Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Adirondack Explorer: APA Series, Shorelines At Risk, More

The Adirondack Explorer has just published the second installment in a series of articles looking at the performance of the Adirondack Park Agency and the adequacy of its regulations.

In the September/October issue, North Country Public Radio reporter Brian Mann looks at the consequences of political compromises that watered down shoreline protections in the early 1970s.

APA regulations allow more development along the water than away from it, which critics say is the exact opposite of what should be allowed. » Continue Reading.


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Monday, August 20, 2012

Finch Paper On State Land Deal, Company’s Future

Finch Paper’s future is secure, officials said last week during an interview session with the Adirondack Almanack.  In a wide-ranging conversation that touched on Finch’s forestry programs, the market for paper, and the recent State Land purchase,  company spokespeople stressed the need to protect forest lands, and the company’s commitment to playing a role in sustainably managing supplies of wood fiber for their plant in Glens Falls.

“I always stress keeping forest land forest land,” Finch Forest Management Manager Leonard Cronin said, adding that development is the biggest threat to forest lands. “Most paper mills have sold their lands and given up managing their forests,” he explained, saying that Finch chose a different approach.  » Continue Reading.


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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tour of River Restoration on East Branch Ausable River

This Thursday, August 16 beginning at 1:30 PM there will be a public tour of the river restoration project now taking place along the East Branch of the Ausable River in Keene Valley.

The tour will be at Rivermede Farm. For more information, contact Dave Reckahn of the Essex County Soil and Water Conservation District, 518-962-8225, essexswcd@westelcom.com, Corrie Miller at the Ausable River Association, info@ausableriver.org or Dan Plumley at Adirondack Wild’s regional office in Keene, dplumley@adirondackwild.org. » Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Construction Begins On New North Country SPCA Shelter

Construction will begin on the North Country SPCA’s new shelter on Route 9N east of Elizabethtown tomorrow after a year of planning and two years of fund-raising. The shelter is expected to open its doors in February 2013. The North Country SPCA is the only animal shelter in Essex County. Each year they care for over 400 homeless, abandoned, and abused cats and dogs. Since it was founded in 1969, the no-kill shelter has helped thousands of animals find homes.

“At last, the needy dogs and cats of Essex County will no longer have to live in an overcrowded, unhealthy building until loving homes can be found. The 40-year-old Westport shelter is literally falling down and contractors said there were so many problems that the only solution was to start over,” said John Sawyers, President of the NCSPCA. » Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

APA Meeting Thursday Focusing on Economic Development

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at its Headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, August 16, 2012. The meeting is one day only and will be webcast live, and will largely focus on economic development and planning.

The meeting with include a presentation from Local Government Review Board Executive Director Fred Monroe and Bradford Gentry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on their participation in a workshop on how conservation organizations can help rural communities in the areas of forestry, agriculture, tourism, energy, and environmental markets.

Additionally, Kate Fish and Bill Farber will provide a follow-up report on the Common Ground Alliance forum held July 18th in Long Lake and Dave Mason and Jim Herman, co-founders of the ADK Futures project, will provide an overview of the strategic visioning work they have completed in partnership with the Common Ground Alliance. The full schedule follows: » Continue Reading.


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Thursday, August 9, 2012

DEC State Land Management Survey Underway

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is conducting a survey to assess how the State’s management of State Forests affects public use of those forests.

DEC seeks input from groups and individuals who use State Forests for recreation and/or whose daily lives are affected by State Land management. The 10-question survey, which has been widely circulated by the pro-motorized access New York State Conservation Council, will be used to interpret current uses of State Forests, and to possibly influence future State Forest management practices. » Continue Reading.


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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Adirondacks Most Remote Spot: Not That Remote

It’s been said by photographer Gary Randorf, Clarence Petty, and others, that ninety-five percent of the entire Adirondack Forest Preserve, Wilderness included, is within about five miles of  one of the more than 5,000 miles of roads  in the Adirondack Park.

That statistic has been newly confirmed by two wildlife ecologists who say they have identified the most remote  spot in New York State, located in the High Peaks Wilderness – just 5.3 miles from the nearest road, and a less than a half-mile from the popular Northville-Placid Trail.

Rebecca and Ryan Means of Florida have been on a mission to identify, travel to, and document the most remote locations in all 50 states and recently came to the Adirondacks – with daughter Skyla in tow and Adirondack Explorer writer/photographer Josh Wilson along to report – to find ours. » Continue Reading.


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Sunday, August 5, 2012

New York State Acquires 69,000 Acres From Conservancy

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that New York State  has acquired 69,000 acres of the former Finch Pruyn and other Nature Conservancy lands throughout the Adirondacks. A statement by the Governor’s office called the  acquisition “the largest single addition to the Adirondack State Forest Preserve in more than a century.” 

Cuomo pointed to additional recreational opportunities, and the increased revenue from tourism as the reasons behind the purchase.  Some of the lands have been closed to the public for more than 150 years.  

The following details are from the governor’s press release: » Continue Reading.


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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Lost Brook Dispatches: Revitalizing Tupper Lake

Amy and I have just returned from two magnificent weeks on Lost Brook Tract.  It was everything we could want and more, pure glory.  I am still digesting the experience, not yet ready to write about it.

In the meantime I had prepared a set of Dispatches to run while we were gone so that you, dear readers, would not have the weekly streak interrupted.  I came off the land revitalized, ready to respond to any comments and rejoin the fray.  But as my columns were hardly controversial or provocative there were few comments to read (yes Catharus, looking for Bicknell’s up top is on our priority list).  No comments?  That’s no fun!   So this time I decided to write a column with a topic guaranteed to produce a reaction: revitalizing Tupper Lake.  I was motivated in part by the vitriol evident in a posting on the same topic just days ago. » Continue Reading.


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Friday, July 20, 2012

PROTECT Responds to Tupper Resort Lawsuit Critics

What follows is an essay sent to the media today by Protect the Adirondacks! regarding recent criticism over a lawsuit filed by the group and the Sierra Club against the Adirondack Park Agency over its approval of the 700-unit Adirondack Club & Resort project in Tupper Lake.  

For several months boosters of the Adirondack Club & Resort (ACR) project have criticized and even ridiculed the lawsuit brought by Protect the Adirondacks! and others to challenge the Adirondack Park Agency’s (APA) approval of the largest subdivision/development ever authorized in the Adirondack Park. They have criticized the lawsuit as frivolous in numerous public statements, lobbied the Cuomo Administration against the lawsuit, and even held a press conference in Albany with Senator Betty Little. The news media have provided ample coverage of these activities, while giving relatively little information about the substantive issues raised in the litigation (somewhat understandable, given the lengthy and complicated documents now before the court). » Continue Reading.


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