MASSENA—A Clarkson University project aimed at better understanding of and appreciation for the St. Lawrence River ecosystem has been awarded funding from the St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund (SLRREF).

Clarkson University will use its $19,162 funding to study the ecological conditions of wetlands in places along the St. Lawrence River where water quality and biodiversity are thought to be compromised.

The grant, funded through the New York Power Authority, will allow student and faculty researchers to measure wetland impairment and environmental degradation and the effectiveness of the wetland restoration and mitigation projects.

Tom A. Langen, associate professor of biology at Clarkson University, said, “The St. Lawrence River near Massena, New York, is one of the 39 environmental Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes region, and one of only six located in New York State. The research findings, accomplished with the assistance of Power Authority funding, will help stakeholders concerned about the environmental condition of the St. Lawrence River, to prioritize areas of concern, and more efficiently allocate scarce resources to the wetland areas that need them most.”

Save the River, based in Clayton, was awarded $4,600 to build on their volunteer-based Riverkeeper Monitoring Program.

The St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund was established by NYPA as part of its relicensing of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in 2003.

Since 2007, when SLRREF was initiated, 18 projects have been approved for nearly $244,000 in NYPA funding through SLRREF. With matching grants of more than $216,000 from others, total funding for the projects is approximately $460,000. A complete list of projects and grants is available at www.nypa.gov/facilities/slrref/SLRREFProjects.html.

The SLRREF board consists of representatives of the Power Authority, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, the St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Education Services, the St. Lawrence County Planning Office, the Northern New York Audubon Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local municipalities.

Information on the next deadline for submitting grant proposals will be available in the near future at www.nypa.gov/facilities/slrref/slrrefhome.htm. To be eligible for financial support from SLRREF, proposed projects must pertain to the St. Lawrence River, the adjoining terrestrial features or a tributary within the St. Lawrence River Valley.