Stewardship Program 2018 Final Report
Adirondack Watershed Institute
Eric Holmlund, Heather Coleates, Sue O’Reilly, Jamie Parslow, Eric Paul, Jeff Sann, & Jake Sporn
This report summarizes data and program highlights for the 2018 field season of Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute Stewardship Program located in Paul Smiths, NY. In 2018, the AWI hired 113 watershed stewards stationed at 66 different boat launches and 23 decontamination stations throughout the Adirondack Park and beyond. This allowed the AWI to implement a landscape-scale, coordinated aquatic invasive species (AIS) spread prevention program. Boat inspection and decontamination programs managed and funded by cooperating lake associations placed 39 stewards at 10 additional locations, for a combined total of 152 stewards at 72 launches and 27 decontamination stations. Under a contract with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the AWI managed the New York State AIS Prevention Program, funded by an appropriation from New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund, for the fourth consecutive year. The AWI has stationed watershed stewards funded by a variety of agencies and foundations across the Adirondack Park since 2000. This report includes data from partner watercraft programs sponsored by municipalities, comprising 10% of all watercraft inspections.
AWI stewards educated 171,210 visitors about AIS issues and spread prevention techniques while inspecting 87,865 watercraft. Stewards discovered and removed 4,582 confirmed AIS, encompassing 4.1% of all watercraft inspected. Partner programs were AWI-supervised and trained, but operated independently at Brant Lake, Canada Lake, Caroga Decontamination Station, Loon Lake, Paradox Lake, Northern Schroon/Paradox Decontamination Station, Town of Horicon Decontamination Station, and Schroon Lake. With partner programs’ inspection figures included, a total of 98,216 watercraft were inspected, 191,493 people educated, and 4,617 confirmed AIS removed from watercraft, representing an overall watercraft AIS transport rate of 3.7%. Stewards decontaminated 3,455 watercraft at 27 decontamination stations.
A comparative analysis of data from 72 AWI and partner program boat launches revealed variation in visitor reception to inspection, AIS transport rate, percentage of visitors taking AIS spread prevention measures, and types of watercraft launched. Visitors reported using their watercraft within the previous two weeks on over 410 different water bodies throughout the United States and Canada. This report includes a review of public education and outreach efforts and outcomes.
In 2018, major funding for the AWI was provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund, the United States Environmental Protection Agency Great Lake Restoration Initiative (EPA GLRI), and the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP). Other funding sources included the Adirondack White Lake Association, the Black Lake Association, the Brantingham Community Association, the Lake Placid Shore Owners’ Association (LPSOA), the Osgood Pond Association, the Upper Saranac Foundation (USF), the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), the Towns of Arietta, Lake Pleasant, and Long Lake, and Paul Smith’s College.
