The Chautauqua Belle took a rare steamboat excursion up the outlet of Chautauqua lake last weekend as part of the dedication of McCrea Point Park. Photo by Jeff Tome

The Chautauqua Belle took a rare steamboat excursion up the outlet of Chautauqua Lake last weekend as part of the dedication of McCrea Point Park. The outlet is the wildest area of Chautauqua Lake, with an unending parade of trees, water lilies and various shades of pink and purple wildflowers. Or, as my children described it: boring.

We looked for wildlife along the way, but the steamboat’s loud horn blasted the animals into the forest. Normally, a quiet boater will see herons, deer and other wildlife along the edge. The most common wildlife we saw from the Chautauqua Belle was kayakers, pontoon boats and the occasional sightseer on a dock. Still, there were glimpses of the blue herons, eagles and kingfishers that normally dwell along the wilds of the outlet.

The outlet stretches from Celeron to Jamestown, with much of the wetlands along the side owned by the city of Jamestown. These were purchased years ago to help prevent flooding in Jamestown. A large chunk of the other side is owned by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy as part of their campaign to keep a buffer of wetlands along the lake to filter water, prevent flooding and provide places for fish to lay eggs in safety along the edge of the lake.

While sitting on a replica of a steamboat that went up and down the lake over 100 years ago, I couldn’t help but think that this was how the lake used to be. The shoreline was mostly wild, with the occasional house, cottage or neighborhood sprouting up along the side.

While right now, people are working hard to conserve the last wild mile of shoreline, once upon a time other people worked just as hard to develop the first mile of shoreline. They built houses and restaurants, stores and shops, boat slips and parks.

It started slowly, just like an avalanche starts with a slow slump of snow that cascades down the mountain and wipes out everything in its path. Slowly, then quicker, an avalanche of neighborhoods sprouted up along the lake.

Today, the outlet reminds me of a time when the lake was wild. It was amazing to see what it looked like from the second floor deck of a steamboat and dream of what was and what could be again.

While the lake will not be undeveloped again, there is a delightful movement toward creating green buffer zones along the lake. More and more spots along the lake shore are filling with zones of wildflowers and grasses that filter the water and make the lake an all-around more beautiful spot to be.

To learn more about buffer zones, contact a CWC conservationist at info@chautauquawatershed.org or call 664-2166.

Jeff Tome is a Senior Naturalist for Programs and Exhibits at the Jamestown Audubon Society and a longtime CWC volunteer and former board director. The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a local not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the water quality, scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams, wetlands and watersheds of the Chautauqua region. For more information, call 664-2166 or visit www.chautauquawatershed.org or www.facebook.com/chautauquawatershed.