NCPR’s Emily Russell reports on Speaker Heastie & Michael Cashman’s visit to Adirondack Watershed Institute
For the official link to the story: Heastie, Cashman announce $1 million for the Adirondack Watershed Institute | NCPR News
The Adirondack Watershed Institute, which is part of Paul Smith's College, sits on the shores of Lower St. Regis Lake.
On a warm summer day earlier this week, AWI’s executive director, Maureen Cunningham, led a tour of the institute for state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblyman Michael Cashman.
Heastie and Cashman were visiting the research lab to announce that it's been awarded $1 million in state funding.
AWI has been around for decades and now monitors about 200 lakes in the Adirondacks, which equates to about a third of the park’s watershed.
Heastie and Cashman filed into the first-floor lab. AWI’s Water Quality Research Manager, Lija Treibergs, gave the two a rundown of some of their research.
"We are aiming to collect water quality data on lake and stream health, focusing on legacy and emerging threats like harmful algal blooms, acid deposition, road salt impacts, and climate change," Treibergs explained.
The Adirondacks are warming at a faster rate than the global average. Winters are getting shorter and milder and summers are getting longer and hotter.
One result of that is the algal blooms that Treibergs mentioned. They’re popping up in places like Lake Champlain and can make the waters toxic for people, pets, and other animals.
“Is there a treatment for the lakes?" asked Heastie, who represents part of the Bronx. "What’s the response when you find out about algal blooms?”
“So there’s not much in terms of immediate management that can be done," Treigbergs responded.
The key, she said, is to follow the state’s advice: Know It. Avoid It. Report It. The DEC has an online form people can fill out to report harmful algal blooms.
As the tour continued, Heastie and Cashman gathered around a student lab tech wearing a white coat. Noah Rehberg was using a syringe to pull a water sample from a plastic cup and deposit it into little glass jars.
"I’m filtering for DOC, which is dissolved organic carbon and also anions and cations," Rehberg explained, essentially preserving the lake water samples so they can be analyzed later on.
After a few more stops around the AWI labs, the group headed outside for the grand finale.
A man in a light blue vest that said "Clean. Drain. Dry." on the back powered up a big yellow water pressure tank. It’s what AWI’s watershed stewards use at more than 60 boat launches across the park. They flush out boat engines and powerwash hulls to prevent the spread of invasive species.
The stewardship program is managed by Brett Wimsatt. Heastie asked Wimsatt what happens if stewards do find invasives on boats.
"A couple of things," Wimsatt replied. "The first thing is inspection. We’ve found these already on half a dozen different boats at two or three different boat launches this summer."
Catching invasive species like water chestnuts or Eurasian water milfoil before boaters launch into Adirondack waters is key.
“Once it arrives, we’re looking at $100,000 to $300,000 of management each year to keep up with dive teams or benthic barrier matting or potential chemical treatments, so being able to stop it before it arrives is the best use of every single dollar," said Wimsatt.
AWI has a five-year, $13.24 million contract with the DEC to operate its boat inspection sites through December 2027.
At the end of the tour, Heastie said it was eye-opening to tour the lab and to learn about AWI’s efforts to stop the spread of invasives.
"Sometimes you kind of take for granted—you think, beautiful lake, people go in, people go out, boats go in, boats go out," said Heastie, "but then you realize there are things that we need to be aware of, ways that we need to try to protect our waterways and our beautiful lakes and rivers.”
Democrats control both the State Assembly and Senate, so a collaboration between Heastie and Cashman really matters for this region. Cashman, who was elected just last year, is the North Country’s only Democratic lawmaker in Albany.
He said these kinds of visits by Heastie in the Adirondacks can make a big difference in budget talks.
“So when we’re having conversations during session, and we’re advocating, he’ll say, ‘Yeah, I’ve been to that district, I’ve touched it, I’ve talked to your people,'" Cashman explained.
The Adirondack Watershed Institute said it plans to spend the $ 1 million dollars from New York State on new lab equipment and facility upgrades. AWI said a more modernized lab will help its scientists better track the changing climate and environment in the Adirondacks.
Emily Russell, NCPR