From the Ausable River to Chateaugay Lake, the Adirondacks is home to thousands of lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams that make it truly special. Aug. 3 through Aug. 11 is Adirondack Water Week in celebration of the way our region is impacted by these waterways, and I am proud to sponsor a New York state Assembly resolution to mark this week in New York state.

As a homeowner on an Adirondack lake, I wake up every morning to some of the best views New York has to offer, often to the sound of loons calling. If you are not lucky enough to live by an Adirondack waterway, there are so many ways for you to still enjoy their beauty through fishing, camping, kayaking, canoeing and other water recreation, as well as visiting one of the many state parks and beaches. We are truly blessed to live in an area with so many options to experience the great outdoors.

While there are so many recreational opportunities in our Adirondack waters, we must continue to do our part in protecting them for future generations to come. Road salt is a pressing issue within the Adirondacks, and I am proud to have sponsored the bill to create the Adirondack Road Salt Task Force to address road salt contamination. This bill was named in the memory of Randy Preston, former town supervisor of Wilmington, who was a tireless advocate to protect our waters from further salt pollution. After I was elected in 2016, I heard so many heartbreaking stories about road salt contaminating people’s drinking water and ruining their appliances — all on top of learning about how road salt is harming our waterways. Consequently, addressing road salt quickly became one of my top priorities.

The Adirondack Road Salt Task Force released their findings last year and we patiently wait for the state to take action. In the meanwhile, local organizations are still working to address this issue. The Ausable River Association teamed up with the Adirondack Watershed Institute to continue to test the road salt contamination in many of the Adirondack waters to help us better understand how extensive this pollution is. Adk Action also has launched an awareness campaign regarding road salt contamination and how reducing road salt does not make roads less dangerous. Many folks are under the misconception that road salt is the only option in making our roads safe, but that is not the case. There are ways to reduce road salt while keeping us safe while also not causing damage to our waterways. Their motto, “Clean water safe roads,” is fitting. We do not need to sacrifice safety to keep our waters clean.

For outdoors people and nature lovers to continue to enjoy the Adirondack waters, it is also vital that we protect them from invasive species. That is one of the many reasons why I was proud to sponsor the Adirondack Aquatic Invasive Species bill years ago. This law requires boats to be clean of invasive species to make sure that boaters do not unknowingly carry invasive species from lake to lake or lakes outside of the Adirondacks. These inspections protect our waters from milfoil and other invasive species to protect the natural habitats of fish, so that we can continue fishing our waters and that wildlife may continue to enjoy them as well. Keeping invasive species out of the waters also helps make sure that residents may continue to enjoy the natural beauty around them protect valuable property on our lakeshores. The Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith’s College has been an excellent partner at finding Water Inspection Stewards to work at the boat washing stations throughout the Adirondacks and I commend them for all the work they do to keep our waters clean.

However, our work is not done. That is why I am proud to sponsor A10608 which would create a New York Road Salt Reduction Council and a New York Road Salt Reduction Advisory Committee to help coordinate and implement the findings of the Adirondack Road Salt Task Force. This is a crucial step in taking action statewide to reduce road salt and keep our waters clean. This bill is one of my priorities for the next legislative session and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this law.

Join me this Adirondack Water Week in celebrating the beauty our waterways bring to our daily life. Celebrate by enjoying a sunrise or sunset by the water or canoeing at an Adirondack pond surrounded by loons. There is so much here to appreciate, and this week is a perfect excuse to go out and enjoy the outdoors. The Adirondack Watershed Institute is also hosting events all week and I encourage you all to check them out.

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D. Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, is a state Assemblyman representing New York’s 115th Assembly District.