About

Friends of the Kayaderosseras was established to protect the Kayaderosseras creek and its watershed for purposes of conservation, education, and recreation. Our mission is to promote awareness, appreciation and action to protect the creek, its tributaries and its watershed both as a habitat for wildlife and as an inspiring resource for residents and visitors in surrounding communities. This awareness should include cultivating an appreciation of the history of the creek as experienced by diverse peoples (including, for example, the indigenous peoples whose given name the creek continues to bear, the laborers in the mill-powered Civil War-era industrial complexes along the creek, and the legal plaintiffs seeking relief from upstream pollutants), how the creeks, wildlife and associated landscapes have changed over time, and how actions in the present-day incarnations of surrounding communities (neighbors, villages, towns, and the capital region) determine the near-future of this marvelous resource. Stakeholders – past, present and future – may approach the creek with perspectives informed by their economic circumstances, cultural traditions, ethnicity, gender, physical capabilities, and philosophies. The desired outcomes from Friends of the Kayaderosseras should include a variety of individuals actualizing a sense of responsibility and purpose as it relates to the creek. Our goal is that anyone should be able to discover both elements of themselves and the unfamiliar in this natural setting, that everyone feels both motivated and empowered to take responsibility for the creek, and that we collaborate to help one another navigate any obstacles to that participation.

Goals

  1. Partnership: Work with other groups, watershed landowners and users of the Kaydeross in both the public and private sectors in partnership to promote public access for low-impact recreational uses of the creek.
  2. Conservation: Improve water quality and aquatic habitat by reducing erosion and sedimentation, pollution, and littering within the watershed.
  3. Stewardship: Foster a sense of individual and municipal stewardship for this valuable natural resource through education, communication, and program coordination.

Members

Officers

President: Joe Acee
Vice President : Todd Duthaler
Secretary: Barb Thomas
Treasurer: Andrew Sheridan

Committee Chairpersons

Recreational Access: Eric Anderson
Administration Services: Tim Walz
Communications: Kate Gawrys
Conservation: Josh Ness
Education and Outreach: Julie McDonough

Park Stewards

Boice Family Park: Loren Grimm
Gray’s Crossing: Richard Bashant
Driscoll Road Landing: Ron Leveille
Kelley Park: Mike Tower
Cottrell-Harrington Park: Margaret Kinosian
Blodgett Park: Dave Guarino
Axe Factory Preserve: Eric Andersen

Board Member Bios

President: Joe Acee

Vice President : Todd Duthaler

Secretary: Barb Thomas

Treasurer: Andrew Sheridan

Recreational Access: Eric Anderson

Administration Services: Tim Walz

Living in Ballston Spa since 2004, my family and I have called the same house our home for nearly two decades. I am a Navy veteran currently employed at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in West Milton. Over the years, we’ve found both active and passive enjoyment of the Kayaderosseras and I recently deepened my commitment to this organization by joining the FOK Board in 2023.

Communications: Kate Gawrys

Conservation: Josh Ness

Education and Outreach: Julie McDonough

I have been a resident of Saratoga Springs since 1982, and an active business person in various marketing & tourism roles over the years. My support for preserving the Kayaderosseras grew from first learning of the incredible power it created to fuel the successful factory’s that built this county’s economic success and quality of life in New York State. By giving quality of life back to the Kayaderosseras, I feel we can truly continue our mission to be a modern society.