in Trail Town communities, and implement projects identified in the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative’s community action plans.
Grants will be awarded in conjunction with the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative, a collaborative effort between Letchworth Gateway Villages, Parks & Trails New York, the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway, Genesee Valley Greenway State Park, and 10 communities along the 90-mile Genesee Valley Greenway in Western New York. The Trail Town Initiative aims to boost outdoor tourism, create more resilient communities and support the region’s post-COVID recovery.
The 10 Genesee Valley Trail Town communities are: the towns of Caneadea, Cuba and Hume in Allegany County, the towns of Avon, Geneseo, Mount Morris, Nunda, and York in Livingston County, the towns of Wheatland in Monroe County, and the town of Perry in Wyoming County.
The Genesee Valley Trail Town Grants are made possible by funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
Awardees include:
Greater Wheatland Area Chamber of Commerce ($11,353) – The construction of a kiosk in Scottsville’s Canawaugus Park and Mumford’s Freeman Park, wayfinding signage, parking signs, crosswalk signage on Scottsville and Mumford’s Main Streets, historical interpretive signs, and a bike repair station and bike racks in Genesee Valley Greenway State Park.
Perry Main Street Association ($11,000) - Signage in multiple locations and a self-service tool kiosk for bike service along the Silver Lake Trail (SLT).
Town of York Trail Town Committee ($7,642) - Parking signs at the Piffard trailhead, a kiosk, bike rack, and bench at the Fowlerville trailhead, a bike rack and a bench at York Landing, signage on River Road, and promotional materials.
Village of Nunda ($5,098) – A trailhead kiosk, bike rack and benches along the Nunda Branch Trail of Genesee Valley Greenway State Park, and parking signs and a bike rack in the Village of Nunda.
Town of Hume ($5,000) – Demolition of former tennis court in town-owned park space directly adjacent to the greenway in preparation for the site to be used as a community gateway, and the purchase and installation of bicycle racks at three locations.
Village of Geneseo ($3,123) – Completion of the Geneseo Loop Trail, including drainage and trail maintenance, marking the trail with blazes and directional signage, and placing benches along the trail.
Town of Caneadea ($3,100) - Wayfinding and safety signage for public trails and disc golf courses in Houghton, and the installation of an informational kiosk at a river access site in Houghton, making the site a new pocket park and informational hub.
Letchworth Gateway Villages ($2,185) - Printing of Genesee Valley Trail Town marketing materials, including brochures, community customizable brochure inserts, rack cards and square cards.
Cuba Friends of Architecture ($1,500) - The purchase of three cloud-linked digital information displays and cloud-based digital signage devices that will allow the Cuba Trail Town committee to display general trail information, trail maps, trail history, local events, weather, town, charity, cultural and tourist information through digital feeds and locally created media.
About Parks & Trails New York
Parks & Trails New York is New York’s leading statewide advocate for parks and trails, dedicated since 1985 to improving our health, economy, and quality of life through the use and enjoyment of green space. With thousands of members and supporters across the state, PTNY is a leading voice in the protection of New York’s magnificent state park system and the creation and promotion of more than 1,500 miles of greenways, bike paths, river walks, and trails. PTNY’s trail programs, which aim to transform unused transportation and other corridors into vibrant public places, have furthered dozens of trail projects and hundreds of miles of trail over the last 30 years. For more information, visit www.ptny.org.
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NYS Budget Provides Great Promise for Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative
The members of the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative - including Letchworth Gateway Villages, Parks & Trails New York, the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway, and ten participating Trail Town communities - praised Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature for passing the SFY 2022-23 budget that provides rural communities with the resources needed to continue to improve the Genesee Valley’s outdoor recreation assets and to successfully benefit from eco-tourism in the region.
The newly passed budget increases funding for a number of programs across various agencies for which Genesee Valley Trail Town communities stand to benefit. Major highlights from the budget include a 15 percent increase in the operating budget for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). $250 million in capital funding for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, a $400 million Environmental Protection Fund, and the new $100 million New York Forward rural economic development initiative.
The budget increases the annual operating budget for State Parks to $285 million. This funding will help to provide additional staffing at some of the state’s most well-known and heavily used outdoor destinations, such as Letchworth State Park and Genesee Valley Greenway State Park. The New York State Park system continues to see record visitation on an annual basis; parks welcomed more than 78 million visitors statewide in 2021. The budget also includes a record $250 million in capital funding for OPRHP, which will help the agency continue to address decades of deferred investment in the park system’s core infrastructure.
The Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) is New York State’s primary source of funding for environmental programming and critical initiatives such as flood protection, open space preservation, solid waste management, and outdoor recreation. The SFY 2022-23 budget includes funding for the EPF at a record $400 million, an increase of $100 million from last year’s funding level. The additional funding expands numerous successful programs, including the Park & Trail Partnership Grants. This competitive grant funding program, which helps non-profit organizations enhance the preservation, stewardship, interpretation, maintenance and promotion of New York State parks, trails, state historic sites and public lands, is doubled from $1 million to $2 million. Both the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway and the Friends of Letchworth State Park have been recipients of this grant funding in the past, allowing them to enhance visitors’ experience.
In addition to record environmental funding, the newly passed budget includes funding for a new rural economic development program. The “New York Forward” program will be modeled after the successful statewide Downtown Revitalization Initiative, but will focus on smaller, rural communities. This exciting new program holds great promise for participating Genesee Valley Trail Towns, and the Genesee Valley Trail Town initiative overall.
Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York said “This historic budget reflects decades of hard work and advocacy on behalf of our state park system. Parks, greenways, and open spaces are essential to the economic, environmental, social and physical health of our communities, and we are grateful to Governor Hochul and the legislature for validating their importance with record funding levels in this year’s budget.”
Nicole Manapol, Director of Letchworth Gateway Villages said “The inclusion of the New York Forward rural economic development program in this year's budget represents a momentous opportunity for the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative. With a growing network of partners and 10 participating trail towns across four counties, the Initiative is poised to establish the Genesee Valley Region as a prime destination for outdoor recreation tourism. This investment in rural revitalization could not have come at a more opportune time. We thank Governor Hochul and the legislature for this vital economic opportunity for our network of small, rural communities."
Joan Schumaker, President of the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway said “We thank Governor Hochul and the Legislature for approving multiple programs that will not only ensure completion of more miles of Genesee Valley Greenway Trail but also promote revitalization and economic development in the multiple Trail Town communities along its 90-mile length. Already the Trail Town program has been transformative as Greenway communities are experiencing a new energy, enthusiasm, civic pride, and fuller recognition of their unique recreational and natural assets. As advocates for the Greenway for more than 30 years, we are thrilled that the historic funding levels approved in this year’s budget will offer Greenway communities so many ways to benefit.”
About the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative
The Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative is a network of organizations and municipalities working together to revitalize the rural communities adjacent to Letchworth and the Genesee Valley Greenway State Parks. By growing outdoor tourism and small businesses through regional marketing, trail and signage improvements, and support for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and various community efforts, we aim to preserve and promote the natural resource assets, cultural attractions and historically important places that make the Genesee Valley / Letchworth region a unique and vibrant tourism destination. Since 2018, our network of partners, which includes Letchworth Gateway Villages, Parks & Trails New York, the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and many others, have worked collaboratively to establish a network of Trail Towns along the Genesee Valley Greenway and Genesee River corridor.
About Parks & Trails New York
Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) is the state’s leading advocate for parks and trails. Thanks to support from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, PTNY is partnering with Letchworth Gateway Villages and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway to provide programming, develop materials and supply seed grants to communities along the 90-mile Genesee Valley Greenway that will help them become more welcoming to bicyclists and other trail visitors. Our work will provide villages and towns in the region with the tools to fully benefit from trail tourism.
$750,000 in Grants for Rural Revitalization in the Genesee Valley: Round 2 Now Available
The second round of funding to support historic preservation in the rural communities of the Genesee Valley is now available thanks to the National Park Service’s Paul Bruhn Rural Revitalization Grant Program. Letchworth Gateway Villages (LGV), along with the Landmark Society of Western New York and the Rochester Area Community Foundation, contributed a portion of matching funds securing this opportunity for the region. Local governments, non-profit and commercial property owners, and small businesses in the Genesee Valley are encouraged to apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to preserve the historic places that make our villages unique.
Since LGV won funding from the USDA for the Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) Initiative in 2019, the group has brought together a diverse network of 38 organizations across five counties, all with the common goal of establishing the Genesee Valley as a sustainable outdoor recreation and heritage tourism destination. The Valley is uniquely poised to become such a destination, with assets like Letchworth State Park, Genesee Valley Greenway State Park, historic districts, and hundreds of miles of trails, but previously lacked the funding and regional collaboration to capitalize on this potential. It is through the work of LGV — and stakeholders like the Landmark Society and New York State Parks — that the rural Genesee Valley attracted new investment and funding opportunities, such as this grant. Round 1 recipients include the Palmer Opera House in Cuba, Epworth Hall in Silver Lake, the American Hotel in Lima, the Mills Mansion in Mount Morris, and the Mackenzie House in Belmont. More information is available on the awarded projects from the first round here.
Second round applications for the Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program (GVRR) will be due on March 31, 2022. The Landmark Society is hosting informational webinars on this opportunity on Thursday, December 9th and Monday, January 24th. To register for either webinar visit https://www.landmarksociety.org/GVRR; for more information on the grant program, contact Megan Klem, Preservation Planner, at mklem@landmarksociety.org.
LGV Launches Genesee Valley Visitor Survey
Letchworth Gateway Villages (LGV) and its network of Trail Town partners are launching a visitor survey to gain a deeper understanding of the visitors who come to the Genesee Valley’s outdoor recreation attractions like Letchworth State Park, the Genesee Valley Greenway, local lakes, the Genesee River and area communities.
The Trail Towns communities are part of the destination development project that LGV kicked off in February 2021 with funding from USDA Rural Development and the Northern Border Regional Commission. Participating communities include Wheatland, Avon, York, Perry, Mount Morris, Geneseo, Nunda, Hume, Caneadea and Cuba.
This visitor survey aims to provide information that will help each Trail Town’s local businesses and municipal leaders work to provide high quality visitor experiences and establish baseline data to track performance over time.
The target audience for the survey is visitors coming to the area from a 25-mile radius and beyond. The survey will run from June through mid-October during the busiest part of the tourism season.
Upon completion of the survey, participants will be entered to win prizes that include a gift basket filled with Genesee Valley products ($100 value) and a 2022 Empire Pass for New York State Parks.
Letchworth Gateway Villages Wins Inaugural Lipinski Rural Initiatives Award
Press release courtesy of Farm Credit East:
ENFIELD, Conn. — At Farm Credit East’s Annual Meeting held earlier this week, the financial cooperative was pleased to announce two winners of the inaugural Lipinski Rural Initiatives award. This award was created by Farm Credit East’s Board of Directors in 2020 to recognize former Farm Credit East CEO Bill Lipinski and aims to recognize innovative and transformational efforts to revitalize Northeast rural communities. Each recipient was awarded $25,000.
Three River Farmers Alliance is the first recipient of the 2021 Lipinski Rural Initiatives Award. In 2014, four farms in New Hampshire’s Seacoast region joined together to market their produce. Today, that network has grown to 58 local producers and 25 employees who share a vision of creating healthier communities and expanding economic opportunities for the region’s farmers. Learn more at ThreeRiverFa.com. Three River Farmers Alliance will use its $25,000 award to move to a new facility where it plans to expand the availability of locally sourced food.
The second recipient is Letchworth Gateway Villages, a collaborative effort of the towns of Geneseo, Mt. Morris and Perry in New York’s Genesee Valley. These towns have been working together to attract investment by leveraging the area’s recreational and tourism opportunities and connecting them with new and existing businesses. The collaboration has generated over $800,000 in investment, helped spur a dozen new enterprises and created 30 new jobs. Learn more at LetchworthGatewayVillages.org. Letchworth Gateway Villages will use its $25,000 award as the seed capital for a rural impact fund to support new venture creation.
“Bill understood the long-term success of Northeast farm, forest products and fishing businesses is dependent on the health of the rural communities where they are based, so we created this award in his honor to highlight new approaches to enhance the quality of life in rural communities,” said board chair Laurie Griffen. “Both of this year’s recipients are doing excellent work to support their rural communities, which will benefit the Farm Credit East customers who call them home. We hope this award helps them further their efforts.”
Click the link below to view a short video on this year’s recipients. Funding for the award was made possible by contributions from Farm Credit East matched by its strategic partner, CoBank. Nominations for the 2022 award will open in the winter of 2021.
LGV Launches Trail Town Destination Project to Support Rural Communities in the Genesee Valley
Photo credit: Katie Sutor | October 2019 USDA REDI Kick-Off Event at the Humphrey Nature Center in Letchworth State Park.
On Friday, February 19, LGV kicked off a new Trail Town Destination Development project, which will establish a network of 10 hospitality hubs (“Trail Towns”) along the Genesee Valley Greenway and Genesee River corridor. Over the next 12 months, this project will be implemented in the towns of Wheatland, Avon, York, Perry, Mount Morris, Geneseo, Nunda, Hume, Caneadea, and Cuba, in an effort to boost outdoor tourism and help the region’s post COVID-19 recovery.
With nearly 1 million visitors coming to Letchworth State Park annually and investments by New York State and private foundations accelerating the growth of long-distance trail systems in Western New York, this project is especially timely. The goals include equipping communities to better position their proximity to the region’s natural assets to visitors, an objective with increased relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic as people seek safe outdoor activities.
Trail Town Programs are a proven approach to revitalizing rural communities by growing outdoor tourism and small businesses. One of the first and best documented examples of a Trail Town program was the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), which helped support communities along its 150 mile corridor achieve an annual economic impact of $50 million since launching in 2007. Since then, Trail Towns have been adapted and replicated nationwide.
Leading pioneers of the Trail Town movement spoke to the over 100 virtual event participants, explaining how the programs have transformed rural communities across the U.S. The panel featured David A. Kahley, President and CEO of the Progress Fund, which established the first Trail Town program in the U.S. along the 150 mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP); Seth Wheat, the Director of Tourism Development for the Kentucky Department of Tourism, which was the first statewide Trail Town program ever implemented; Dylan Carey, Project Director for Parks & Trail New York (PTNY), the leading advocacy organization for trail preservation and promotion in New York State; and Russell Hirschler, Executive Director of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance (UVTA) in Vermont, a multi-stakeholder collaboration that developed and manages TrailFinder.info, an innovative digital mapping tool that helps promote sustainable outdoor tourism in the region.
During the project, participating communities will receive destination capacity building support, including: development of consistent trail town branding and marketing guidelines for signage, wayfinding and more; as well as a Genesee Valley-wide digital trail mapping and management tool that better connects town assets with trail users. Trail Towns will bring enhancements like kiosks, signage, trailhead improvements, and public art that improve trail-to-town connectivity; and the development of strategies and tools to support new venture creation and municipal activities that advance outdoor recreation tourism.
Expected longer-term benefits include increased overnight stays and spending, which generate important bed and sales tax for counties as well as increased property values and investment, and improved rural infrastructure while protecting trail and natural assets.
Funding for this initiative comes from the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) and USDA Rural Business Development Grant Program. This funding and the Trail Town project are a direct outcome of the 18-month USDA Rural Economic Innovation Development (REDI) planning initiative LGV embarked on with 70 partners from across the five-county Genesee Valley Region in 2019-2020. This same group of partners, which includes organizations like the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway, the Genesee River Wilds, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, among others, will be an integral part of implementing the Trail Town initiative in 2021 and beyond.
Learn more about the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative here.
$750,000 for Rural Revitalization in the Genesee Valley
$750,000 is now available to support historic preservation in the rural communities of the Genesee Valley, thanks to the National Park Service’s Paul Bruhn Rural Revitalization Grant Program. Letchworth Gateway Villages (LGV), along with the Landmark Society of Western New York and the Rochester Area Community Foundation, contributed a portion of matching funds, securing this opportunity for the region. Local governments, non-profit and commercial property owners, and small businesses in the Genesee Valley are encouraged to apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to preserve the historic places that make our villages so special.
Since LGV won funding from the USDA for the Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) Initiative in 2019, the group has brought together a diverse network of 38 organizations across five counties, all with the common goal of establishing the Genesee Valley as a sustainable outdoor recreation and heritage tourism destination. The Valley is uniquely poised to become such a destination, with assets like Letchworth State Park, historic districts, and hundreds of miles of trails, but previously lacked the funding and regional collaboration to capitalize on this potential. It is through the work of LGV — and stakeholders like the Landmark Society and New York State Parks — that the rural Genesee Valley attracted new investment and funding opportunities, such as this grant.
The Genesee Valley Rural Revitalization Grant Program (GVRR) will award the funds, and applications will be available through the Landmark Society of Western New York in early-January 2021. Applications will be due March 31, 2021, for round 1 funding, and September 30, 2021, for the second. The Landmark Society is hosting an informational webinar on this opportunity at 3:30PM on Thursday, January 28, and repeating the same webinar at 12:00PM on Tuesday, February 9. You can register for the webinar at https://www.landmarksociety.org/GVRR; for more information on the grant program, contact Megan Klem, Preservation Planner, at mklem@landmarksociety.org.