Presentations on diving in Lake Erie, its shipwrecks and the War of 1812 are the highlights of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Blue Byway Seminar April 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clarion Conference Center and Marina in Dunkirk, N.Y.

The $50 admission includes lunch. Walk-ins, as space allows, are $65 each. Register online or call (315) 646-1000 Ext. 203. Preregistration is requested by April 10.

Freediver Sam Genco will talk about the variety of diving, snorkeling and freediving adventures available on Lake Erie, a central part of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail region along 518 miles of freshwater shoreline in New York and Pennsylvania. He is a U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain and a former captain with Osprey Charters of Barcelona, N.Y.

Other presenters:

Erie Maritime Museum eucation pograms cordinator Linda Bolla will speak on “The Fabric of Time: Two Iconic Flags from the War of 1812,” and living history programming coordinator and U.S. Brig Niagara volunteer Ed Bolla will talk about the Battle of Lake Erie and the building of Perry’s Fleet at Erie;

Underwater explorer Jim Kennard on his discovery of the HMS Ontario, a 22-gun sloop that sank in Lake Ontario in 1780, and National Weather Service forecaster Robert Hamilton on historic weather conditions that influenced the wreck of the Ontario;

Historical archaeologist Dr. Douglas J. Pippin of the State University of New York at Oswego, with details on ship building at the British-held Fort Haldimand on Carleton Island in upstate New York;

New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism specialist Dave White on tools and apps for boaters, canoeists and kayakers based on the Great Lakes Observing System;

St. Lawrence River charter captain Jeff Garnsey on his grandfather, a rumrunner during Prohibition.

Volunteer to help the Audubon Center & Sanctuary in Jamestown, N.Y., clean up its grounds April 20 for another season of activities.

Volunteers can choose their work crew activity: to pull non-native plants, plant native seeds and shrubs, spruce up the gardens, pick up trash as part and possibly more.

Work will go on rain or shine, so dress for the weather and pack work gloves if you have them. Lunch will be provided to all volunteers.

Reservations are required by April 17 (call 716-569-2345 after that date).

Registration April 20 runs from 8:30-9 a.m., when work crews will be selected. Work goes from 9:30 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch and prizes.

More than 80 people turned out for the first Volunteer Day in 2012.

Learn about the state of Lake Erie during a free public meeting April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Southtowns Walleye Association club house, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, NY., about 90 minutes from Erie on Interstate 90.

The meeting is put on by New York Sea Grant, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York state Assemblyman Sean Ryan and the Southtowns Walleye Association.

Presentations will address the status of the warmwater fish community, with NYSDEC Lake Erie Unit leader Don Einhouse; status of the coldwater fish Ccmmunity, with NYSDEC Senior Fishery Biologist Jim Markham; the New Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, with Dr. Christopher Pennuto of Buffalo State College; and a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program update from fishery biologist Denise L. Clay.

For information, call New York Sea Grant Coastal Education Specialist Helen Domske at (716) 645-3610.

Peek’n Peak got 16 inches of fresh snow over a 24-hour period late this week and has 27 trails, five lifts and the terrain parks open for business.

In fact, it’s good news from the Skiing Weatherman for all of New York’s ski resorts.

Think the winter ski season is over? Think again, says Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman. Peek’n Peak and the other western New York resorts are at or near full operation.

Join Evergreen Outfitters for its final snowshoe hike of the winter March at 10 a.m. on the Overland Trail near Panama, N.Y.

Meet at Evergreen Outfitters, 4845 Route 474, Ashville, NY — about 50 minutes from Erie — and carpool to the Panama trailhead off Route 474. Hikers will heard northwest for about an hour, then turn around and hike back to the parking area.

Cost is $15 for those who need to rent snowshoes and poles, and $5 for those who have their own equipment. Reservations are required; call (716) 763-2266.

Wednesday’s lake-effect snow might not have been great news for those with long driveways to shovel, but skiers and resorts in western New York have plenty of reason to be excited.

Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, drops in with great forecasts for Peek’n Peak, Holiday Valley, Swain, HoliMont and elsewhere in his weekly video report:

Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, advises that conditions at Peek’n Peak and Swain should be “fantastic” this weekend, and that Holiday Valley conditions will be “superb.” Saturday is the Boarding for Breast Cancer Board-a-thon at Holiday Valley as well.

The New York State Ice Pro-Am Series ice-fishing tournament scheduled for Friday through Sunday on Chautauqua Lake has been canceled.

Series officials said they talked with Chautauqua County tourism, visitors bureau and law enforcement officials and unanimously decided to cancel the event because of ice conditions deemed unsafe.

The statement from the NYS Ice Pro-Am Series: “We need a solid 4 (inches) of safe ice across the entire waterway we are fishing, which is not found on Chautauqua Lake at this point. There are fishable areas with up to 6 (inches) of ice, but it would be impossible for us to safely outline each area for our anglers. The current temperature forecast is also not conducive to enough ice building, and will likely just maintain the current ice in place.”

Registered teams were to be contacted about their options.

Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, filed his weekend forecast for the New York resorts ahead of a forecast storm that could make conditions optimal for the state’s slopes. Peek’n Peak is likely to get moderate fresh snowfall and Holiday Valley and HoliMont will get boosts in an already snowy week.