Syracuse.com - Public boat launch on Otisco Lake still far from decided, says county legislator

[HuntingNY-News]

Otisco is the only Finger Lake without a public boat launch,

Plans to put in a state boat launch at a small county park on Otisco Lake are stalled and other sites are now being looked at, confirmed a county legislator who represents the area.

"Objections were raised, the entire process has been slowed down. Other sites are being considered," said county Legislator Mike Plochocki, R-Marcellus.

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Plochocki was reacting to recent minutes from the county's Fishing Advisory Committee, which noted "discussions are apparently continuing between the state Department of Evironmental Conservation, Onondaga County and the Onondaga County Water Authority about selection of a new state boat launch at Otisco Lake.

"Two sites under consideration are the existing county parks site near Amber on the northeast shore, or possible construction of a launch site by the OCWA dam property at the northern end," the minutes said.

Otisco Lake, which is nearly six miles long, is the only Finger Lake without a public boat launch. Visiting anglers and recreational boaters get on the water by paying $9 each time, or by buying a season pass to launch at one of the two private marinas, the Otisco Lake Marina and the Otisco Lake Campgrounds.

The DEC confirmed in late 2012 that it was in preliminary discussions with Onondaga County about building a launch at Otisco Lake Park, located on the lake's northeastern shore. The three-acre park was dedicated in 2000. The land was a gift from the county from the estate of Waldemar F. and Margory G. Hirsh.

DEC officials back in 2012 said if approved, the plan was to build a "modest-sized" launch for trailered, as well as car-top water craft (canoes and kayaks) and expanding parking spaces from five to as many as 16 spaces. The idea was the state would pay to build it and maintain it, but it remain owned by the county.

Last year passed, though with no progress on that plan.

Plochocki said some critics said a boat launch at the park would violate the restrictions put on it when it was originally donated by Hirshes, who wished that it would be "forever wild." County lawyers, however, looked into it and determined a boat launch would not violate the terms of the donation.

"Some felt and still feel, though, that it would technically be violation of what the family wanted," he said.

When news about a launch at Otisco Lake Park first came out, Anita Williams, president of the Otisco Lake Preservation Association, said many of her group's members were "passionately against" a launch there. She said other locations should be considered, including an area by the Causeway. She also expressed concerns about increased boat traffic, which could result in "invasive weeds coming into our small lake."

A view of Otisco Lake from Otisco Lake Park. The land was donated to Onondaga County from the estate of the late Waldemar F. and Marjory G. Hirsch.Nicholas Lisi / The Post-Standard 

Other concerns included cost of dredging work that would be needed, and that a boat launch at the park would disrupt the turtle population at adjacent Turtle Bay, where the turtles can often be seen "sunning themselves on logs."

"Professionals determined that a launch would not disrupt the turtles," Plochocki said.

Plochocki said the key to a putting a launch on Otisco is finding a site that "residents are amenable to." He stressed that any site would involve extensive opportunities for public input and "and that the Otisco Lake Watershed Association would be very involved in the process. They are being continually consulted."

Plockochi said the OCWA site near the dam is one of the sites that's been discussed, along with one at another undisclosed location. "I can't stress enough, though, that everything is preliminary," he said.

Plochocki noted the state owns and stocks the lake and each year stocks it with brown trout and tiger muskies.

"In theory, lack of a boat launch could put that in jeopardy," he said. "They could scale back or cut off stocking of the lake if no site can be found."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog