Others said development too close to the creek bank, or rip-rapping areas instead of allowing for natural flood-plains only exacerbate problems.

More contemporary problems also loom over the creek's corridor.

National Fuel's proposed Northern Access Pipeline is one. The pipeline cuts through the watershed. The DEC rejected plans for the pipeline earlier this month on grounds it didn't comply with water quality standards. The company is appealing.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to lower the Scoby Dam in Springville. Although plans call for fish ramps to be installed that would bar passage of sea lamprey, some fear the invasive parasite could conquer areas of the upper Cattaraugus Creek and its miles of tributaries.

And the West Valley Demonstration Project, a nuclear waste site that sits in the creek's watershed upstream of Springville, isn't going away.

The work group largely steered clear of those issues, instead choosing to stake out a general path for launching an ecosystem-based management pilot project for the entirety of Cattaraugus Creek's watershed.