
AWI is Participating in the Regional Stream Wise Program
Paul Smiths, NY – The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute is recruiting landowners with streamside property to participate in Stream Wise, a new voluntary program that promotes and recognizes good stream stewardship.
AWI received funding from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to serve as a local Stream Wise host organization for the region. In this role AWI works closely with landowners in the Saranac River watershed providing free stream assessments, resources, and technical assistance for property owners to help protect and restore healthy waterways.
“Healthy rivers and streams provide habitat for fish and wildlife, support clean water, offer protection against floods, and are a source of relaxation and recreation,” said Tom Collins, AWI’s education and outreach manager and Stream Wise coordinator. “Landowners who participate in Stream Wise get access to a variety of useful practices related to stream health including planting native vegetation and pollinator species, recommendations for invasive species management, creating buffers, and more.”
Stewards on duty
Adirondack Watershed Institute boat stewards this summer continued their education-focused mission of protecting Adirondack lakes by preventing the spread of invasive plants.
As a new law requiring boaters certify they have cleaned their boat and that it does not contain any visible plant or animal material before launching in the park goes into effect, though, staffing remains a key challenge to both the stewards and the environmental conservation officers tasked with enforcing the new law.
» Continue Reading.