In this 2017 file photo, high winds create big wave along the break wall on Ontario Lake in Oswego. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week designated a large swath of eastern Lake Ontario as a national marine sanctuary, the first in New York, that will boost tourism in the region. SYR The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week designated a 1,722-square-mile area in eastern Lake Ontario as America’s 16th national marine sanctuary, essentially creating a vast underwater park extending from the mouth of the St.
Lawrence River to west of Rochester. The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary is the first such sanctuary in New York, and only the third in the Great Lakes region. It encompasses waters adjacent to Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga and Wayne counties.
The federal designation will not interfere with existing commercial and recreational activities on the lake, nor impose limits on those who own homes or camps along the shoreline. But the sanctuary would make it a federal crime to disturb submerged artifacts. “This designation will preserve Lake Ontario’s historic shipwrecks, boost tourism and protect our beautiful waterways for generations to come,” Senator Chuck Schumer said in a press release.
The waters and coastal communities of eastern Lake Ontario tell a story that begins with early Indigenous settlements and trade routes and continues through the era of European colonization. The area later supported the growth of the youn.
