Charting the future: Lake Ontario sanctuary hosts first public meeting

The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary on Tuesday held its first Advisory Council meeting since its founding late last year.

This was a virtual meeting, open to the public, where the council discussed a number of concerns and questions from active community members.

The meeting began with opening remarks from a number of high-ranking members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association , including the Director of Office of National Marine Sanctuaries John Armor and Great Lakes Regional Coordinator Ellen Brody. These remarks were followed by a quick Q and A session where members addressed a number of questions from public members, more specifically, how the sanctuary is doing following recent cuts to federal funding.

The state of the sanctuary received mixed reviews from the speakers. The sanctuary leaders have spoken in the past about a number of ambitious ventures that would benefit the community. Those include marking wreckage sites and planning summer boating events. When asked about the current state of these projects following budget cuts, Brody spoke up reassuring listeners that the sanctuary was in good shape.

“We are very fortunate with the Lake Ontario budget. There is funding that is already at our foundation that is supporting staff, and field working expeditions, so we’re not going to feel the pain right away,” Brody said.

Shortly after, however, Armor continued by saying that while the sanctuary doesn’t have a lot to worry about just yet, this doesn’t mean they won’t have fears for the future. “I do think we are going to have to re-evaluate what we can do with the budget once we get those final numbers,” he said. “Leaders that have been around for a number of years have done a great job preparing for the future, but at some point it is going to catch up.”

The meeting continued, allowing participants the opportunity to meet members of the board, along with diving deeper into what potential projects for the sanctuary will look like. This includes confirmation of an upcoming research project that will use a remote-controlled ship to analyze and document some shipwrecks below the surface of Lake Ontario.

Meetings like this will be a recurring part of the sanctuary’s development, allowing community members to hear firsthand what is planned for the community.

Edited by Jamari Mitchell