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State To Reconsider Use Of Adirondack Rail Corridor
The state announced today that it intends to revisit the management plan for a controversial rail corridor that traverses the Adirondacks, but don’t expect a quick decision.
The Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Transportation have only just begun to prepare for a lengthy review that will include plenty of opportunity for public input.
A decision on the best use of the 119-mile corridor will take at least a year, according to DOT spokesman Beau Duffy. » Continue Reading.
Current Conditions in the Adirondack Park (June 6)
This weekly Adirondack outdoor conditions report is issued on Thursday afternoons, year round.
Get The Weekly Outdoor Conditions Podcast
Listen for the weekly Adirondack Outdoor Recreation Report Friday mornings on WNBZ (AM 920 & 1240, FM 105 & 102.1), WSLP (93.3) and the stations of North Country Public Radio.
Adirondack Wildlife: Southern Red-Backed Vole
The presence of some forms of wildlife is easy to note while others are nearly impossible to detect. By restricting activities to places hidden from view, many creatures are able to maintain a secretive life. Small size and protective coloration can further reduce the chances of some animals from ever being glimpsed even on those occasions when they temporarily venture into a more exposed location. Not producing a call or any audible sound can also add to the stealth-like nature of many creatures, and failing to leave any visible sign of feeding or travel routes can make an animal unknown in those areas in which it is abundant.
While the wildlife community in the Adirondacks harbors many such elusive entities, it is the southern red-backed vole that tops the list of our region’s most abundant, yet rarely seen mammals. » Continue Reading.
Outfitter Now Offers Two ‘Adirondack Paddler’s Maps’
Dave Cilley’s waterproof “Adirondack Paddler’s Map” has been a big hit since he first published it in 2004. It covers a lot of territory, which is both its virtue and its vice.
I consulted the map often while researching my guidebook Adirondack Paddling: 60 Great Flatwater Adventures. The amount of detail is impressive: it shows the locations of lean-tos, campsites, trails, and put-ins and identifies just about every peak, pond, island, and stream that would be of interest to paddlers. » Continue Reading.
Great Camp Santanoni Restoration Tour June 28
Great Camp Santanoni in Newcomb was built for Robert and Anna Pruyn of Albany beginning in 1892. The estate eventually included 12,900 acres and nearly four-dozen buildings. Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) director Steven Engelhart and 2012 intern Charlotte Barrett will lead a tour of the site on Friday, June 28, 2013 that will feature the launch of a new guide to Santanoni, authored by Barrett.
The day will include stops at the Gate Lodge, the 200-acre farm, and the Main Camp on Newcomb Lake where well see ongoing restoration and learn about the conservation planning and restoration work. The Santanoni Preserve is owned by New York State, on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Historic Landmark. AARCH has long been associated with the protection, interpretation and restoration of this Adirondack treasure. » Continue Reading.
ORDA Offers New Options For Locals, Frequent Visitors
The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority’s (ORDA) Olympic venues are offering a new ticket option for locals and frequent visitors: a $79 Gold Pass that provides unlimited access to the Olympic sites.
The Gold Pass includes unlimited admission to the Olympic Jumping Complex, including the Summer Jumping Series; the Olympic Sports Complex, Olympic Museum, Veterans’ Memorial Highway and the Whiteface Mountain Cloudsplitter gondola rides. It can also be used for admission to Oktoberfest, the Flaming Leaves Festival, Saturday Night ice shows, selected events and 20-percent off the Lake Placid Bobsled Experience and Skeleton Experience. » Continue Reading.
Hill and Hollow Music in the Town of Saranac
In its 20-year history, Saranac’s Hill and Hollow Music has brought over 100 professional chamber music ensembles to the Adirondacks. Their community outreach has included over 1,250 presentations in schools, churches, senior residences and community centers. For founders Angela Brown and Kellum Smith the vision has grown to include a year-round Rural Retreat Program for professional musicians and the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble (NAVE).
NAVE debuted in December 2011 and currently Conductor Drew Benware continues to work with Hill and Hollow to fill a distinct niche with this a cappella choir. According to Brown, by keeping this vocal ensemble small, NAVE is able to focus on a musical repertoire that enhances the goals of Hill and Hollow. » Continue Reading.
The Secret Weapon Of The Salamanders And Butterflies
In the natural world predation is relentless, and evading predators strongly favors the evolution of camouflage colors in animals. How contradictory then, for small, defenseless creatures – like red efts and monarch butterflies – to be sporting a bright shade of orange. But there is more to their cheerful color than meets the eye. Both the eft and the monarch are poisonous.
Once a predator has tasted one, it soon gets sick, and from that experience learns not to eat another. Thus an individual eft or butterfly may sacrifice itself, but the education of predators benefits the species as a whole. And, in fact, efts and monarchs often survive predator attacks. Toads and snakes that swallow red efts have been observed to vomit up the prey unharmed in about half an hour. Birds that attack monarch butterflies often go for the brightly colored wings, the most toxic part of the insect. One peck may be all it takes to deter the bird. » Continue Reading.
Photography: An Adirondack Sunset
Last Sunday’s stormy weather conditions made for dramatic picturesque skies indeed, and the timing couldn’t have been any better! The Sun was setting, with the last of the storms passing through, giving way to this golden view! It’s moments like this that makes you really feel alive, and be glad for it! So remember, when the storm is passing and the Sun is setting, grab your camera and get ready for a beautiful show! I captured this image with my Canon Powershot SX 110 IS, 60 mm focal length, 1/125 sec. at f /5.6, ISO 80.
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