CHAUTAUQUA LAKE — Let’s pick up where we left off on Labor Day weekend 2024.

As of Jan. 1, New York state Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, regulations expand the control of “wetlands.”

Those who in 2024 denied that the regulations would lead to any of Chautauqua Lake, any land along it, or any land back from it being wetlands were mistaken.

You, faithful reader of this column, already understand that these regulations can have the effect of turning much of Chautauqua Lake into a weed farm.

You, faithful reader of this column, further understand the impact of such regulations not only on lakefront-property owners and lake users, but also on all of Chautauqua County.

Those opposing such regulations have three paths of opposition within government: The executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Here are two hard truths.

— The executive branch of New York state government is not — underline, italicize, not — on the right side of this issue.

— Nor is the legislative branch. Barring a turn of fortune, which is always possible, the votes just aren’t there, and they’re unlikely to be there anytime soon.

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Not everything divides, much less should divide, along political-party lines.

Nevertheless, for those in state government, one’s political party tends to be closely linked to how one views the new wetlands regulations.

It’s a bit like the field of genetics: Those born with lighter hair tend to have lighter eyes, while those born with darker hair tend to have darker eyes. These are linked traits, because the genes for hair color and eye color are close to each other.

So it is with the wetlands regulations. Support and opposition to them tend to be linked — though not perfectly — to political-party identification. State-government Democrats tend to support such regulations. State-government Republicans tend to oppose such regulations.

In state government, Democrats way outnumber Republicans. Republicans have to scratch and claw just to have one-third of the members of the state Senate or state Assembly, a threshold allowing them to sustain a gubernatorial veto. Which would be more meaningful with a Republican governor, which New York hasn’t elected since 2002.

Thus, prospects for Republican legislative success on many issues — not just the wetlands regulations — in Albany are far lower than before Republicans lost the state Senate majority in 2018.

Does that mean one shouldn’t vote for them? No, cutting their ranks would make matters even worse.

Besides, Republicans have made progress in recent years in winning converts. Yes, indeed, they have. Just look, for example, at the most recent statewide election results for president, each United States senator, and statewide state-government offices: Democrats’ margins of victory have shrunk.

That’s progress for state Republicans. Any such long-term, sustained progress in any state is likely to be slow and hard. It will ebb and flow. Meanwhile, Democrats will continue to rule the state-government roost in the executive and legislative branches.

Which isn’t exactly the best news — when it comes to those branches — for those understanding that turning Chautauqua Lake into a weed farm isn’t exactly the best idea.

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That leaves the judicial branch.

To their credit, those opposing the wetlands regulations include both local Democrats and local Republicans.

Seeking judicially to rein in the wetlands regulations would be well worth considering. As among the three paths of opposition within government, the judicial branch is in all likelihood lake supporters’, and weed-farm opponents’, choice path.

Whether to file a challenge in state or federal court would depend, in the first instance, on the claims. Challengers would likely need a federal-law claim, such as a claim under the U.S. Constitution, to file a challenge in federal court.

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Of all the challenges that courts could hear regarding the wetlands regulations, a challenge on behalf of Chautauqua Lake could be one of the easy cases, if not the easy case.

Why? Here is just one simple reason: Neither a lake such as Chautauqua Lake, nor any part of such a lake — especially one with almost two centuries of development — is a wetland in the ordinary sense of the word.

Thus, the wetlands regulations don’t fit, and shouldn’t apply to, Chautauqua Lake. This assertion wouldn’t have to be complicated, and it might well not be in challengers’ interest to complicate it.

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Whether challengers proceeded in state or federal trial-level court, a challenge would be unlikely to end there. Appeals would likely follow.

If such a challenge is filed, this will be a good one in which to root for challengers supporting Chautauqua Lake.

The outcome of any such challenge can be a significant factor in conserving the lake and establishing its, not to mention Chautauqua County’s, future.

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As you read here on Labor Day weekend 2024: In any such challenge, the challengers at times may feel like David taking on Goliath.

They’d do well to remember who won that one, and get the best slingshot they can find.

Never underestimate David.

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Dr. Randy Elf’s paternal grandparents had a cottage at Cheney’s Point on Chautauqua Lake for 40 years. For more on the wetlands regulations, see the interview of him at 0:17.10 to 0:23.10 of https://works.bepress.com/elf/310.

COPYRIGHT 2025 BY RANDY ELF