AsRA’s River Steward, Nicole Pionteck, started her field season last weekend at the Ausable River Two-Fly Challenge. She was at the Whiteface Visitor’s Bureau with a Wader Wash Station, educating participants on invasive species spread prevention methods and encouraging the anglers to “Check, Clean, and Dry” their equipment before entering the water.

Pionteck’s duties include educating river users on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, attending local events to educate the public on river ecology and indicators of water quality, monitoring the river and watershed for new invasive species infestations, and maintaining wader wash stations throughout the watershed during fishing season.

AsRA’s river steward program, with funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, was created in 2009 to educate river users about the threat of aquatic and terrestrial invasive species that affect the Ausable watershed.

If you have any questions about invasive species or spread prevention methods contact Nicole Pionteck at nicole@ausableriver.org.