From the August 2006 Conservationist

Onondaga Lake: Return to Glory

By Karen Williamson and Don Hesler

Once a renowned fishery and tourist destination, then a dumping ground, Onondaga Lake is returning to its former glory.

The story of man's involvement with the lake begins with the Onondagas, one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy of upstate New York. Onondaga tradition holds that the Confederacy was born on the shores of Onondaga Lake, and the Onondagas consider the lake a sacred site to this day.

In 1654, the Onondagas revealed the location of natural salt brine springs to a French missionary...

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Photo: American Aerial Scenes