KEENE VALLEY (AP) – Work is starting this week on streambed and habitat restoration in an Adirondack High Peaks trout brook to repair damage wrought by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

The floodwaters dramatically altered the streambed of Johns Brook in the hamlet of Keene Valley and ripped away huge chunks of Route 73, a major road through the region. During cleanup work, highway workers created a straight, flat drainage channel where there used to be a brook splashing over huge boulders into pools. That damaged trout habitat and made the stream more prone to flooding and erosion.

Restoration of a more natural, cascading streambed is being done by the AuSable River Association in cooperation with local and federal agencies and private landowners.