Alliance launched to promote Erie Canal communities

A new umbrella organization to help regional Erie Canal communities foster tourism, promote historic resources and enhance their canal-side districts was launched in the Village of Brockport.

Called the Western Erie Canal Alliance, the new non-profit will serve as a clearing house for information about canal communities and hopefully a funding source for enhancing canal storefronts and attracting new commercial ventures to these historic areas. The Alliance is the outgrowth of years of planning, involving more than 300 public meetings and the development of the Western Erie Canal Heritage Corridor Management Plan.

At the Alliance's first meeting on March 28, an initial board of directors was ratified, the by-laws approved and officers elected. The new Alliance board members have all been active with Erie Canal initiatives, many serving on the Western Erie Canal Heritage Corridor Planning Commission that shaped the management plan. The board of directors includes at least two representatives from each county in its five-county region.

At the Brockport meeting, the new regional Alliance was welcomed by its national counterpart, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission, which introduced a similar management plan last year.

People interested in the Alliance's efforts or in volunteering to work on Erie Canal initiatives should call the Alliance at 585-546-7029 ext. 32.

April 9, 2006