Protect the St. Lawrence River!
Stop Destructive Water Levels Management on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario!
Since the completion of the Moses-Saunders hydropower dam 50 years ago, the ecosystem of the St. Lawrence River has suffered consistent losses to its globally significant biodiversity due to unnatural and damaging water levels regulation. Since the dam was completed, water levels have been artificially constrained causing a loss of biodiversity in coastal wetlands and significant impacts to many fish species and nesting water birds.
Scientists estimate that up to 80% of the critical wetland habitat in the region has been destroyed or significantly damaged because of the current water levels management plan.
We need your voice to let the International Joint Commission (IJC) know that a damaging management plan is unacceptable for the River and Lake. The IJC has a responsibility to implement a sustainable water levels management plan that will protect and restore the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes for generations to come.
Stop Destructive Water Levels Management on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario!
Since the completion of the Moses-Saunders hydropower dam 50 years ago, the ecosystem of the St. Lawrence River has suffered consistent losses to its globally significant biodiversity due to unnatural and damaging water levels regulation. Since the dam was completed, water levels have been artificially constrained causing a loss of biodiversity in coastal wetlands and significant impacts to many fish species and nesting water birds.
Scientists estimate that up to 80% of the critical wetland habitat in the region has been destroyed or significantly damaged because of the current water levels management plan.
We need your voice to let the International Joint Commission (IJC) know that a damaging management plan is unacceptable for the River and Lake. The IJC has a responsibility to implement a sustainable water levels management plan that will protect and restore the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes for generations to come.
We the undersigned call on the International Joint Commission (IJC) to protect the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario by implementing Plan B and restoring natural water levels fluctuation to the River and Lake.
For fifty years, the ecosystem of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario has suffered consistent losses to its globally significant biodiversity due to unnatural and damaging water levels regulation. These losses were recently quantified in the IJC%u2019s own 5-year, $20 million study. Scientists involved in that study have estimated that up to 80% of the critical wetland habitat in the region has been destroyed or significantly damaged. This study also identified a clear path forward %u2013 Plan B . This plan was endorsed by a majority of the scientists involved in the study as well as residents and elected officials from throughout the North Country. It would be irresponsible of the IJC to ignore the results of a multi-million dollar, scientifically-based study process and to disregard needs of the regional ecosystem.
We urge the IJC to make the responsible decision and select Plan B . For too long, the River environment has suffered at the expense of a few narrow interests. This one action, selecting Plan B , will have a direct positive impact on the ecosystem of the River and Lakes. The IJC has the opportunity as well as an obligation to take action to restore Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, one of North America%u2019s greatest River systems.
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It's where we live! We love nature!
Because I am deeply concerned about the horrible conditions that exist within the river. Please, if you have any love for the environment or the State of New York, sign this petition. Pierno For Progress '08
May family has enjoyed the river since the 1800s and I want them to continue enjoying it well into the 21st century.
I fully support the Save The River organization, mostly due to the fact that if the seaway were to be expanded, it would cause an island that my grandfather used to own to possibly have to be destroyed, as it somewhat sticks out into the river.
I keep my boat at Hutchisons on Bethune Street. It is a 36 ft Sea Ray. We live on the boat every weekend from MAy 1 until mid October. Boating season is short enough as is , but now we don't dare go many places in late summer and certainly not in the fall. This is rediculous .
The St. Lawrence River is the most important place in the world to me; I can trace the outline of the opposite bank in my mind from six hours away in the dead of winter. It has brought generations of my family together year after year, and represents all that this world has to offer us if we will care for it. We need to protect the river for those who are yet to come, so that they can know the true power and the beauty of the natural world.
I am a lifelong resident of Lake Ontario's shoreline. As the author of "The Secret Ever Keeps," (Kunati Inc, 2007), a novel set on the lake at the mouth of the Little Salmon River at Mexico Point, I can categorically state that if modern low water conditions had existed during Prohibition, my story would have been impossible to write.
I am a property owner on Sandy Pond. The lake level caused me to lose use of my dock and boats August 1 2007. That is 7 weeks early. That certainly takes away the attactiveness of the property. WHICH SHOULD LOWER THE AMOUNT OF TAXES CHARGED !
I would like to enjoy the River in the years to come as in the years passed and give my children the same opportunity to do the same. The ecosystem needs to be carefully protected and I believe the regulation of the water levels is damaging and risking the future of the river.
As a Charter Captain operating out of Mexico Bay the low water levels in the fall has created a situation where navigating out to the lake is like negotiating a mine field. Several of the larger boats have already moved to areas that are not as affected by the low water levels as we are.
The St. Lawrence River is one of the most treasured waterways in North America, indeed the world, and as such I support the strongest measures to protect its natural integrity.
This issue impacts us directly as we live on the St. Lawrence River in a cove area that is completely unusable from Sept on because of the lack of water at our dock. We have had to put our boat up early for the last three years.
Our small, cable-operated Township Ferry was almost out of service this year because of low water levels making it difficult for islanders to get to the mainland. Shoreline marshes here are being dried up by low water levels. Shore wells are running dry.
As a cottage owner on Grenell Island in the town of Clayton NY, I am concerned of the impact to wildlife, nature and the navigable waters in the Thousand Islands region. The low water levels of 2007 affected many who rely on sufficient water depths to maintain their ability to carry on with life on an island. Many of these seasonal residents were forced to conclude their seasonal stay at their cottages and camps due to these low water levels.
Being a summer resident and relieing on the water level to allow us to boat to our island, we are very concerned about where the water is going.
I grew up in Alex Bay and intend to retire there someday. I want the River to be there as it has always been when that time comes. People along there rely heavily on the River for employment opportunities and their livelyhoods. The needs of others who don't even live there shouldn't outway the needs of the people who live in that area.
I've been going to "The River" all my life to spend as much time as possible during the short summers. It's the 8th wonder of the world and if you don't think so, you have never been there. "The River" is always the center of attention and it needs everyones positive focus to be preserved
Harry Wall
We can not just go on changing the environment around us. Sometimes as hard as it may be to admit this human beings need to do what is best for the planet and not ourselves.
I grew up in Fishers Landing, NY directly on the St. Lawrence River. My parents still own my childhood home. I spend as much time as possible there in the summer. It is important that my children are able to experience the natural beauty that my whole family has grown up with. Jumping off the dock, catching the big bass of the summer - all linked to the water levels.
