Due to a strong partnership the New York State Canal Corporation and the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art seasonal floating dock, access ramp, and connecting trail that links to and provides public boater access from NYS canal system to trails, a visitor center, viewing towers and public facilities at the Montezuma refuge headquarters. The new dock is fully operational and the Seneca trail offers a one-mile loop around the refuge headquarters area.

The NYS canal system runs directly through the Montezuma refuge, with the Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canals providing the largest greenway/waterway link. Nowhere along the 524-mile NYS canal system is the connectivity of quality natural resources better evident than by the proximity of the Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canals to the Montezuma refuge. This connectivity offers a tremendous opportunity to enhance both nationally-significant resources (canal and refuge) by improving passive linkages, enhancing wildlife-oriented education and recreation, and increasing public use of the canal and the refuge.