A grant from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Invasive Species Grant program is supporting the Upper Saranac Foundation as it works to remove and manage aquatic invasive species from Follensby Clear Pond. (Provided photo — Upper Saranac Foundation)

A grant from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation will support the Upper Saranac Foundation’s efforts to remove aquatic invasive species, or AIS, from Follensby Clear Pond.

A total of $3 million was awarded to municipalities and nonprofit organizations this year to combat aquatic and terrestrial invasive species statewide through the DEC’s Invasive Species Grant program. The nearly $47,000 awarded to the USF will support two years of AIS prevention and mitigation at Follensby Clear Pond.

“The USF and its partners have made tremendous progress over the last two decades to restore the Upper Saranac watershed to a more pristine state,” said USF Lake Manager Guy Middleton. “Upper Saranac Lake itself is now nearly free from Eurasian milfoil and should remain that way thanks to ongoing monitoring and management. In recent years, we’ve turned our focus to neighboring water bodies to prevent the downstream spread of invasives, including Follensby Clear.”

The Follensby Clear work aligns with the USF’s 2022 Watershed Management Plan, combining AIS prevention, surveying, control and education. Over the last two years, USF divers have utilized hand harvesting control methods to remove Eurasian watermilfoil from Follensby Clear Pond, helping to prevent the spread of AIS downstream into Upper Saranac Lake and to nearby non-infested water bodies including Polliwog, Horseshoe and Green ponds. The USF’s goal is to eventually eradicate milfoil from Follensby Clear.

This additional management complements work that began in 2020, funded through a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

To learn more about the USF’s AIS prevention and management work, visit usfoundation.net.