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Water stewards from an area college are gearing up for their tenth
consecutive summer of fighting aquatic invasive species at area
waterways.
The Adirondack
Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College has been leading the
fight against invasive species for nearly a decade, and this summer
individuals from the Watershed Stewardship Program are tackling two
new bodies of water – Great Sacandaga Lake and Tupper Lake.
Program Director Eric
Holmlund says stewards are an integral part of the effort to
eradicate invasive plants from Adirondack lakes, rivers and streams.
“Our stewards have
taught thousands of boaters how to keep an eye out for these
species, which can wreak havoc on ecosystems and the economy,”
Holmlund said.
The program places
stewards at boat launches across the Adirondacks every summer.
Stewards work to educate boaters on how to stop the spread of
invasives, which can spread easily from lake-to-lake by attaching
themselves to boats and water equipment.
Invasive species like
Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, water chestnut and curly leaf
pondweed are an increasingly dangerous threat in the Adirondacks.
Their rapid proliferation kills off native species, can make
waterways impassible and hurts tourism and other industries.
Preventing their introduction into waterways is time-consuming – but
simpler than eliminating a species once established.
Paul Smith’s College
spokesman Ken Aaron says invasives have been a problem for years,
and the college is happy to serve as a partner in the effort and to
provide a model for other stewardship programs.
“Invasives have been
a problem in several Adirondack communities for a long time now,”
Aaron said. “We’re happy to bring our own expertise to work with
local communities and lakeshore associations to get students out at
these boat launches and do our best to keep invasives from ever
getting into the water in the first place.”
Aaron says the
steward program causes a sort of domino effect, as stewards pass
knowledge along to boaters, who in turn spread that information
throughout the region.
“This program has
worked really well over the past 10 years, it’s been expanded into
other areas and used as a model,” Aaron said. “And we’re looking
forward to doing even more.”
In addition to Tupper
Lake, this summer stewards from Paul Smith’s will be stationed at
Upper St. Regis Lake, Lake Placid, Rainbow Lake, Second Pond, Osgood
Pond and Great Sacandaga Lake, where a new threat, spiny waterflea,
was detected last year.
Additionally, the
Watershed Stewardship Program has worked closely with the Adirondack
Park Invasive Plant Program, the Lake Champlain Basin Program and
the Lake George Association to offer training to stewards stationed
elsewhere in the region.
-Chris Morris, 7-3-09
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