Adirondack Lake Assessment Program: 2017 Report

Adirondack Watershed Institute

Corey Laxson, Elizabeth Yerger, Hunter Favreau, Sean Regalado, & Daniel Kelting

The Adirondack Lake Assessment Program (ALAP) is a highly successful citizen science lake monitoring program that combines the enthusiasm of volunteers with the technology and expertise of scientists in the environmental field. Citizen science programs like ALAP are quickly becoming the 21st century model for handling large scale research and monitoring projects. These collaborations are mutually beneficial in that they address the scientific communities need for more researchers, and provide citizens with the benefit of knowing they helped advance the understanding of a cherished resource (Toerpe 2013). There are many citizen science lake monitoring programs across the country, the vast majority of which are administered at the state level. ALAP is the only program to focus on a specific region.

ALAP is a cooperative effort between Protect the Adirondacks (Protect) and the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI). The objectives of ALAP are to (1) develop a long term water quality database for Adirondack lakes and ponds that can be used by multiple stakeholders, (2) document historical trends in their limnological condition, and (3) engender lake stewardship by providing opportunities for citizens to participate in scientific monitoring.

ALAP continues to be a highly successful program. Established in 1998 with 9 participating lakes, the program has grown to 67 participating lakes 2017. ALAP lakes are from all across the Adirondack Region (Figure 1 and Table 1). For many lakes the ALAP dataset represents the only available source of information on water quality.