Feb. 04, 2022

OSWEGO COUNTY — The 2022 Lake Ontario Lecture Series starts later this month with an introduction to the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) and a presentation by WPBS President Mark Prasuhn about the documentary film, “New York’s Seaway Lighthouses.”

The three-part lecture series will start Saturday, Feb. 19 at Colloca Estate Winery, 14678 W. Bay Rd., Fair Haven. The event will run from 2 to 4 p.m. and focus on the making of the 90-minute documentary film from WPBS that explores the history of the nearly two-dozen unique lighthouses along the Seaway Trail.

“New York’s Seaway Lighthouses” explores when and why each of the lighthouses along the Seaway Trail were built, the functions each facility served and the lives of the lighthouse keepers who operated the beacons. Several current lighthouse keepers from the area are planning to take part in the event.

Prasuhn, president and general manager of Watertown-based WPBS-TV since 2019, will discuss the making of the popular documentary and share clips focused on the 11 lighthouses located within the proposed NMS boundaries, including the West Pierhead and Selkirk lighthouses in Oswego County.

Organized by the local sanctuary advisory council, the Feb. 19 event is the first installment in a three-part lecture series that will also include a March 26 event in Oswego titled, “Weather and Lake Ontario,” and an April 30 event in Sackets Harbor featuring the talk, “Lake Ontario and the War of 1812.”

To register for the lecture series, visit tinyurl.com/LakeOntarioLighthouses.

The local National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council is a 15-member panel established to assist the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) in guiding the proposed NMS through the designation process. NOAA oversees the nation’s NMS system. For more information on the advisory council, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/advisory/.

The proposed Lake Ontario NMS would encompass more than 1,700 square miles in eastern Lake Ontario to protect and showcase dozens of shipwrecks and other historically significant underwater assets. NOAA announced its intent to designate the marine sanctuary in April 2019, and in mid-2021 released draft documents related to the proposed sanctuary. For more information on the proposed Lake Ontario NMS, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-ontario/.