Preserving nature will help region's tourist industry

Niagara Gazette, 19 March 1998

The generations of the Niagara region have neatly placed their responsibilities into tightly sealed bags. We have divided them so they don't overlap. We see our responsibilities as existing only in our lifetimes. It's time we look at the world around us in a communal sense, in a realm of continuation. We can do this by supporting The Niagara Heritage Partnership and its "Niagara The Park" concept.

The Niagara River has endured much abuse at the hands of our forefathers. In our inactivity we are equally guilty. We live in an area rich in potential, yet we have polluted it and tainted its natural beauty. With the deterioration of the land around us, so too, does our economy fail. If we look to Canada we see massive tourism. This tourism Is greatly influenced by the care the Canadians have given to the land.

The Niagara, Heritage Partnership has adopted the "Niagara The Park" concept, which proposes to boost the economy by returning this natural beauty to our side of the gorge. This can be done by the removal of the Robert Moses Parkway along the top of the gorge from the Schoellkopf Museum to Lewiston and the restoration of parkland and native flora that once grew there. The Niagara Heritage Partnership proposes that this will "attract positive national and international attention in the ecotourism market, the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry."

The Niagara River stretches approximately 45 miles. We have polluted, developed and virtually destroyed the natural beauty of our side of the river. To restore this land would give this area a much-needed boost to the economy with tourism and it would force those traveling to use alternate routes such as Main Street, Buffalo Avenue, Hyde Park Boulevard and Pine Avenue. The current route of the Robert Moses allows people to travel through Niagara Falls without passing any local businesses.

We owe it to our future generations to revitalize the economy and our natural resources. We are caregivers to land but our actions show us as thieves in the night slipping over the fence to rob the garden, leaving waste. We can no longer pack responsibilities in air-tight bags.

Christine Patrice Gebera, North Tonawanda