The Jefferson Project at Lake George has published its latest Annual Report, declaring that its environmental data gathering and analytics have made Lake George “The Smartest Lake in the World.”
The report says the Jefferson Project has now deployed more than 500 Smart Sensors in and around the lake to monitor physical, chemical and biological conditions that signal emerging threats and help track the progress of lake protection initiatives. » Continue Reading.
Field-level research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is responding to the need to better understand how tile drainage influences nutrient efficiency, water quality, crop production, farm economics, and environmental stewardship.
Results from the most recent data collection from tiles installed at the Lake Alice Wildlife Management Area in Chazy, and on a working farm in Clinton County are adding to a database designed to quantify surface and underground movement of nutrients beyond field boundaries. » Continue Reading.
The Lake George Land Conservancy’s (LGLC) 20th annual gala raised more than $240,000, thanks to its guests and business supporters. Over its 20-year run, the annual gala has raised nearly $2 million for land conservation and water quality protection. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health (DOH) have launched a new website, Know Your NY Water, created by the statewide Water Quality Rapid Response Team efforts, established in 2016.
The website provides New Yorkers with information about the state’s public drinking water and the health of New York’s abundant lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as waters used for recreation and habitat protection. Users can search by location to learn more about the water they use or encounter. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Lakes Alliance will hold its 5th annual Symposium at Paul Smith’s College on Thursday, August 1, with the focus on Harmful Algal Blooms. The theme is Preparing for Challenges: Tools, Resources and Coordination.
The Upper Saranac Foundation (USF) is expected to develop and implement a new Lake Management Plan (LMP) thanks to a $68,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Invasive Species Grant Program.
The grant is one of 42 projects statewide to receive funding to reduce the negative impacts of invasive species. A total of five North Country organizations were awarded grants this year, and eight programs across the state received nearly $234,000 for lake management planning. » Continue Reading.
Community groups and a local septic service company are cooperating to provide discounted septic system pumping to homeowners in the Eckford Chain watershed, which includes Blue Mountain, Eagle and Utowana Lakes, and is the headwaters of the Raquette River.
While Blue Mountain Lake has some of the highest quality water in the state and there is no immediate threat, cottages and houses, some with systems that are quite old, grace the shorelines and tributaries and a pumped-out septic system works better. The goal is to enhance awareness about septic and sewage issues and to inspire homeowners with septic systems to take timely action, perhaps learning the location of their tank and leach field for the first time. » Continue Reading.
This month, the Ausable River Association (AsRA) was awarded a $175,000 grant by the Lake Champlain Basin Program to advance effective, science-based approaches to reducing road salt impacts to Mirror Lake. » Continue Reading.
Almost 50 scientists who work in the Adirondacks gathered March 6 and 7 in Old Forge to present results of research and monitoring activities in the region during the 16th Annual Adirondack Research Forum. Below is a quick summary of their reports and findings.
Readers will note that the names of a few private waterbodies where specific research is being conducted were redacted. This was done for privacy purposes and to protect the fisheries. Each of the research and monitoring projects fits into the state’s plan to protect itself from acid rain and climate change by proving what damage has already occurred. Some of the projects also seek to find ways to accelerate the park’s recovery from all air pollution-related damage. » Continue Reading.
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.
Scientists in the 1970s began to notice and be alarmed by the abnormally acidic lakes and streams they were discovering throughout the Adirondacks. In some cases, fish populations were disappearing. Their groundbreaking work coined the term acid rain, caused by fossil-fuel emissions that drifted on high-altitude winds and were flushed down in cloud bursts.
Today, just as science-driven rules limiting industrial and vehicular emissions have helped our local waterways begin to recover, evidence we are seeing supports new approaches to safely managing snow and ice on roadways, driveways, and sidewalks while protecting our freshwater resources. » Continue Reading.
At the conclusion of his visit to Bear Pond in the St. Regis Canoe Area on August 10, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer answered questions from press and local residents who were worried about Federal Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Senator Schumer confirmed that Kavanaugh would be bad news for clean air, clean water and public health in the Adirondack Park.
The Senator had come to celebrate Bear Pond’s recovery from acid rain and to warn federal officials not to backslide on clean air rules. The Senate Minority Leader said he was opposed to Kavanaugh’s confirmation. » Continue Reading.
The Lake Champlain Basin Program has released the 2018 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report. The report, produced every three years, provides an assessment of the condition of Lake Champlain. The report also serves to provide the public and resource managers with a better understanding of threats to the lake’s health, as well as opportunities to meet the challenges ahead.
The 2018 report emphasizes the importance of community engagement and recreation opportunities to help stakeholders connect with the Lake, and understand the importance of protecting this resource. The report highlights the success of the LCBP Boat Launch Steward program, in which over ten thousand boaters at public launches each year are informed about the importance of properly decontaminating their gear before entering the Lake, and when leaving. The report also highlights a lack of change in phosphorus conditions across the Lake, and describes changes in the amount of phosphorus delivered to the lake each year. » Continue Reading.
Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky has called road salt “the acid rain of our time.”
Now, a newly-completed study of Adirondack wells claims that most wells that receive runoff from state roads are contaminated with salt.
The study conducted by the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute comes on the heels of an earlier study that argued that 84% of the contamination of surface waters by road salting could be attributed to state practices. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they are recruiting participants for the 2018 summer sampling season to conduct water quality assessments in streams and rivers as part of the State’s Water Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators (WAVE) project. » Continue Reading.
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