A lot of BassFans remember the dark days of the Great Lakes. You know – orange water, rivers that caught fire, crashed (even extirpated) fish populations.
Although the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 improved conditions almost immediately, significant pollution – even outright chemical dumping – continued, albeit under check. The laws were strengthened in 1977 with an amended law that came to be known as the Clean Water Act.
Most source-point pollution is now under control, but the generation that inherits today's Great Lakes inherits a changed ecosystem. Pollutants persist and many fish species carry an eating advisory. Invasive species change food chains in the blink of an eye. Agricultural and urban runoff affects water quality. And alongside that, anglers still contend with limited lake access and dilapidated public facilities.
Tournament fishing is helping to change that. Major bass and walleye tournaments out of the eastern Great Lakes, from the Detroit River, to Cleveland, Buffalo, and the St. Lawrence River, have brought renewed national attention to the re-energized fisheries.
Lake Erie receives the bulk of national bass and walleye events – likely due to its proximity to major cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo, and its booming smallmouth and walleye populations. Smallmouth bass, certainly, have helped lead Lake Erie into the new century.
But don't forget about Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River – bass and walleye factories as well.
The bitter truth Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence have faced for the past 2 decades, though, is they're the effective end-point of Great Lakes pollution. Erie, a predominantly shallow lake, cleans itself fairly quickly. Ontario, on the other hand, stretches to 800-foot depths, where pollutants often settle and persist.
Erie also didn't receive the concentrated pollution from the Niagara Falls chemical industry along the Niagara River. That fate was reserved for Ontario.
After a century of setbacks for Great Lakes water quality, the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in 2006 was awarded $12 million to help offset pollution damages to the Niagara, Lake Ontario, and St. Lawrence sportfisheries. Although it might seem a minor sum in the face of such extensive pollution, it was a critical victory nonetheless.
The settlement was in fact the end of a two-plus-decade suit involving the Love Canal environmental disaster in Niagara Falls – specifically, its impact on fisheries in the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River.
And after a year of public comment and recommendation, the DEC last week unveiled its plans for the $12 million award. The good news for anglers is the entire $12 million, as stipulated in the original settlement, will go toward improving fishing, and fishing access, along the New York portion of the waterways.
The Background
Niagara Falls was the site of several environmental disasters, the most notable of which was Love Canal – a story that has reached near mythical status in America's environmental lexicon. It was there that Hooker Chemical (and other companies) legally buried more than 20,000 tons of toxic waste.
Niagara Falls officials later purchased the land from Hooker for $1, with the full, written knowledge that it harbored chemical waste, then built a school on top of the dump, and allowed several housing developments to be built there as well.
Love Canal accompanied the dark news of what lay buried at Hooker's other dump site – Hyde Park, likewise located in Niagara Falls and adjacent to the Niagara River.
When the truth (or "ooze") came to light starting in 1978, it sparked a new era in the effort for cleaner land, air and water. It also focused attention on what chemicals, if any, had found their way into the drinking water and fish of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.
The Love Canal disaster, in Niagara Falls, helped spark a new era in the quest to combat pollution.
Contaminants remain a concern for sport anglers nationwide, and recent eating advisories issued by the New York State Dept. of Health for Lake Ontario sport-caught fish still list PCBs, Mirex, and Dioxin as potential fish contaminants.
New York State filed suit against Occidental Chemical Corp., owner of Hooker, in 1983. The suit addressed damages to the fishery caused by the discharge of dangerous chemicals from the company's main plant in Niagara Falls and from other facilities either owned or operated by Occidental.
The suit was finally settled 23 years later in 2006, when Occidental was ordered to pay $12 million to help mitigate the damage to sportfisheries. The $12 million resolution remains one of the largest in the nation for a natural-resources damages claim based on recreational-fishing losses.
In the time since the damages were awarded, the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), as a trustee of New York's natural resources, has involved itself with the task of apportioning the moneys to affected counties along the shores of the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence.
After a long period of public comment and recommendation, the DEC last week unveiled its final list of sportfishery improvement projects earmarked under the $12 million settlement. From all accounts, they're darn good ones. And while bass anglers might not see projects specifically aimed at their target species, the massive improvements to public launches – plus expanded parking and refurbished facilities – are a windfall.
Access, Hatcheries, More
The DEC began soliciting ideas for the spending plan in early 2007 through a series of public meetings across the Lake Ontario region. Approximately 150 proposals were considered and 77 were advanced to a panel that scored the ideas. Of those, 42 were selected: 25 to improve access, 14 to enhance habitat and resources, and three to promote fishing in the region.
Projects stretch along the New York portion of Lake Ontario from Niagara to St. Lawrence counties.
DEC commissioner Pete Grannis, who three decades ago came to Niagara Falls as a New York State assemblyman to help investigate the Love Canal disaster, unveiled the revitalization plan. He said: "These projects will reconnect New Yorkers to fishing spots old and new, and boost their catch, while improving the health of the Lake Ontario fishery. It's good news for the fish. It's good news for anglers. And it's good news for the communities in the Lake Ontario region."
Bill Hilts, Jr., an outdoor sports specialist with Niagara County Tourism, told BassFan that the selected projects represent a "wish list" for fisheries managers. In other words, they're those projects dearest to the hearts of anglers and fisheries managers that were either shelved or abandoned due to lack of funding.
"The Occidental settlement was that special fund that would allow these projects to come to fruition," Hilts said.
What follows are highlights of projects to be funded using the $12 million settlement. Note some of the dollar figures, such as the $300,000 to improve fisheries outreach and education at the Niagara Falls Aquarium.
Niagara County
Oswego County
Rochester Area
County). The creek, which supports a significant population of trout and salmon, has been severely damaged by storms over the years. The result is increased silt deposits, loss of fish habitat and impaired angler access. Among other things, the project would concentrate on renovating five sites within Powder Mills Park. ($250,500)
Other Projects