Watershed Stewardship Program: Summary of Programs and Research, 2003

Adirondack Watershed Institute

Eric Holmlund, Molly Shubert, Laurella Mamere, Michele Diamanti, Jeremy Riedl, Shawn Brundage, Justine Levine

The Watershed Stewardship Program enjoyed a successful and productive summer in 2003, marked by the initiation of a new, full-summer recreation study on Upper Saranac Lake’s Fish Creek inlet, two pilot programs at potential program sites of the future, a restructured and energized educational outreach effort and continuing coverage and public education at our primary program locations. Our stewards again had the sometimes enviable job of waiting in the sun and rain, each day of our 15 week season, to encounter the wide variety of recreators at three public boat launches and the summit of St. Regis Mountain. Our stewards met weekly, reported their findings, maintained databases, documented findings in written reports, drew up lesson plans, investigated invasive plants and kept a watchful eye on the resources that mean so much to both the human and non-human residents of our watersheds.

The Watershed Stewardship Program, as an aspect of Paul Smith's College’s Adirondack Watershed Institute, also welcomed a new staff member in September of 2003. Dr. Daniel Kelting assumed the position of Director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute, promising a bold new era of program growth and leadership. I am confident that the fortunes and prospects for the Watershed Stewardship Program will benefit from the emerging mission and activities of the larger organization of which the WSP is part – the Adirondack Watershed Institute. I have worked closely with Dan in the last few months to chart a course for the Watershed Stewardship Program that complements the ideals of general watershed stewardship, research and outreach.

The new mission of the Adirondack Watershed Institute, formulated collaboratively in the fall of 2003, is as follows:

The mission of the Adirondack Watershed Institute is to create scientifically-sound knowledge about terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and human relationships with the environment, enhance the educational opportunities available for undergraduate students and to engage the Adirondack Community in ways that facilitate the stewardship of our natural resources.