Mayor Robert Corradino Announces NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

OSWEGO – Mayor Robert Corradino announces today, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released the final rule to designate Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario. The sanctuary recognizes the national significance of the area’s historical, archaeological, and cultural resources. The sanctuary includes a diversity of nationally significant underwater assets, including archaeological sites, shipwrecks, and submerged aircraft. Many of the shipwrecks in the sanctuary were discovered by recreational scuba divers and shipwreck explorers and embody more than two centuries of the nation’s modern history. NOAA will co-manage the sanctuary with the State of New York.

In January 2017, the counties of Jefferson, Wayne, Cayuga, and Oswego, and the City of Oswego, with support from the Governor of New York, submitted a nomination to NOAA asking to consider designating an area in eastern Lake Ontario waters as a national marine sanctuary to protect a nationally significant collection of historic shipwrecks. The nomination was endorsed by a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals at local, state, regional, and national levels. This included elected officials, businesses, museums, and environmental, recreational, conservation, tourism, and educational groups.

Eastern Lake Ontario is one of the most historically significant regions in the Great Lakes and the country. The area is home to a diverse array of important events in our Nation’s history, including military conflicts, maritime innovation, and growth of the young American republic.

The region has been critical to maritime trade and transportation for centuries, beginning with the canoes and boats of early Indigenous peoples. As the area is part of the ancestral territory for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. NOAA acknowledges these ancestral lands that lie within the boundaries of the sanctuary.

Mayor Corradino stated “the designation of a portion of Lake Ontario as a marine sanctuary is a huge opportunity not only for our community but for the region and the entire state of New York. It will provide recognition of our area’s historical and cultural significance along with promoting the tourism and recreation aspects of the area. The residents of Oswego are looking forward to the development of the sanctuary and to the people who will visit.”

The sanctuary designation will take effect following a review by the Governor of New York and Congress over a 45-day period. To learn more, please visit the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary website:[email protected]

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