Since July word of the blackwater stain on the Niagara River has made headlines after the Niagara Falls, NY water board discharged untreated sewage into the waterway.
But what hasn't made headlines is efforts that began in 2013 to restore the river, are finally paying off.
Work is wrapping up on a $13 million restoration project to end decades of environmental abuse in the upper river.
Project officials reporting that egrets, eagles, herons, osprey, kingfishers, lake sturgeon, turtles, mink and river otters can now be found along the river from Strawberry Island to Grand Island.