FROM OUR READERS

Down to Earth Astronomy

Dear Editor,

Thanks for Dee Sharples well informed and user-friendly astronomy columns — a must read for star junkies. You might say she brings the heavens down to earth for us rural stargazers!

Mike Chiariello
Franklinville, NY
July 22, 2021

Canandaigua Shoreline Concerns

To the Editor,

Perhaps I am simply a relic of the past, but I have to express my concern about the built environment around Canandaigua Lake. When in 1989, we began a Watershed Protection project to consider the impact of land uses in the Canandaigua Lake watershed and especially their influence on water quality, one of the things we quickly saw was that the lake’s shoreline was important to its health and was already over-built. No room was being left for trees and other vegetation; wetlands and shoreline were being destroyed that normally would enhance aquatic life and water quality in the lake.  Instead, municipalities around the lake had allowed homes (no longer just cottages) to be built cheek-by-jowl at the shoreline.

At that time, we could think of no remedy for this condition and so proceeded with developing other recommendations and best practices for large-scale landowners and services such as farmers, forest owners, lawn care companies, highway superintendents, and residential developers.

But looking back, it’s impossible not to compare the condition of Canandaigua Lake now with when there were few cottages, little powerboat traffic, and most people came to the lake for their renewal, a time that’s within my lifespan.

Now they come as year-round residents, to “make their mark”, as creators of monuments and castles, as dominators of the lake, landscape and watershed. I’m afraid the lack of concern with the health of the lake itself will end with the ruin of this precious resource, as drinking water, as a source of fun, and as a natural landscape offering renewal for our exhausted “batteries” and souls.

I don’t mean this as a criticism of anyone, but I do feel the need, based on my long association with the lake, to offer this warning.

Sincerely,
Stephen Lewandowski, 
Concerned Canandaigua Citizen
June 28, 2021

Letters to the Editor and Opinion Pieces
Letters to the editor and longer opinion pieces can be emailed to editor@canadicepress.com. We ask that letters be topical, with sound arguments focused on ideas and information that inspires discussion and fosters positive community growth. Open exchange and change requires a willingness on the part of many to share divergent thoughts and listen carefully; to explore the validity as well as the weaknesses in dissenting views.  Short, concise letters under 500 words are more likely to be published. We look forward to hearing from you.