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The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) has launched a new interactive website to display near real-time data on water quality and weather conditions on Upper Saranac Lake.
Posts Tagged ‘Adirondack Watershed Institute’
Adirondack Water Week celebrates our waterways
Adirondack Water Week kicks off on Sunday, August 22 and runs through Saturday, August 28 this year. The annual event is a collaborative celebration of the region’s freshwater resources and precious watersheds. Co-hosted by the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute, Northwood School, and the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program, Water Week was created to raise awareness of value of our waterways.
“We rely on our Adirondack waterways for drinking, recreation, tourism, and basic ecosystem functions”, said Dan Kelting the executive director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute. “This annual celebration is a chance for the public to reflect on the importance of freshwater, get out and enjoy our waterways, and perhaps experience something new.”
This year’s Water Week includes a self-guided Watershed Walk around Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, a river clean-up and invasives pull in the Boquet River watershed, guided paddling tours, science talks, watershed educational programs, and much more.
“Wool and Water” is a unique project that kicks off during Water Week. It blends fiber arts with scientific data. Led by AWI’s director of science and fiber artist, Michale Glennon, the project visualizes changing water conditions through knitting and crocheting. Michale’s work will be displayed at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor’s Interpretive Center starting Monday, August 23.
In addition to scheduled programs, organizers encourage the public to simply get out and enjoy their waterways during Water Week and if so inclined to tag their social media posts with #adkwaterweek.
“Go for a paddle, sit by a lake, or take a walk in your watershed”, said Zoë Smith, AWI’s deputy director. “It’s a time to appreciate the value that water brings to our everyday lives.”
All events are open to the general public and more information can be found on the Water Week calendar at adkwatershed.org/community/events.
Mirror Lake research photo provided by Ausable River Association
Adirondack boat inspection, decontamination stations open this weekend
Stewards are ready for another busy Adirondack boating seasonPaul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) is offering free boat inspections and decontaminations starting on Memorial Day weekend at more than 60 boat launches and road-side locations across the Adirondack region to help the public stop the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS).
AWI staff educate boaters, anglers and other visitors about aquatic invasive species and inspect and decontaminate their boats to meet the Clean, Drain, and Dry standard required by New York State.
Seeking public input on the direction of the Upper Saranac Watershed Management Plan
The second of three public meetings for the Upper Saranac watershed management planning effort is scheduled for Thursday, May 6 from 7pm-8:30pm.
The meeting is hosted by the Upper Saranac Foundation (USF) and the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI). The groups will present preliminary goals for the watershed plan and will facilitate discussions about the recommendations and the future of the watershed. The groups administered a public survey in the summer of 2020 and held the first public meeting in February of 2021.
Now Hiring Boat Stewards for 2021 Season
New York State’s Watercraft Inspection Steward Programs are now recruiting boat stewards for the 2021 season. If you like working outdoors, interacting with the public, and want to help protect New York’s waters from aquatic invasive species, please check out the SLELO PRISM (St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) website for a list of positions across the state.
Photo: Boat stewards assist the public with checking their watercraft for aquatic invasive species. They also provide education and at some locations, free boat washes. (Photo by Adirondack Watershed Institute, Paul Smith’s College)
Boat stewards report successful season and other invasives updates
The boating season may have unofficially ended Labor Day weekend, but New York State’s Watercraft Inspection Steward program continues at select locations. To date, this year’s boat stewards have inspected more than 330,000 boats, talked with hundreds of thousands of water recreationists, and intercepted more than 18,000 aquatic plant and animal hitchhikers (including one very important finding of the infamous invasive plant hydrilla!).
When you’re enjoying the water this fall, please continue to support our stewards’ good work and protect NY’s waters by remembering to clean, drain, and dry your watercraft.
A salty subject
This past Tuesday, the Explorer hosted our first public event of the COVID era — a Zoom panel discussion with Dan Kelting, the head of the Adirondack Watershed Institute of Paul Smith’s College.
We focused on something Kelting has been studying for a decade and I’ve been reporting on all year: road salt and what it does to drinking water supplies in the Adirondacks.
Kelting dived into the issue years ago, first to roundup what was known about road salt pollution elsewhere and then to find out what it was doing to the Adirondacks. In sum, too much salt running off roads ends up in waterways. There, it harms humans by messing with heart and kidney function, destroys plumbing and upends ecosystems.
Join a conversation about road salt, pollution
Boost your knowledge about aquatic invasives
The Adirondack Watershed Institute has partnered with the Adirondack Lakes Alliance to offer a series of educational and training programs to everyone interested in helping to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.Offered through the Paul Smith’s College Training Institute, and timed to launch during the 2020 Invasive Species Awareness Week, June 7-13, the program focuses on how to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms in our lakes and rivers. Programs will be open and ongoing throughout the summer.
There are three ways to participate.
Survey finds boats bypassing I-87 inspection station
Boat counters on the Northway for the Memorial Day weekend say that 89% of the trailered motorboats traveling north into the Adirondacks on Interstate 87 passed the inspection/decontamination station without stopping, according to the Adirondack Council.
It is illegal to transport invasive plants, fish or wildlife from one water body to another in New York. The surest way to avoid contaminating one lake, pond or river with species from another is to have the boat inspected and cleaned by trained personnel. New York has installed a network of inspection stations in and around the Adirondack Park.
Boat inspections and decontaminations are free, but the state hasn’t required boaters to stop at the inspection stations. The Adirondack Council and others want better protection.
Studies Examine Role of Boating In Invasives Spread
Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) recently presented new research detailing the threat of aquatic invasive species in Adirondack lakes at the Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society meeting in Lake Placid.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Invasive Species Management Grant Program funded AWI to undertake two studies. » Continue Reading.
2020 Lake Stewardship Employment Opportunities
The Adirondack Watershed Institute has announced they have 100+ positions available for summer 2020. They are hiring paid watershed stewards, decontamination technicians, and supervisors to help safeguard against aquatic invasive species and protect Adirondack waterways. » Continue Reading.
Climate Change Impacting Adirondack Boreal Birds
Two new scientific studies recently released by Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (PSC AWI) and Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station (SSPRS) have detected continuing patterns of decline in boreal birds in the Adirondacks.
The authors examined avian community changes in lowland boreal habitats and the impacts that temperature and precipitation have on long-term occupancy patterns of boreal birds. Both peer-reviewed papers were recently published in the scientific journal PLoS One. The studies build on more than a decade of monitoring boreal bird populations in lowland boreal habitat. » Continue Reading.
91% of Hamilton Co Lakes Studied Affected by Road Salt
Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District have collaborated on a study detailing long term trends of the water quality in 21 Hamilton County lakes.
“The State of Hamilton County Lakes: A 25 Year Perspective 1993 – 2017” was developed to deliver a countywide assessment of the current and historical water quality status and in hopes of guiding future watershed management decisions. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Watershed Institute Gets $9.3M State Contract
The Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) has been awarded a five-year, $9.3 million contract by New York State to implement the Adirondack Park Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program.
The contract calls for the AWI to implement a region-wide watercraft inspection and decontamination program to stop the introduction, spread, and transport of aquatic invasive species such as Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, and spiny waterflea. Through it, 58 stewards will be funded at dozens of locations across the park. Public-facing efforts are seen as key as recreational watercraft susceptible to spreading invasive species move about the park in the coming months. » Continue Reading.
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Latest News Headlines
- Adirondack retreat: Black & Hispanic caucus meets outside Albany for first time
- Bill would bolster ranger pension rules
- Fort Covington residents perish in Tupper Lake camper fire
- Halloween Extravaganza | Jack LaDuke’s Adirondack Journal
- Miss New York, Sydney Park, visits the North Country
- Long Run Wealth Advisors acquires Adirondack Asset Management
- 'Green Amendment' could be possible tool for environmental fights
- New law requires all NY private businesses to provide retirement plan options for workers
- A nest of North Country broadband issues
- Kayaking couple attempting to circumnavigate Champlain
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