The Peru Gazette

Ausable River Association photo

Ausable River Association News Release 

A request from the Ausable River Association (AsRA) for $2 million was included in the 2023 Federal Omnibus Bill, signed into law last week by President Biden. AsRA’s request was shepherded through the appropriations process, through subcommittee review and approval, by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

These funds will help build flood resilience and health in the Town of Jay. They will advance critical river restoration projects detailed in the East Branch Ausable River Restoration Plan and expand the Plan, which currently includes the Town of Jay, to include the upstream half of the East Branch in the Town of Keene.

This funding request and Congresswoman Stefanik’s backing were a direct response to the ice jam and flood that devastated parts of the hamlet of Au Sable Forks on February 18, 2022. That same day, 10 miles upstream in the hamlet of Upper Jay – where ice jams normally develop first – an AsRA-coordinated stream restoration project completed in 2021 successfully broke up large slabs of ice, storing them on newly rebuilt streambanks. But downstream in Au Sable Forks, where similar projects lack full funding, the ice built up, forming dams that shifted thousands of gallons per minute of rushing icy water through homes, properties,and town infrastructure.

“These projects led by the Ausable River Association make a real difference for our communities,” said Town of Jay Supervisor Matt Stanley. “They avert ice jamming and flooding and are examples of how humans and towns can cohabitate with each other and how river restoration really works.” Stanley reached out to Congresswoman Stefanik’s office and to AsRA that day last February to ask if funding could be identified to move more AsRA-coordinated projects in the Town forward to construction.

New York State Senator Dan Stec wrote in support of the request, noting, “Planning and implementing these projects will increase stability and confidence for businesses and residents alike. Where infrastructure cannot be adjusted, stream restoration projects promote stability and sustainability that incentivize economic growth.”

Town of Keene Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson said, “The Town of Keene is grateful for this support. The Ausable River and its tributaries are essential to our town’s well-being. But we also know their devastating power firsthand. This funding will enable us to make significant progress in planning coordinated restoration projects along the Ausable River. These projects are essential for flood resilience and for habitat protection and it’s a real success to have projects that are good for the environment and for the communities along the river.”

Since 2010, AsRA’s staff – working with local towns, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other public and private partners – has designed and constructed several significant stream restoration projects on the East and West Branch Ausable Rivers. These projects have demonstrated time and again that natural stream restoration techniques alleviate ice jams, absorb flood waters, increase flood resilience, and improve the health and visual appeal of the river corridor. From 2018 to 2019, with funds directed by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), AsRA’s staff and a team of experts developed the comprehensive East Branch Restoration Plan for 12 miles of the river in the Town of Jay. GOSR and the Town of Jay funded the successful restoration in Upper Jay.