AdkAction was recently awarded $50,000 from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The grant is for a newly formed “Clean Water, Safe Roads” partnership, which will work to reduce salt pollution along the 125-mile-long lake between New York and Vermont. Together with partners from Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and Lake Champlain Sea Grant, the project partners intend to enact an in-depth and personalized outreach and education program to municipal highway departments in the Lake Champlain Basin Area.

“Recent NYS legislation has created a salt reduction task force and pilot program to address road salt pollution in the Adirondacks,” said AdkAction Executive Director Brittany Christenson. “We’re thrilled that with the support of this grant funding we will be able to provide training and resources for municipalities that will help them prepare for the pilot program. It will be an all-hands-on-deck effort to reverse the trend of rising road salt pollution affecting our waters, and we need a unified regional strategy to succeed.”

According to Christenson, through constant and consistent outreach, community leaders can stay informed about the best practices of road salt reduction, and be involved in the implementation of community action plans, resulting in a cleaner and healthier freshwater ecosystem for all those involved in the Lake Champlain Basin. Read more here.