Gill Creek is a highly impaired waterway that flows through many neighborhoods and public parks.
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is proud to continue to focus on the Gill Creek corridor as a priority location to apply our projects and programs. We aim to restore the creek to a safe, healthy, and fun community waterway.
Master Plan
In 2021, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper invested in drafting a preliminary master plan for the Gill Creek Corridor. A master plan is an overall framework that outlines the basic strategies for achieving holistic waterway revitalization. The main strategies identified in the draft Gill Creek master plan include:
- the design and implementation of several living shoreline restoration projects along Gill Creek and Hyde Park Lake;
- improved golf course management practices that reduce fossil fuel, nutrient, and chemical inputs;
- targeted community outreach and education about water-smart landscape practices and fostering stewardship of restored areas; and
- improved connectivity and access to surrounding regional assets and trail systems.
The draft of the master plan captures a rough blueprint as prescribed by BNW and relevant planning efforts previously completed for this geography.
However, additional input from local community groups and stakeholders is critical to ensure the scope of work outlined in the plan reflects the needs of those that reside and recreate along this waterway and is aligned with the priorities of the current municipal leaders and residents.
