The Nature Conservancy in New York - CWNY: Support Plan B+ for the Future of Lake Ontario

How to Get Involved

You can make a difference in the history of Lake Ontario. Click here to find out how you can attend public hearings and have your voice heard.

Learn more about Plan B+

Learn why The Nature Conservancy urges the International Joint Commission (IJC) to implement Plan B+ - and why Plan 2007 won't work.

Who Supports the Plan?

A healthy Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River ecosystem is essential to sustain the region’s “new economy.” Find out who supports Plan B+.

Save the River

Read about American Rivers’ designation of the St. Lawrence River as one of 10 most endangered rivers in North America.

Shaped over thousands of years by the natural ebb and flow of water, the 650-mile coastline of Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River constitutes the largest coastal environment in New York State.

But 50 years of human-regulated water levels—originally designed to benefit hydroelectric power generation and shipping—have significantly altered the lake and river’s natural processes and reduced habitat diversity.

Today, the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the governments of the U.S. and Canada have an historic opportunity to exercise principles of sound water management for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River—ensuring the survival of birds, mammals, and fish, and enriching the lives of human residents.

The Wrong Path?

After a five-year study with input from all interested parties, including The Nature Conservancy, the IJC has released a new plan for public comment.

Unfortunately the new regulation plan—Plan 2007—does not restore the 30-year cycles of levels and flows that maintained the wetlands, beaches, and coastal habitats of Lake Ontario prior to the advent of water level regulation 50 years ago.

The IJC’s own five-year study demonstrated that partial restoration of these age-old cycles could provide clear ecosystem and economic benefits to the people of the basin.

A Better Choice

An alternative approach that achieves these benefits—Plan B+—was also developed by the IJC study. The approach outlined in Plan B+ mimics Lake Ontario’s natural water patterns while taming the extremes of high and low water levels that can lead to economic damage.

Plan B+ is receiving broad support from the State of New York, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and other federal and state/provincial agencies, private organizations, and stakeholders in the U.S. and Canada (see a full list of supporters here).

Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River – and the recreational and commercial economies that they support – have been seriously and consistently degraded for fifty years. Now is the time to end this loss by implementing Plan B+. All concerned citizens need to express to the IJC their support for a definite date to seize this important restoration opportunity.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Carl Heilman II (Lake Ontario); Photo © Marie Read (black tern).