For 24 years, the Ausable River Association has made a difference for the places you love. As we embark on our 25th year, help us open an exciting new chapter.

Over the past 10 years, the East and West Branch AuSable Rivers have been the focus of a quiet but determined experiment. We set out to remake the Ausable River Association in 2014; to create an organization that responds to the practical needs of natural waterways — streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, floodplains, and the native plants and wildlife essential to them — while addressing the needs of the human communities alongside them. To create an organization that pursues scientific knowledge in the field for the purpose of healing streams, protecting habitat, and monitoring water quality. An organization that gives knowledge to people so they can make smart decisions and pursue conservation-minded action. An organization that listens to and works with communities to build flood resilience in a changing climate and that lays a foundation for economic vitality alongside our rivers. We captured that in our tag line: Science Stewardship = Solutions.

Our goal was to build a model that blends science and technical expertise from experienced staff and partners with engaged stewardship, sharing knowledge and informing community action to protect our fresh water. We’ve succeeded.

We’re building flood resilience on the East and West Branch Ausable, pursuing holistic plans that restore the form and function of these amazing rivers. We’re identifying and improving the management of habitats essential to native fish, turtles, salamanders, mammals and birds. And we’re monitoring the effects of climate change on the freshwater web. All the while, we engage, inform, and teach people — young and old, residents and visitors. Our methods are receiving attention at the state and national level. Our intimacy with the places we work, our comprehensive field-based science, our relationships with communities — all are essential to our success. But we wonder, how do we share this success more broadly?

In 2024, after 25 years of innovative work with our communities to restore and protect the AuSable River system, we’re expanding our reach to serve waterways throughout the Adirondack Park. We’ll deploy our growing technical capacity to provide communities with solutions that restore streams, protect riparian habitat, sustain water quality, and build climate resilience. Our programs and projects will continue to focus on the Ausable watershed — it’s our home and our laboratory for innovation, where we can monitor our success. Moving forward, we will bring our expertise in stream restoration, habitat management, watershed assessment, and science-based problem solving to other river systems in the Adirondack Park: the Boquet, Saranac, Schroon, Raquette, Upper Hudson, and more. We’ll partner with local communities, watershed groups, government agencies, funders, other regional nonprofits and landowners for the benefit of streams, lakes, wetlands and people. It will take innovation, persistence, partnerships, and conversations with communities. It will take time, and it will require the support of stream and lake lovers in all our Adirondack watersheds.

We hope you’ll support us by donating to make this new work possible. As always, if you have ideas, questions, or concerns, contact us. Help us protect and restore Adirondack fresh water.

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