OTISCO — Last week, Onondaga  County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II officially opened Onondaga County’s newest addition to its extensive park system.

The new park, located at the southern end of Otisco Lake on Otisco Valley Road in the Town of Otisco, was acquired by the county through a partnership with the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). This parkland will be available to the public and include shoreline access, walking trails and a small parking area. The park itself has minimal footprint to allow park visitors to appreciate a more natural setting along the waterfront of Otsico Lake.

“It is no secret that Onondaga County is home to a world-class and award winning parks system.” McMahon said. “The Onondaga County park system is also vast and diverse, allowing our residents and visitors a range or experiences to appreciate their natural surroundings. We have been especially aggressive with expanding County parkland to include shoreline access because it is so limited, and it can serve as both a public asset and a protective measure for our local waters. We could not be more excited to establish this new park for our community.”

The newly established Otisco Lake Park, consists of just under 35 acres on the shoreline of Otisco Lake. The site will include a small bridge, shoreline access for anglers, and a natural experience over mowed paths through this minimally developed site.

The Otisco Lake Park property was purchased by the FLLT with the support of a $407,500 Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) grant awarded by the DEC in 2018.

WQIP is a competitive, reimbursement grant program that funds projects that directly improve water quality or aquatic habitat, or protect a drinking water source. This project will protects Otisco Lake’s natural vegetation and water quality. The FLLT purchased the property for $450,000 from the Henderson estate which had owned it for over 50 years.

“DEC is proud to partner with Onondaga County and Finger Lakes Land Trust on the conservation of this critical shoreline property to safeguard Otisco Lake as a public drinking water source,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “This is another example of how New York State is continuing to make strategic investments through its Water Quality Improvement Project grant program to protect water quality, enhance public opportunities for recreation, and sustain our state’s wildlife and world-class fisheries.”

This property was identified by the FLLT and the DEC, but a partner was needed to provide a long-term solution for managing the property once it was placed into a conservation easement. Onondaga County Parks was a willing recipient and has expanded its parkland offerings by establishing this new waterfront park.

“This is a great win for Otisco Lake and every resident of Onondaga County,” Finger Lakes Land Trust executive director Andrew Zepp said. “We were delighted to have the opportunity to work together with the county and DEC. This partnership was essential to make the project happen.”

McMahon and the Onondaga County Legislature have expanded waterfront access in the county parks system more in the past four years than has been done in the past 50 years.

“We were able to obtain the 60 acre Lakefront site on Onondaga Lake from Honeywell, open more trails and fishing access, and now we are able to expand that access to a new water body in the town of Otisco,” McMahon said. “This should send a clear message; Onondaga County wants to ensure the public has access to the vast natural resources in our community, now and for generations to come.”

OLPA to hold two events in July

The Otisco Lake Preservation Association (OLPA) will continue its summer schedule with two events.

On Thursday July 7, the OLPA Annual Meeting will be held at the Marietta House on 2819 Otisco Valley Road in Marietta.

Featured speakers include Dr. Don Leopold and Sam Quinn from the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

They will speak on their “Lawn to Meadow” project, looking at our open areas and seeing how we can make them more fresh water and lake friendly.

In addition, Lauren Darcy, environmental planner with the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board, will speak on recent data generated out of the Otisco Lake Drinking Water Source Protection Plan.

Andy Zepp of the Finger Lakes Land Trust will give an overview of the new Otisco Shores Conservation Park that was recently transferred to Onondaga County Parks. The event will begin at 6:30pm with drinks and snacks available from the Marietta House staff.

On July 9, OLPA will present its 13th annual Watershed Shuffle.

The 5K run and 2-mile walk route runs along the Eastern Shore of Otisco Lake.

Major sponsors of the race include Porter Nordby Howe, LLP, PBJ Wealth Management, LLC & Murphy and Nolan, Inc.

Race registration is open presently online at Otiscolakepreservation.org. The run will begin promptly at 9 a.m. with the walkers following.

Registration cost is $30. T-shirts will be available until supplies run out.

All participants will receive tickets to a basket raffle.

Additional tickets will be available for purchase at the race site.

Otisco Lake provides 18,000,000 gallons of water to the region each day and continues to be one of the primary water sources for the western Onondaga county region.