Too subtle.  Unclear.  Not specific.  These are just a few of the things that pop into my mind when thinking about my last post.

To try and clear this up, I have three things I will try to show my Sterling and Wolcott Creek friends and neighbors:  1, why the lessons of the Owasco Lake watershed management journey matter to us; 2, how local authority to enhance land conservation is in the interest of all us in the Sterling and Wolcott creek watersheds, and; 3, why it matters now.

My last post made it sound like our Cayuga County friends and neighbors managing the Owasco Lake Watershed don’t understand ecosystem dynamics – and that’s not fair.  They do, and in their last reorganization they put the people and the municipalities on an equal footing with local interests.  After pounding out a locally-endorsed management plan, it was rejected by the State of New York.

Apparently the State did not like locals taking a strong stand on water protection.  And so the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco took the State to court — and WON.  The court ruled the State ignored its responsibility to protect drinking water.  You see, the lake has been plagued by the annual appearance of harmful algal blooms.  The ancient blue-green algae releases a potent toxin that causes liver failure and the City of Auburn (the municipality owns the water rights to Owasco Lake) and the Town of Owasco have spent millions trying to keep the toxin out of the drinking water supply.  To be fair, the State helped pay for many of the technological upgrades at the respective water plants, and it looks as though they want to stick to a technological fix.

But tech fixes are best for point source pollution, and do not help much with non-point sources.  So why did the State fight so hard to prevent a locally supported approach to manage water quality with effective watershed management?

“The farm lobby” is the easy answer.  But maybe Governor Hochul and her legal team have a different view, one related to the May 2023 SCOTUS decision on “SACKETT ET UX. v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ET AL.” (21–454).  Worth thinking about?

In any case, the State’s reluctance to underwrite local control over environmental stewardship is troubling and this is why what happened on the Owasco matters to our futures on the Sterling and Wolcott Creek Watersheds.  If we come together, we can work effectively with the Sterling Wolcott Integrated Watershed Action Plan to enhance local conservation authority, and help put the future of this amazing landscape into local hands.  Consider:

• Do you think NYC will never return and try to create sludge landfills in the Sterling and Wolcott Creek Watersheds?  Do you really think they are done?
• Do you want more solar farms?  Wind farms?  Even if you do, are our Towns and Villages equipped to stand up to the companies – and the State – to craft the projects around local watershed priorities?
• Do you want more CAFOs?
• Do you want more housing subdivisions?  Do you want the tax increases that come with additional housing?
• Do you want a local land trust devoted to helping us steward our landscape into the future?
• What happens if the USDA no longer subsidizes the price of yellow corn #2?

Finally, why it matters now.  Thoughtful people I know say we have about two years — just two years before artificial intelligence – AI – will dominate the markets shaping our lives.  Innovative fund managers and tech entrepreneurs have profitably demonstrated how to take over local real estate markets.  It is pretty easy.

AI is now the most popular download on the app stores.  Adults and kids are increasingly asking AIs to do their searching (summaries, really) and conventional search engine use is way, way down.  All those profits in clicks are melting away as fast as users’ brain cells.

Ag markets are next.  Why leave crop finance and insurance up to county ag agencies when an AI could do it more profitably?  Local buyers?  Local suppliers?

Teacher training is moving away from helping kids think critically.  Now teachers have to consider how they and their students are using AI.

We have two years, and after that just about everything we think we have the power to effect will shrink into much smaller and limited relief.

We take local control for granted.  We think we’ll always have “Home Rule”. Are you sure?  Are you willing to bet the future of our land in the Sterling Wolcott Watersheds that we’ll always have a meaningful say?