The Ausable River Association (AsRA) has announced the schedule for their free, guided interpretive outdoor programs in the northern Adirondacks this spring. This year’s programs include 15 guided trips to locations in the Ausable, Boquet, and Saranac River watersheds.
Three spring programs kick off the season. The first is a birding walk in a private preserve along the West Branch Ausable River. Dr. Larry Master, conservation biologist/zoologist and past Ausable River Association board chair, and Derek Rogers, ace birder and Stewardship Director with the Adirondack Land Trust, will lead this tour.
The second tour is a wildflower identification walk and drawing workshop at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center. Cris Winters, a full-time artist from Saranac Lake with a scientific background in conservation biology and botanical illustration, will lead this tour.
The third tour is a moth and bat research night at John Brown Farm State Historic Site outside of Lake Placid. Dr. Larry Master will also lead this tour, drawing on his experience as a bat researcher for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He will use a bat detector hooked to a computer so that participants can listen to and view bat echolocation calls and learn how to identify bats that might be passing nearby. He will also set up a mercury vapor light behind a large sheet to attract some of the many species of night flying moths and other insects. The sheet keeps the insects safe and allows closer inspection for those attending.
AsRA’s free, guided programs begin the weekend of May 21st. Program dates, registration, and additional information are available on the Ausable River Association website.
Photo of Ausable River Association guided tour provided.
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