Region News

A report released yesterday by American Whitewater finds that the flows mandated for the Saranac River's High Falls Gorge will likely fail to restore basic ecological functions to the river.  The report critiques the mandated flows using an analytical tool developed by the Nature Conservancy that compares human caused changes in certain aspects of flows that are ecologically important.

Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its Environmental Assessment (EA) of boating on the Ausable Chasm.  The EA marks a critical milestone in the paddling community’s efforts to secure access to the beautiful Class IV Ausable Chasm.  The EA fully supports year-round paddling despite the power company's request for permission to totally block all paddling.  While the access plan will require several months to implement, an interim access plan could allow paddling this summer.