Editorial — Watery haven: Feds advance Lake Ontario Marine Sanctuary designation

But at the same time, the notion of adding another layer of bureaucracy isn’t welcomed by everyone. Those who make decisions about what can occur within such an area are often far removed from where its sited and may not fully understand how their regulations affect people in surrounding communities.

In 2017, then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo requested the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration create a national marine sanctuary encompassing the eastern portion of Lake Ontario. This was done in conjunction with representatives of Cayuga, Jefferson, Oswego and Wayne counties as well as the city of Oswego.

The primary goal was to protect a collection of shipwrecks contained within the proposed area. This would be the third Great Lake sanctuary and the 16th National Marine Sanctuary.

“NOAA was considering two possible boundaries for the Lake Ontario proposed sanctuary,” according to a story published Jan. 22 by the Watertown Daily Times. “The sanctuary, it says, would ‘provide a national stage for promoting tourism and recreation.’ NOAA would also ‘provide opportunities for people to learn about and explore the maritime landscape above and beneath the waves.’ The Alternative 1 boundary encompassed a portion of eastern Lake Ontario and a segment of the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River, while Alternative 2, which will advance, only encompasses the same portion of eastern Lake Ontario.

“The proposed sanctuary boundary would border Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, and Jefferson counties. The proposed boundary is a 1,724 square-mile area containing 43 known shipwrecks, including the historic 135-foot, three-masted schooner St. Peter, and one aircraft,” the article reported. “NOAA’s proposal does not include restrictions to shipping. NOAA would exclude the ports and harbors of Oswego, Pultneyville, Little Sodus, Great Sodus and Port Ontario from the boundary of the sanctuary.”

NOAA released its nearly 200-page Proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Management Plan in 2021. The notice of proposed rulemaking recently issued by NOAA on this designated area does not include any portion of the St. Lawrence River.

The public comment period will go through March 20. A series of public hearings will be held to allow members of the public to comment on the proposal. Visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/ for more information on upcoming meetings.

NOAA outlined its rationale for this national marine sanctuary on its website:

“These maritime heritage resources represent events spanning more than 200 years of our nation’s history. Based on historical records, an additional 20 shipwrecks, three aircraft and several other underwater archaeological sites may be located there. [More than] 1,000 years ago, the distinct cultural groups living along Lake Ontario had unified as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Portions of the original homelands of the Onondaga Nation, Cayuga Nation, Seneca Nation, and Oneida Nation lie within the proposed boundaries of the sanctuary.”

According to its information, NOAA would undertake the following by creating this site:

■ Manage the sanctuary through a regulatory and non-regulatory framework;

■ Document, explore, and monitor the sanctuary’s resources;

■ Provide interpretation of the sanctuary’s cultural, historical, and educational value to the public; and

■ Provide a national stage for promoting heritage tourism and recreation.

These regulations would be enacted under this designation:

■ Prohibit moving, removing, recovering, altering, destroying, possessing or otherwise injuring a sanctuary resource;

■ Prohibit possessing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, importing, exporting, exchanging, delivering, carrying, transporting, or shipping by any means any sanctuary resource within or outside of the sanctuary;

■ Prohibit grappling or anchoring on shipwreck sites;

■ Prohibit deploying tethered underwater mobile systems at shipwreck sites without a permit; and

■ Prohibit interfering with an investigation.

There are certainly worthwhile opportunities by creating the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary. But this also would entail new restrictions.

There is a lot to consider with this proposal. We urge residents to participate in the process by familiarizing themselves with the plan and expressing their views on it during the comment period and at the local meetings.