NORWICH – They may not be considered the prettiest in some academic circles, but that doesn’t mean the historic sites of Chenango County aren’t significant, says Jessie Ravage.

Several of those significant areas – like the old Chenango Canal, the New York Susquehanna and Western railroad bed and a host of rural landscapes and structures resting along the Chenango River Valley – could be altered by New York Regional Interconnect Inc.’s 400,000-volt power line.

Ravage, a Historic Preservation Consultant from Cooperstown, has been hired by the citizens group “Stop NYRI” to compile an overview of local historic places that lie within the energy developer’s proposed route.

Stop NYRI hopes her research will add one more argument against building the power line through Upstate’s countryside.

“We know this isn’t the magic bullet that will make them pack their bags and go away,” said Stop NYRI member Chris Rossi, speaking to a crowd of roughly 60 gathered Monday at a public meeting in the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Norwich. “But it will be one more thing they’ll have to answer to at the state and federal level.”