HomeMy WebLinkAbout060624 Great news from NOAA - Final rule for the designation of Lake Ontario National Marine SanctuaryALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Greetings,
Today, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries released the final rule <https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-11982> 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 (Onondaga Nation, Cayuga Nation, Seneca Nation,
and Oneida Nation), NOAA acknowledges these ancestral lands that lie within the boundaries of the sanctuary.
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 <https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/> .
Sincerely,
Sage
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Sage Riddick
National Advisory Council Coordinator
Protected Area Policy Division
NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Contractor with Cardinal Point Captains, Inc.
she/her/hers | (240) 560-3365
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Best,
Chris Butler-Minor (she/her)
Community Engagement Specialist
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary <https://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/>
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Chris.ButlerMinor@noaa.gov <mailto:chris.butlerminor@noaa.gov> | 360-406-2079
<https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/earthisblue/earth-is-blue-logo-shadow.png> “Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, it touches you with every breath you take, every
drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.” Dr. Sylvia Earle