Adirondack Aquatic Regional Response Team: 2015 Report

Adirondack Watershed Institute

Sean Regalado, Lindsey Pett, Leah Gorman, Emily Hastings, & Daniel Kelting

The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP), through its Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) volunteer monitoring program and partners, has conducted AIS surveys on more than 300 lakes and ponds since 2002. The AIS distribution data gathered each year is recorded online using iMapInvasives (http://imapinvasives.org/) and used to create annual AIS distribution maps for the region. This information is used by APIPP and partners to better inform the public and their representatives about AIS in Adirondack waters and helps focus needs for prevention and management in the region.

The Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) of Paul Smith’s College has conducted complete aquatic plant surveys of Adirondack Waters since the summer of 2011. Initial funding was from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which restricted surveys to the Eastern Lake Ontario Watershed of the Adirondack Park. Between 2011 and 2014, 80 lakes were surveyed. In 2015, with funding from The APIPP, AWI was able to perform comprehensive AIS surveys on waters outside of the GLRI watershed. 2015’s survey efforts were focused within the southeastern portion of the Adirondack Park due to the lack of AIS distribution data in that area. The team also had additional capacity to remove newly discovered infestations of AIS using SCUBA and hand harvesting after achieving the appropriate permitting requirements.