Executive Director
Erik Miller holds a B. S. degree in geography from the State University of New York at Oneonta with a dual concentration in Urban and Regional Planning and Geographic Information Systems. He began his position as Director of Education and Planning at the Otsego County Conservation Association in January, 2006. Prior to that, he worked at the New York State Department of State as a land-use training specialist. In this capacity, he was ultimately responsible for providing statewide land-use technical assistance. Typical assistance included researching local laws, reviewing proposed regulations, and providing training on various land use issues. From 2001-2004, he was employed as a planner and then senior planner in the Otsego County Planning Department, where he served as staff to the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, consolidated agricultural districts and helped guide the 30-day inclusion period for farmers to join an agricultural district. He also participated in the Otsego County Water Quality Coordinating Committee and Grow Otsego!, a coalition whose mission is to ensure implementation of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan.

Assistant Director
Teresa Winchester holds a Ph.D. in French Literature, but her love of Otsego County's natural beauty led to her work with the Otsego County Conservation Association. In 1994, she was hired as OCCA's first paid staff for the position of coordinator. In 1998, she became executive director. During her tenure with OCCA, she has been instrumental in establishing OCCA's major initiatives: partnership with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service in carrying out barnyard water management projects in the Otsego Lake watershed (over 40 to date) and in western Otsego County (6 to date); partnership with the same agency in establishing the OCCA-funded position of riparian buffer technician to implement the Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program; partnership with the Otsego County Planning Department in Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day (HHWCD), for which OCCA funds registration staff and recruits essential volunteer help; publication of an area trails guide, Otsego Walks and Paddles, and organization of the first ever Otsego Lake Festival. In 1998, she managed a countywide tire collection as a part of the first annual HHWCD. She is the editor and principal writer of OCCA's newsletter, The Lookout, as well as of OCCA's other publications, opinion pieces, press releases, and letters to the editor. In 1997, she composed a model management plan for Otsego Lake, most of which was incorporated in the official plan, adopted in 1998. In 2005 she received an award for Environmental Excellence from the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society and in 2006 she received special recognition from the USDA-NRCS when she received the "Working in Harmony" Award.

Riparian Buffer Technician
Kelly Miller works for the Otsego County Conservation Association as a riparian (streamside) buffer technician. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science with an environmental planning concentration, as well as a bachelor's degree in geography. She previously interned with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where she worked on database creation, tracking and migration studies, and public outreach and education. While her current position is funded by OCCA, she works at the local USDA office with staff from the Farm Services Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This position was created to ensure greater local implementation of the Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program (CREP). CREP gives incentives for landowners to plant forest buffers, filter strips, or field borders along stream sides to serve as a pollution filter and control soil erosion, and prevent entry of sedimentation into waterways. Buffers are an inexpensive and effective way to reduce nutrient loading, improve soil quality, enhance wildlife habitat, protect stream banks, and promote scenic landscapes. Properly installed and maintained, they can remove 50 percent or more of nutrients and pesticides and 75 percent of sediment movement in farm fields. Under CREP, land is removed from crop production for a period of 10-15 years. The landowner receives annual rental payments and a maintenance fee per acre of land accepted into the program. Once planted, the vegetation should continue to provide environmental benefits for many years to come. The Otsego Lake watershed features 4,000 acres available for riparian buffer plantings the downstream Susquehanna River watershed features 365 acres. In January 2006, Miller held an informational workshop on CREP for local farmers or other interested landowners. Anyone interested in participating in CREP should contact Kelly Miller at 607-547-8337.