The mayor of Rochester, Robert J. Duffy, and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis announced Tuesday that the state completed the purchase of Hemlock and Canadice lakes from the City of Rochester.

Canadice LakeThe two lakes are the only of the 13 Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines, and they have served as a primary water supply for Rochester since 1876.

The $13.7 million deal, which took over two years to complete, will preserve and protect over 7,000 acres buffering the lakes. The Nature Conservancy helped to facilitate the transaction, and also purchased 1,100 acres of sensitive lands in the Hemlock-Canadice watershed.

Commissioner Grannis described the transaction as "without a doubt the most important land acquisition project the state has undertaken outside of the Adirondack and Catskill Parks in more than a generation."

Between 1895 and 1950 Rochester purchased 7,000 acres of watershed property around the lakes. City stewardship of the lakes and surrounding land has preserved the water supply, open space, wildlife habitat and fisheries. Now that the state has taken over stewardship responsibility, the city will no longer face pressure to sell the lands to developers.