You are essential to protecting it. Using water wisely at home, following check-clean-dry procedures to keep watercraft and fishing gear free of invasive species, restoring and protecting native plant species along shorelines and streamsides, and supporting state and federal funding of research and stream restoration activities are just some of the ways your actions make a difference.

This summer you can also make a difference by supporting the Ausable River Association. Every dollar donated will be matched 1:1 up to $50,000. That’s $100,000 for freshwater protection in your backyard, in the places you live, work, and play.

Why support the Ausable River Association? Because, guided by science and working in partnership with our communities, we restore, rebuild, protect, and help you sustainably enjoy the freshwater systems we all rely upon. We restore damaged streams.

While rivers can heal themselves, they need significant amounts of time and space to do so. Where human infrastructure cannot be moved to allow the river to heal, we intervene. Using only native stone, trees, and biodegradable fabric, we repair the channel and banks with careful planning and mathematical precision. The result, over time, is a beautiful flowing channel of oxygenating riffles and deep pools with thick buffers of native trees and plants. It’s good for the river, for water quality, for biodiversity, and it’s the foundation for resilient, vibrant Adirondack communities. This summer we’ll be restoring a section of the East Branch Ausable River in Upper Jay to reduce ice jams, build flood resilience, and restore stream health. And we’ll be providing our technical expertise to other communities, replacing undersized culverts in the Boquet and the Saranac.

We rebuild native habitats.

Every living thing needs a home. We identify the ecosystem needs of native species and rebuild the native streamside habitats they rely on. While Ausable and Boquet headwater streams are mostly protected, the public and private lands spread across their lower reaches have a grand role to play in the conservation of key species: brook trout, Atlantic salmon, wood turtle, American eel, and more. We help communities build better habitats for all wildlife species that call our watershed ecosystems home. We are expanding our landmark eDNA science to identify the places most important for the protection of these key species and document the impact of our stream restoration efforts. We’ve also laid the ground for a hyper-local native plant nursery to supply our region with hardy native stems for restoration.

We find solutions to water quality challenges.

Fresh water is fundamental to human health, food production, ecosystem functions, and economic growth. The Adirondack Park exists to protect water–our streams, lakes, and wetlands. Nevertheless, many challenges threaten water quality: climate change, sediment pollution, nutrient loading, microplastics pollution, and more. Working with a diverse array of partners, we identify threats to water quality, investigate potential solutions, implement them, and track their success. This spring and fall, with funds from the NYS Legislature, we’re working with Cornell University, CUNY, Paul Smith’s, RPI, and Syracuse to pilot a pioneering collaborative water quality research effort known as SCALE, a Survey of Climate Change and Adirondack Lake Ecosystems. Knowledge gained will inform our understanding and management of increased algal blooms in lakes, temperature changes, nutrient shifts, and browning.

We empower people to protect fresh water.

People make the difference when it comes to the health of our watershed ecosystems. We give residents and visitors of all ages the information, tools, and opportunities to understand, protect, and responsibly enjoy the Ausable River watershed. Everyone can be a voice for the river–making informed decisions that protect our waterways, at home, at work, in our communities, and in other Adirondack watersheds. This year, we’re expanding our outreach programs in schools, providing year-round opportunities for the public to take free tours with expert naturalists, and we’re planning the creation of the Ausable Preserve an experiential outreach center along the East Branch Ausable River in the Town of Jay.

Learn more about how you can protect your watershed on our website at ausableriver.org/caring. And every donation you make this summer, through our website, by calling our office, emailing us at contactus@ausableriver.org will be doubled by our generous challenge donors.

Make a difference for fresh water this summer.

(Kelley Tucker is the executive director of the Ausable River Association.)