History, Natural History & the Arts
The North Sandy Pond barrier bar is part of the largest barrier-pond ecosystem on Lake Ontario’s New York shore. The barrier bar protects North Sandy Pond, as well as the homes and local businesses along its border.
The area suffered significant damage in 2017 and 2019, when historically high lake levels and intense wave action eroded the dunes along the barrier bar. [Read more…] about Flood Resiliency Projects in Oswego, Wayne Counties Completed
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a new series of recorded presentations on their website that focus on Lake Ontario fisheries science and management initiatives.
DEC will hold a virtual public meeting on December 2nd to provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions about the recorded presentations. [Read more…] about ‘State of Lake Ontario Fisheries’ Virtual Meeting & Video Series
When did homo sapiens arise? Maybe 2 million years ago?
Nobody really knows exactly when we became “human,” but most of the rocks on our Lake Ontario beaches are at least a hundred times older than our species.
This is what the geologists mean by “deep time.” [Read more…] about Deep Time: Lake Ontario’s Lucky Stones & Fossils
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a draft proposal for a national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. The proposed sanctuary designation celebrates Upstate New York’s unique maritime heritage and provides a national stage for promoting the region’s tourism and recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about Proposed National Marine Sanctuary Highlights Lake Ontario Maritime History
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is deploying two new pen-rearing projects for Atlantic salmon to begin this spring. In an effort to improve post-stocking survival and imprinting to the stocked water, experimental Atlantic salmon pen-rearing projects will be conducted in the Saranac River estuary in Lake Champlain and in the Salmon River in Lake Ontario. [Read more…] about Salmon Net Pen-Rearing Projects set for Lake Champlain, Ontario
Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, Sackets Harbor boasts a stellar history in the War of 1812, but this lake port holds a wealth of other fascinating stories.
After the War of 1812, Sackets Harbor nearly became a thriving lake port, but both the emerging railroads and canal systems quickly excluded the tiny village from ever becoming a Buffalo or Cleveland-size port. [Read more…] about Dancing On Logs: Pulp Wood At Sackets Harbor
New York’s Finger Lakes Region was well known to many Revolutionary War veterans as a place of both strife and potential. Strife because of conflict with Indigenous people, and great potential for lush productive farmland.
Soldiers witnessed both ends of the spectrum first-hand. [Read more…] about Colonial Canandaigua In War And Peace
The Northeast Motus Collaboration recently installed a Motus Wildlife Tracking Station on Lake Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
Located on the edge of Lake Ontario, this station is the first of five that are being installed on WMAs in New York this summer to track wildlife movement. [Read more…] about Tracking Animal Movement and Migration with Motus
2020 is off to a great start as far as state fishing records go in New York. Less than a month after a new white bass record was established, a new rock bass record was reeled in by one lucky young angler. [Read more…] about State Record Rock Bass Caught
Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario: A Journey of Discovery, a presentation by Great Lakes shipwreck explorer Jim Kennard, has been set for Thursday August 1st, 2019 at 6:30 pm, at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site.
Kennard’s presentation includes stories of long-lost shipwrecks and their underwater exploration. [Read more…] about Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario Talk At Sackets Harbor