Glens Falls -- Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand Tuesday announced a $301,000 National Science Foundation grant for Doctors Charles Canham and Mike Pace of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies to research environmental changes in the lakes of the Adirondacks.          

The Institute for Ecosystem Studies, located in Millbrook in Dutchess County, was founded in 1983 and is one of the largest ecological research programs in the world.  Their areas of study include clean water research, forest protection, invasive species, air quality monitoring and effects on human and environmental interaction. 

The funds will be used to analyze development on public and private lands; specifically along lakeshores in the Adirondacks.  The study will concentrate on the effects of that development on nutrient levels, such as phosphorus, in the water.  The funds will also be used to develop teaching materials for the IES Ecosystem Literacy Initiative.  The Initiative provides materials for teachers, students, and the general public.