My Letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Yesterday I posted a request from NOON to send letters to the US Fish and Wildlife asking for more time for submitting proposals for future use of Onondaga Lake.NOON--Onondaga Lake Restoration Comment Period TOO short!

Here is the letter I sent off last night.

Dear Ms. Secord - 

I am very concerned about the cleanliness of Onondaga Lake and strongly feel that the Honeywell cleanup is inadequate.

I ask that the Trustees for Onondaga Lake please extend the public comment period for the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment. It is also important that people have the ability to give verbal comment, not just written comments.  Meetings should be held that are convenient for people to attend—nights and weekends—and they need to be announced well in advance. 

Further, please provide public information on the projects accepted or rejected.  Information should include why the project was dismissed, or accepted. Glenn Close’s article in the Post Standard, “How to restore Onondaga Lake? Fishing spots, wetlands, trails proposed” mentioned several proposals. Any proposals need to be at arms length from the Trustees.

I have several proposals  that would help the lake and our economy. My main concern is that we need to recognize in some way the influence that the Haudenosaunee culture and their Great Law of Peace had on our community and country. Congress recognized this in 1988 with Resolution 331. The Skanonh center is a beginning.

• A Tree of Peace should be planted in a designated area that is accessible on Onondaga Lake. It should have informational kiosks around it that tell the story of the Peacemaker, the Great Law of Peace and the influence upon our Founders. This would give credit to the Haudenosaunee, give civic pride to our local residents and provide a tourist destination that could one day significantly economically benefit our community. Many people around the world know about the Tree of Peace and would like to have a place to go experience it.
• We need to shout out and advertise that the Great Law of Peace (and Tree of Peace) served as a model for American Democracy and was given to the Haudenosaunee on the shores of Onondaga Lake. In many ways democracy was born here. I think that a large billboard of sorts in Willow Bay that can be seen from the Thruway would be a good start.
• There needs to be designated sacred areas in the spirit of the Haudenosaunee; places were you cannot— bike, rollerblade, fish, cookout, etc. Places that are meant to be reflective and respectful of the Lake, places where we treat the lake as the  Haudenosaunee do. Many of us gather in certain places around the lake; for prayer, ceremony and meditation.

  Please do not dismiss this idea. I look at Glenn Close’s proposals and wonder what early local residents thoughts of carnivals, Solvay Process, etc.. In hindsight many of those great ideas were not so    great; what will the current proposals look like in 50 or a 100 years?

  Respecting Onondaga Lake as being sacred is eternal and will not harm her. Imagine what the lake and our community would look like if we had adopted this in the 19th century?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

madis senner