Private landowners living near or owning property along a river or stream in the Ausable and neighboring watersheds often reach out to us about eroding banks, flooding, and other streamside concerns. These inquiries inspired us to provide some general background information about the process we follow in our ongoing efforts to assess and restore streams that often suffer from the combined effects of historical land use (e.g., clear cut logging in the 19th and 20th centuries, public and private roadways, private dam failures, etc.) and the increase in extreme storms due to our changing climate. The short answer is that there are no quick and easy fixes. The process takes time and can be expensive, depending on the extent of the degradation and the size of the river or stream. Knowing this at the outset can help landowners understand that, although there are options available to address these common problems, restoring the self-sustaining function of a stream is complicated.

With warm temperatures arriving, birds singing, and leaves starting to pop, it is tempting to get outside and clean up your yard and gardens. And while your property may not look quite as neat as you'd like it, a 'messy' yard can be beneficial both to...

Remember Matthew, our 2023 Colgate University Upstate Summer Field School fellow? He's back on campus and has been keeping busy finishing his final semester. During his time with us, Matthew got to travel with us from field to forest to lake, and dug into some water quality data for his final project. Read the blog he recently wrote by clicking the link below.