Erie County Department of Parks implements many conservation and sustainability initiatives and practices throughout the entire park system, ranging from the type of equipment we use to our practices in the field.
Learn more about each approach, as well as our key partners in these efforts, below!
Buffalo River Area-of-Concern
The Buffalo River received the official designation of "Area of Concern" due to decades of industrial and run-off pollution impacting the sediment and water quality of the River. Erie County Parks owns and manages several park and habitat areas along the Buffalo River and works with key partners to implement remediation, recreation, living shoreline, and other improvements and outreach efforts for the public.
For more information on the habitats at the Buffalo River Natural Habitat Parks Check out this Nature Field Guide: habitat-park-field-guide-new-2024-update_final.pdf
Key Partner(s):
Erie County Department of Environment and Planning
NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Friends of Red Jacket Park
Focus Parks and Areas:
Thomas Higgins Natural Habitat Park
Invasive Species
Key Partner
Key Strategies:
- Manual and Chemical Treatment
- Citizen Science - Reporting and Monitoring
- Bootbrush Stations (learn more about bootbrush stations)
Environmental Education
Environmental Education is implemented mainly through our Park Ranger Public Programs, which are offered Winter, Spring, and Fall, and tabling events, which take place at Santa Land, Winter Fest, Maple Fest, and Fall Fest!
Customized programs can be requested for schools, scout groups, senior groups, and recreation clubs by submitting a Program Request Form.
For more information on upcoming public Park Ranger events and hikes, visit our Special Events page and follow our Social Media channels for program announcements!
In partnership with Buffalo Women of Environmental Learning and Leadership, we hosted our first Pollinator Festival in May 2025, where 150 attendees walked away with a better understanding of how to steward healthy habitats and purchased native plants to add to their garden.
Reducing Littering & Dumping
In conjunction with New York State Parks, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Beach Bucket Foundation, a pilot program kicked off in Western New York in July 2025 with 5-gallon buckets stationed at public beaches, including two Erie County beaches. Visitors at Bennett Beach and Wendt Beach can grab a bucket from the stations and pick up litter and washed-up debris, inspiring stewardship and discouraging beach littering.
In July 2025, Erie County outlawed dumping on County property. Find out where to properly dispose of items.
Conservation
We have installed one geothermal heat pump and have equipped a number of rentable buildings, offices, maintenance garages, and golf clubhouses with air-source heat pumps. We only have two remaining propane locations.
1,000 LED lights were installed across our parks in 2021, saving approximately $7,000 per year.
One of our two golf courses has implemented a water recycling system, used to clean mowers and equipment.
In 2021, Erie County installed low flow faucets across many of its buildings.
Climate-Friendly Initiatives
Most of the Erie County Parks Department climate-friendly initiatives are funded by the Erie County Green Team, an initiative of the Erie County Dept. of Environment and Planning.
Some recent climate-friendly projects have included the following:
- Purchase of electric equipment such as trimmers, mowers, and UTV's
- Purchase and installation of recycling bins at rentable buildings and visitor centers
- Installation of ten electric vehicle charging stations available to the public.
Natural Regeneration Area Program
Erie County Parks implemented a No/Low Mow and Natural Regeneration Area Program in 2022, in accordance with best practices in public parks across the country. This Program accomplishes several goals:
- Reduces carbon footprint by reducing use of mowers, trimmers, and other maintenance equipment;
- Encourages habitat growth by allowing grassland and meadow habitats to grow;
- Saves time and money by reducing the time and equipment used to mow areas not utilized for recreation and other needs.
To date, the No/Low Mow Program has proven successful in meeting all of its goals, and has been credited with encouraging the return of certain grassland/meadow species such as the Bobolink! Learn more about the Bobolink!
Look for "Natural Regeneration Area" stakes in the parks!
Wildflower Areas
In partnership with WNY PRISM, Erie County Parks has established a Wildflower Demonstration Project at Ellicott Creek Park. This project was, initially, intended to test seed mixes with the goal of implementing additional demonstrations and plantings throughout the Park system. To date, wildflowers are planted in many areas, often in conjunction with our Natural Regeneration Area Program.
Forestry Practices
Erie County Parks includes the Bureau of Forestry. The County Forester is responsible for management of almost 6,000 acres of public forest land, in addition to Habitat Parks throughout the County. In addition to forest management and invasive species treatment, reforestation is an important goal of the Bureau of Forestry, and tree plantings take place based on priority in the Fall and Spring. The Commemorative Tree Program is part of our larger effort to plant as many new trees in our Parks as possible, particularly as we battle the Emerald Ash Borer and address the devastating impacts of that pest.
Preservation
New fencing and signage was posted around sand dunes at Bennett Beach in July 2025, to protect the dunes and also public safety.
In 2020, Erie County Parks, Recreation & Forestry established a land donation policy that prioritizes protecting large spaces “when formulated on existing natural or potentially restorative natural features, including landforms containing native prairie, range land, riparian, wetland and aquatic habitat, headwaters and waterway protection, and/or significant geologic features. Open space areas that are either obstructed or unobstructed that provide cultural/historical resources and/or seasonal wildlife habitat, including grain fields, hedgerows, non-native mature trees that provide nesting or roosting habitat may be considered. Farm ponds within agricultural open space that provide wetland and riparian habitats are included in this category, if they are surrounded by additional land as described above.” Land added to the park system is protected by local law, which can be found at https://www3.erie.gov/law/erie-countys-parks-protection-law.
Public Transportation
For the last five years we have partnered with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority-Metro on their Parks Adventure Bus. This bus runs continuously on select Saturdays in the summer between the downtown station and pre-selected County and State Parks, roundtrip, for free. This initiative increases public access to parks while encouraging use of public transportation to reduce emissions.
Watershed Protection
The 10,000 acres of green space protected within the Erie County Parks system provides vegetative buffers for our local watershed. See which watershed each park is in below: 11x17_parks_and_subwatersheds-1.jpg
