The Ausable Watershed

The Ausable River Watershed is located in the northeastern part of New York State. The watershed covers approximately 675,000 acres across two northern New York counties: Clinton and Essex. The headwaters of the Ausable River are set high in the Adirondack Mountains and the eventual outlet is found at the northern end of Lake Champlain.

The Ausable River is one of the earliest explored Adirondack rivers and offers access to a variety of recreational activities such as canoeing, hiking, boating, kayaking, biking, rock and ice climbing, and Nordic and alpine skiing. A renowned trout fishery, the river flows through dense forest and vast tracts of wetlands, as well as resting adjacent to steep, rugged cliffs. The area is also characterized with abundant wildlife.

The Ausable River starts as two high mountain streams in the Adirondack Mountain’s high peaks region. These streams, until they merge, are known as the East and West Branches of the Ausable. The East Branch begins its descent at the outlet of Lower Ausable Lake, which collects drainage water from some of the Adirondacks’ highest peaks including Mount Marcy (the highest elevation in New York at 5,334 feet), Gothics, and Skylight mountains. The West Branch forms at the convergence of Marcy and South Meadow Brooks. Similarly, the West Branch is supplied water from some of the highest elevations in the state, including Algonquin Mountain, Wright, Colden and Tabletop mountains. Each Branch travels more than 30 miles to their junction in the village of Au Sable Forks. The river travels another 25 miles finally emptying into Lake Champlain approximately four miles north of the village of Port Kent.

Tributaries to the Ausable River include the Boquet River, Black River, Chubb River, Hale Brook, Johns Brook, Lake Placid, Little Ausable River, Little Black Brook, Salmon River, South Meadow Brook and Sprucemill Brook. The topography is mountainous near the headwaters with elevations exceeding 5,000 feet. The outlet for the Ausable River is approximately 60 miles east and is 95 feet above sea level, which is also the average water elevation of Lake Champlain. The annual precipitation averages 35 to 40 inches. The soils can be very rocky with textures ranging from clay to sand in a significant portion of the Lake Plain.

Natural resource concerns identified in the watershed include sedimentation of surface waters, streambank erosion, nutrient loading, nuisance aquatic vegetation (Eurasian Milfoil) and oil and grease contamination of soil and water resources.

Map of Ausable Watershed

For general and application information, visit our CSP homepage.

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Self-Assessment Workbook (PDF; 941 KB)

Contact Information

Soil Conservationist

Josef Wetzstein
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
6064 Route 22, Suite 1
Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Telephone: 518-561-4616

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