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The Adirondack Cooperative Loon
Program (ACLP) is a collaborative research and education effort studying
the natural history of the Common Loon (Gavia immer) and the
effects of contaminants and human interactions on the loon population in
the Adirondack Park. ACLP evolved from loon contaminant research conducted
by the Northeast Loon Study Workgroup in the Park from 1998-2000. ACLP was
initiated in the spring of 2001 to further expand upon this work. The ACLP
is a partnership of the Wildlife Conservation
Society, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, NYS Dept. of
Environmental Conservation, BioDiversity Research Institute, and the
Audubon Society of New York State, Inc.
The Adirondack Cooperative Loon
Program conducts research to determine the status and trends in the
Adirondack breeding loon population, and the effect of mercury
contamination on this population's reproductive success. This work is
coordinated with similar research throughout northeastern North America to
determine the effect of environmental mercury contamination on the
breeding loon population throughout the region.
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ACLP also seeks to minimize
anthropogenic impacts on loon populations and other wildlife through a
variety of public education projects, including presentations, our
website, newsletters, a lead sinker exchange project, and interactive
student programs for classes in the Park. Adirondack Park residents and
visitors are invited to learn firsthand about conservation of loons and
their environment through participation in ACLP's research and monitoring
projects. The results from ACLP's research and education projects will be
used by New York's wildlife managers and other decision-makers, as well as
the public, to ensure that Common Loons remain an integral and vital part
of our state's wildlife heritage, and that the loons' haunting calls
continue to echo across Adirondack lakes for generations to come.
The Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program invites you to
explore this area of the Adirondack Online Science Project. Learn more
about the Common Loon, and impart your observations, stories and pictures
with others who share your fascination with this unique bird. Follow
ACLP's progress in its research and education efforts about the Adirondack
loon population.
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