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A Look Under The Ice

Watershed Stories

Keep up with the work of Ausable Freshwater Center (AFC) 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.

Jun
14
2024
Under the Microscope
Do they look like willow leaves or maple leaves? Does it have two tails or three tails? What shape are the gills? Are there branching gills on abdomen segment six?
Ecology
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May
06
2024
Stream Restoration on Private Land
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.
Restoration
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May
02
2024
Spring Cleanup: Stream Steward Edition
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...
Stewardship
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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
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Apr
16
2024
Why Wood is Good for Streams
Wood is essential to the health, structure, and biodiversity of streams in our region.
Restoration
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The Ausable River is a river on the edge.
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