The Town of Santa Clara, in a collaborative effort with the Upper Saranac Foundation (USF) and the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI), has been awarded a nearly $20,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The grant will help underwrite the cost of the Watershed Stewardship Program.
The Watershed Stewardship Program helps protect the Upper Saranac watershed by reducing the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) through watercraft inspections and decontamination services, performed by trained Watershed Stewards. These stewards, partially funded from this award, will be stationed on Upper Saranac Lake at Back Bay and at the Fish Creek Campground. In addition to increasing visitor understanding of AIS issues and spread prevention measures, stewards offer inspection certification and decontamination of vessels and equipment that are considered a risk of spreading AIS by not meeting the Clean, Drain and Dry Standard.
A new law requires boaters operating any kind of motorized watercraft inside the Adirondack Park to carry a certificate confirming their motorboat is free of harmful aquatic invasive species. Motorboat operators can receive a watercraft inspection certificate from our Watershed Stewards. You can learn more about this regulation via an informational video found here.
USF works with the AWI to oversee the Watershed Stewardship Program. Additional funding through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Adirondack Park-wide Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program will provide stewardship coverage seven days per week beginning Memorial Day through Labor Day, and weekend coverage through Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In previous years, USF subsidized the expense of additional stewardship coverage through donations from our supporters. Funding for this grant is provided by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. For more information on the Upper Saranac Watershed Stewardship program, visit usfoundation.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/USF-Final-report-for-2022.pdf