The mission of the Onondaga Environmental Institute (OEI) is to advance environmental research, education, planning and restoration in Central New York. OEI seeks responsible stewardship of the local environs as a means to achieving the overall goal of sustainability. OEI recognizes that human life and ecological systems are inter-related and have intrinsic value; that ecosystem preservation is a moral imperative and collective responsibility, which depends on sound knowledge and conscientious dissemination and application of that knowledge.