Editing Finger Lakes (section)

==Ecological concerns==
Much of the Finger Lakes area lies upon the [[Marcellus Shale]] and the [[Utica Shale]], two prominent natural gas reserves. Due to the recent increase in [[fracking]] technology, the [[natural gas]] is now accessible for extraction. While some large landowners have leased their lands, and a number of small landowners would like to follow suit, many residents of the Finger Lakes oppose the fracking process due to concerns about groundwater contamination and the industrial impact of the extraction-related activities. The first [[direct actions]] and local legislative actions against fracking occurred in the Finger Lakes [[bioregion]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/01/09/new-york-fracking-history/21534581/|title=How fracking got stopped in NY|first=T.|last=Wilber|website=Poughkeepsie Journal}}</ref> In December 2014, the [[Government of New York (state)|government of New York]] banned all fracking in the state, citing pollution risks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/cuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/cuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html |archive-date=2022-01-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Citing Health Risks, Cuomo Bans Fracking in New York State|first=Thomas|last=Kaplan|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 December 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Trash from [[New York City]] is also sent to landfills in the area.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2018/07/06/finger-lakes-landfills-booming-monroe-ontario-and-seneca-counties-residents-angry/754940002/|title=Investigation: NYC dumping more garbage than ever in Finger Lakes area|date=6 July 2018|work=Democrat & Chronicle}}</ref>

Since 2017, all of the Finger Lakes have experienced at least one outbreak of [[Harmful algal bloom|toxic algae]], and for most of the lakes it has become an annual occurrence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toxic Algae Facts for Everyone to Know |url=https://www.fllt.org/toxic-algae-facts |website=Finger Lakes Land Trust |access-date=2024-12-10}}</ref>