OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County welcomes the public to join the celebration of Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary! Festivities run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 at the Cahill Pier Park just off Lake Street in Oswego.
The event begins with a designation and ribbon-cutting ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon. The U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) color guard will open the celebration while a live performance of the national anthem plays. A panel of distinguished speakers from federal, state and local governments will then take the podium.
Following the ceremony, people can enjoy a community fair along the pier. There will be visitor information for Oswego County and City, as well as Wayne, Cayuga and Jefferson counties – the five-member partnership that worked with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and New York State to bring this designation to life.
NOAA and the USCG will also have presentations and displays, including a virtual reality dive on a Lake Ontario shipwreck. Attendees can learn about local history, weather and natural resources such as the region’s deep maritime heritage, all while watching water cannons in the harbor and listening to a DJ spin the latest hits. For a charge, boat trips to the West Pierhead Lighthouse are also available.
After more than a decade of work and research between NOAA, state and regional partners, the federal agency announced in June the designation of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary as its 16th sanctuary in a system of underwater parks that encompasses 620,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters.
The designation recognizes Lake Ontario as a truly unique and incredible resource – from its early history as a primary maritime trade and transportation route, to its strategic position during times of conflict in the colonial period, to its vital role as the gateway to upper lake trade, westward migration and the development of the U.S. interior.
One of the most historically significant regions in the Great Lakes and North America, Lake Ontario is home to many nationally significant shipwrecks and at least one known aircraft. These include the St. Peter, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the David W. Mills, New York State’s only Submerged Cultural Preserve and Dive Site in its Great Lakes.
The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary is designed to enhance public access and activities on the lake. There are no new restrictions on sportfishing, scuba diving, boating, water quality, commercial shipping or dredging.
To learn more about the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary, go to http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.
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