WM
Mill Seat Landfill
Riga, New York, United States
Certified Gold through 2026
Project Name
Project Type
Nest Box program
Avian
RIT Wetlands Ecology - Research and Education
Formal Learning
About the Program
WM's Mill Seat Landfill is a 385-acre site located in a rural part of Monroe County, in Bergen, New York. The facility operates a municipal waste landfill and also includes a variety of habitat types such as upland deciduous forest, upland herbaceous meadows, shrub lands and wetlands. The team actively manages about 85 acres for wildlife habitat.
Practices and Impacts
- Fifty songbird nest boxes were constructed and installed on-site. The nest boxes are monitored weekly during the breeding season, and the data is submitted to Cornell University’s NestWatch Program. Species utilizing the boxes include eastern bluebirds and tree swallows.
- There are three mitigation wetlands on-site. The team partnered with Rochester Institute of Technology to plant native species including silky dogwood and buttonbush and to perform vegetation monitoring. The wetlands provide a living laboratory for the students to conduct research on wetland management techniques.
- There is a formal learning project that provides the opportunity to graduate students to assist with the wetland projects.
