Context
The Buffalo Niagara region’s bounty of natural resources includes two Great Lakes, the Niagara River and Niagara Falls, expansive farmland, the hills of the Southern Tier and an impressive network of green space, waterfront and parks. At the same time, the region faces many environmental challenges, including air, water and soil pollution and the difficult challenge in balancing growth and development with resource preservation.
What Environment Measures
The State of the Region attempts to measure Environmental health in the Buffalo Niagara region by examining the use, protection and quality of our natural resources and ecosystem. The project also assesses the success of our environmental programs and gauges the region’s environmental “culture.”
The Road Ahead
It is important to note that data for these indicators are often not current as a result of extensive quality control procedures, peer review and scarce resources. Also, regional indicators can measure only regional impacts and causes, not global or localized factors. Finally, for many purposes, Western New York and Southern Ontario should be considered a common ecosystem, but fragmentation of governing and reporting methods has made it difficult to form a comprehensive picture of the region's environment. The State of the Region believes that the region needs to continue to partner with state and national government as well as the private sector to improve and expand upon these meaningful measures of regional environmental health.
Environment Indicators - (Latest Indicator Updates)
2.1 Air Quality — 
(Jul 2005 )
Average ground level ozone in Western New York compared to national standard; inhalable particulate levels in Western New York compared to U.S. and New York State
2.2 Chemical Releases — (Nov 2000 )
Total releases of toxic substances to air, water and land in in Western New York
2.3 Stream and Lake Quality — (Feb 2005 )
Quality of major river basins in Western New York and affected uses (e.g., fishing and swimming)
2.4 Hazardous Waste Sites — (Nov 2000 )
Status of hazardous waste sites in New York State; distribution of total and unremediated hazardous waste sites in Western New York
2.5 Brownfields — (Nov 1999 )
Status of Western New York brownfields, including size, previous and potential uses, condition and value
2.6 Ecosystem Health — (Nov 1999 )
Population count of the bald eagle, an imperiled species, and two other birds common to the northeast in the Buffalo Niagara region
2.7 Endangered Lands — (Nov 1999 )
Acreage of wetlands in Western New York with permit applications, number of permits granted and approved mitigation projects; large wetlands as a percentage of total acreage in Western New York
2.8 Vehicle Miles Traveled — (Nov 2000 )
Per capita and percent-change in the number of miles traveled by all vehicles on major arteries in Western New York based on fuel usage, vehicle registrations and other factors
2.9 Recycling — (Feb 2005 )
Percent of reported waste recycled by individual Solid Waste Management Planning Units in Western New York
2.10 Radon — (Feb 2005 )
Average radon levels, percent of residences tested and potential for radon gas exposure in Western New York
2.11 Lead Exposure in Children — (Jul 2005 )
Proportion of children under age 2 in Western New York screened for lead exposure and percentage of screened children with elevated lead levels; 25 worst zip codes in New York State (excluding New York City) for incidence rate of elevated lead levels
Progress Over Time