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A Look Under The Ice

Watershed Stories

Keep up with the work of Ausable River Association staff. These stories share information about our stewardship and monitoring work, natural stream restoration, and culvert replacement techniques by highlighting specific projects in the Ausable and Boquet River watersheds of northern New York. They also give you fun facts about the plants and wildlife that live in these watersheds, as well as tips for enjoying responsible, low-impact recreational opportunities.

Apr
16
2024
AsRA from the Eyes of the 2023 Intern
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.
Stewardship
Apr
16
2024
Why Wood is Good for Streams
Wood is essential to the health, structure, and biodiversity of streams in our region.
Restoration
Apr
03
2024
From Seeds to Streams- AsRA Launches Ausable Conservation Nursery
A view of the Uihlein Foundation’s greenhouse and future site of the ACN high tunnel.The Ausable River Association is excited to announce the launch of its newest program, the Ausable Conservation Nursery. Located on land owned by the Henry Uihlein...
Restoration
Mar
18
2024
A Walk Around Mirror Lake
One of my favorite walks when I want to get outside but not into the woods is the 2.5-mile loop around Mirror Lake. The path is paved and well maintained, making it a great option for poor weather days and mud season. I've walked this loop dozens of...
Limnology
Feb
28
2024
Cold Weather Control: Knock these Invasive Plants Out this Winter!
If you're familiar with our blogs, you're probably aware of invasive species and the risks they pose to our ecosystems. These non-native plants and animals overtake niches occupied by native species and, if they are allowed to proliferate, ultimately...
Invasives
Jan
30
2024
Fun with Geomorphology: What Is Stream Order?
Stream order is used in hydrology and geomorphology to classify the hierarchy of a river's tributary network. Segments of streams are given a numerical value that increases as more tributaries converge downstream to create larger streams and rivers. Stream order is related to many of the natural characteristics that we observe within the Ausable watershed and across the region.  
Geomorphology
Jan
10
2024
How Do Ice Jams Form?
Ice jams form when the amount of ice moving in the river exceeds the river channel's transport capacity – its ability to move materials downstream. The process begins when cold winters create thick bank to bank ice on streams. Bank spanning surface ice...
Ecology
Jan
04
2024
Thin Ice
If it feels as though the ice in period has grown later over the years, that is because it has. There has been a significant change in the ice on date over the 120-year period of record.
Climate Change
Nov
29
2023
A Buckthorn In My Side
As we were out conducting Stream Wise assessments for private landowners around the watershed and other field work this year, Ausable River Association staff continuously found three concerning invasive species: buckthorn, honeysuckle, and barberry. Our...
Invasives
Nov
16
2023
Project Area 2 Is Complete!
After rain and flooding delays in July and August, the construction phase of our work at Project Area 2 (PA2) in Upper Jay on the East Branch Ausable River was completed on November 8. The project addressed nearly 3,000 linear feet of river channel with a toe wood bench along the entire length of the right bank (looking downstream) and seven channel-spanning rock enhancements. Project goals were to reduce the formation of ice jams and alleviate flooding impacts in the Town of Jay. The work provided additional benefits: increased buffers along State Route 9N to absorb floods and ice and increased aquatic and riparian habitat.
Restoration

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Our mission — is to help communities protect our streams and lakes.
Threats
Threats
The Ausable River is a river on the edge.
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Programs
AsRA is working hard to protect the Ausable River.
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Explore
Explore the recreational resources of the Ausable.
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