Habitat Restoration is Key to a Healthy and Sustainable Onondaga Lake
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the draft Onondaga Lake Habitat Restoration Plan for public review. The Habitat Plan includes new wetlands, shoreline improvements, and a robust habitat layer for the bottom of the lake where remediation is required.
Honeywell continues to make great strides toward achieving the community’s vision of a restored Onondaga Lake with the development of the Habitat Plan. It is the result of extensive work by a team of national and local experts with input from those who use and care about the lake. The plan must be approved by DEC following public comment.
 Cardinal Flower |
 Mallard |
The Habitat Plan builds on progress at sites in the lake’s watershed to ensure a comprehensive approach to the restoration of Onondaga Lake. When completed, the various projects will create rich wetlands along the lake’s southern shoreline, provide diverse habitat and increase public access.
These lake-sustaining projects include:
 Twelve thousand newly-planted trees and native plants now thriving in restored wetlands around the former Linden Chemicals and Plastic Company in Geddes. |
 More than 100,000 new plants are growing on a Shrub Willow Farm, on the former Solvay basins, creating a sustainable and effective cover while increasing biodiversity and creating a source of biofuels for the region. |
Plans for new diverse wetlands along Geddes Brook and Nine Mile Creek will ensure an increase in wildlife and recreation opportunities.
Onondaga Lake continues to show progress toward returning to the thriving and dynamic natural resource and community asset that it once was. This comprehensive habitat restoration plan is another important step in that vision.
What Makes A Great Habitat?
Habitat is the physical and biological surroundings that make up the natural environment of an organism. It is the area where plants and animals normally live, grow, feed, and reproduce, for a portion of their life cycles. These surroundings provide fish, birds, mammals, and other organisms with the necessary elements for life, such as space, food, water, and shelter.
The Onondaga Lake Habitat Restoration plan successfully addresses the complexities of creating, maintaining or improving the quality and diversity of habitats while promoting public access and recreation. Habitat restoration is an integral component of the Onondaga Lake remedy and, in fact, is one of the cleanup’s most significant elements.
 Great Blue Heron |
 Osprey |
Improved Fishing Access and Additional Wetlands
The Habitat Plan provides a comprehensive approach to restoring habitat in and around the lake. The design respects natural processes and conditions to create suitable habitat for various species while allowing for public access to the lake and surrounding areas.
Northern Pike
Key plan benefits:
- Providing deep water near shore for improved fishing access
- Increasing the size and diversity of shoreline wetlands
- Creating conditions suitable for a variety of native species
- Discouraging the establishment of invasive species
- Promoting pike spawning in adjacent wetland areas
- Providing suitable conditions for transient cold water fish and game fish, like brown trout and bass
- Establishing habitats that are currently lacking in the lake, like floating aquatic plants
Habitat Plan Identifies Wide Range of Species
The Habitat Plan identifies representative species from groups of fish, plants, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds whose habitat requirements were used to guide the restoration designs.
Each species represents a larger group that share similar habitat requirements. For instance, the semi-palmated sand piper represents shore birds that would share similar habitats and needs for survival.
 Fish |
 Mammals |
 Birds |
 Aquatic Plants |
 Amphibians/Reptiles |
Each wetland species has habitat requirements, including water depth, wave energy, structure and vegetation cover, rooting or burrowing depth, and/or water quality.
The habitat designs were developed using many different criteria, including the integration of habitat needs with the dredging and capping cleanup plan selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DEC. The Habitat Plan goes beyond simply meeting the requirements for restoration. The approach will result in improved conditions for a wide variety of species in and around the lake.
Working Together to Restore Onondaga Lake Habitat and Its Watershed
The Habitat Plan was developed by members of the Habitat Technical Work Group with input from many organizations that use the lake on a regular basis. This technical group is comprised of representatives from DEC (Bureau of Remediation and Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources), EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honeywell, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Mississippi State University, Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, AnchorQEA, O’Brien & Gere and Parsons.
This extensive team of local and national experts represents several hundred years of collective experience in areas of wetland ecology, limnology, biology, restoration ecology, fisheries biology and sediment remediation. The Onondaga Nation and local groups also provided input.
Community Input is Key Component of Habitat Restoration
Habitat restoration and enhancement are important community benefits for the remediation of Onondaga Lake. That’s why Honeywell, in partnership with DEC, created a working group with local habitat, conservation, and community groups. Over the past several years, opinions and perspectives from these groups have helped identify and resolve key issues for inclusion in the plan. The group includes members from Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Salt City Bassmasters, New York Wildfowlers, Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen, Sierra Club, Izaak Walton League of America and DEC.
Honeywell is committed to continuing to work with community leaders, environmental groups, fishing and wildlife enthusiasts, interested stakeholders and citizens so their input, recommendations, comments, and perspectives can be thoroughly evaluated by the Habitat Technical Work Group.
As part of the DEC Citizen Participation Plan, the Lead Citizen Participation Working Group will provide opportunities for the public to contribute information, opinions, perspectives and recommendations. Feedback will be provided to the technical design teams for evaluation and consideration throughout the design process.
Upcoming Informational Meeting
The DEC will hold a public information meeting on January 14, 2010 at the Martha Eddy Room at the New York State Fairgrounds. DEC and Honeywell experts will discuss and answer questions about the draft Habitat Plan and Sediment Consolidation Area (SCA). They will outline areas for public input that will be considered in future designs.
The DEC issued the draft Onondaga Lake Remedial Design Elements for Habitat Restoration on December 18, 2009. The fact sheet can be found at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/37558.html.
Individuals interested in more information should contact Honeywell at 315-552-9784.
For more information on the Onondaga Lake cleanup, visit www.onondaga-lake-initiatives.com.
