Posts Tagged ‘Franklin County’

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Chazy Highlands Management Plan In The Works

Lyon_Mountain_-_View_from_lake_ChazyThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is preparing to restart a management plan for nearly 60,000 acres of Forest Preserve and other state-managed lands in the Chazy Highlands Complex. The lands spread across 493 square miles in 34 separate parcels in the northeastern Adirondack Park and are located in the towns of Bellmont, Duane, and Franklin in Franklin County and the towns of Altona, Black Brook, Dannemora, Ellenburg, and Saranac in Clinton County.

Natural features in the Complex include Lyon Mountain,  Haystack Knob, Norton Peak, and  Ellenburg Mountain; Upper Chateaugay Lake and Chazy Lake; and Saranac River and Great Chazy River. The primary recreational uses are fishing and hunting; however the public also participates in hiking, camping, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and bird/wildlife watching on these lands. Both the trail to the Fire Tower on the Lyon Mountain and the Lewis Preserve Wildlife Management Area are frequented often by the public. » Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Adirondack Family Activities: Pendragon’s Summer Season

fleurdisliscoverMy family enjoys going to the theatre as much as we enjoy hitting the trails. Thankfully because of the many wonderful Adirondack seasonal theatre companies we never have too far to travel to get our summer theatre fix. There is no need to drive to the ends of the Park in the other months thanks to Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake. As the Adirondack’s only year-round professional theatre, Pendragon has been bringing live theatre to the Adirondacks for over 30 years.  This year Pendragon Theatre has chosen the theme of “Saints and Sinners” for the upcoming 2013 season.

Pendragon’s new Executive/Artist Director Karen Lordi-Kirkham  says, “This is the first season that I’ve chosen the plays. The theme began with the fact that A Street Car Named Desire was the first play Pendragon produced. I wanted this to be a tribute to Bob and Susan. Everything else came together and followed the Saints and Sinners theme.” » Continue Reading.


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Saturday, March 9, 2013

Lost Brook Dispatches:
Traveling Campbell’s Northern Survey

Five PondsAs I described in last week’s Dispatch, the more I become engrossed in Adirondack history the more my interest has grown in Archibald Campbell’s incomplete survey of the northern line of the Totten and Crossfield Purchase.

Having possession of his field notes and maps plus a 1911 large-format map of the Adirondack Park as well as modern USGS maps, I did a bunch of digitizing, calibrating, measuring and finagling, virtually recreating his journey.  This summer I plan to hike it to see it for real and compare my experiences to his.  But the virtual trip was a most interesting project for me and I would like to take you along.

Beware!  Unless you are a Class-One Adirondack Nerd this Dispatch might lead to narcolepsy.  But if you have been following my surveying series with interest, then lace your boots, grab your gaiters, your Gunter’s chain and your rum and let’s hike together into the primeval forest. » Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Adirondack Family Activities: NYSEF Lake Placid Kids Fest

SkiJumpKidFest_newThere is still plenty of snow left around the Adirondacks and plenty of places taking full advantage of it. For one, the New York Ski Education Foundation (NYSEF) will be celebrating its annual Kids’ Fest at the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex March 16-17. This two-day event will allow participants a glimpse into the world of Biathlon, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping.

If your child is interested in skate skiing, paintball and biathlon, this venue is a great place to be able to view the action. He/she can even participate for a $40 entry fee, though it is free to watch. Keep in mind that all the other Olympic activities such as riding the chair lift, tubing or going up the chairlift or visiting the observation tower requires admission. Registration will begin each day at 8:30 am with the individual skate races starting at 9:30 am. After lunch on Saturday the Ski Jumping segment begins with the day finishing with the Skate Sprint competition.  After the awards at the Olympic Ski Jump Base Lodge, there will be an ice cream social. Sunday will hold the season’s final Adirondack Paintball Biathlon.
» Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Adirondack Family Activities: Adirondack Lecture Series

2013_POMACLecture_Series_poster_2013Though our family always enjoys the numerous Adirondack trails, we also like to experience rich history through lectures available at a variety of wonderful venues. Not only are these lectures led by experts, it is an inexpensive way to entertain a crowd as well as a delightful way to learn more about a wide range of topics.

Those of us with young people can take advantage of the benevolence of the speaker or performer. Most people graciously answer questions or enjoy showing people of all ages the tricks of their trade. Whether it’s a fabulous round of storytelling by Chris Shaw or an historical retelling from Heaven Up-h’isted-ness!’s Sharp Swan, here is just a sampling of places to go and lectures to hear. » Continue Reading.


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Monday, February 4, 2013

State Loses $2.5M Follensby Grant Amid Calls For Funding

follensby pondThe Adirondack Council urged state lawmakers to increase funding for environmental priorities in the FY2013-14 NYS Budget in testimony today at the legislature’s budget hearing. The Council cited the recent loss of a $2.5 million grant secured to aid the purchase of the Follensby Tract as a sign that New York’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) needs an expedited increase in funding.

Adirondack Council Legislative Director Scott Lorey called for an additional $11 million to be added in the EPF and also urged Governor Andrew Cuomo to rebuild the staffing at key regulatory agencies whose budgets have been cut in recent years, including the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Adirondack Park Agency. » Continue Reading.


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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Adirondack Family Activities: Titus Mountain’s New Trails

Titus_Lodge_newRecently acquired by the Monette family of Malone, Titus Mountain Family Ski Center has undergone a facelift that our family has met with welcoming arms. My kids have skied at most of the Adirondack and beyond ski mountains and have found Titus Mountain to be a perfect place to experience family-friendly trails and gain some ski lift independence.

The elevation is 2025-ft and the crumpled trail map I find in my ski jacket shows that Titus Mountain has six double chairlifts, two triple chairlifts, and two hand-tows serving 42 trails and two terrain parks. » Continue Reading.


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Monday, January 14, 2013

Sportsman Billy Spinner: Famous Folk Weather Forecaster

1938 Nov prediction 4WClimate change; global warming; superstorms; extended droughts; the hottest year ever; December tornadoes; on and on it goes. Changes are happening everywhere. Even here at home this year, worms and bugs on our sidewalk in mid-December! There have been so many devastating storms and floods and fires. We do benefit from modern forecasters using the most advanced technology to predict the weather, helping us to avoid any big surprises, or to at least prepare.

The same was true of weathermen seventy-five years ago: they did their best to predict what the weather would bring―days, weeks, and even months in advance. But they weren’t alone in doing so. Competing against them were country prognosticators who sometimes did better than the latest technology. » Continue Reading.


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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Brandon Park: 28,000 Acres For Sale

There are not many privately owned estates like Brandon Park left in the Adirondacks: twenty-eight thousand acres with seven miles of pristine river, eleven brook-trout ponds, and a 2,200-foot mountain. It sounds like a recreational paradise, and it’s for sale.

Ordinarily, you’d think environmentalists would be goading the state to buy Brandon Park for the forever-wild Forest Preserve, but so far that’s not been the case.

For one thing, the state doesn’t have as much money for land acquisition as it had in the years before the current recession. For another, the state already is committed to spend $50 million over the next several years to acquire lands once owned by the Finch, Pruyn & Company. » Continue Reading.


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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Officials To Hunters: Help Find Colin Gillis

Hunters and others bushwhacking in the woods in the town of Piercefield in St. Lawrence County and the town of Tupper Lake in Franklin County are asked to look for and report signs of Colin Gillis, New York State Police and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers requested today.

Colin Gillis, 18, of Tupper Lake, NY was last seen on March 10, 2012, walking on State Route 3 between the communities of Tupper Lake and Piercefield. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 170 pounds.

Gillis was last seen wearing a white American Eagle v-neck shirt with black stripes and short sleeves, blue Levi boot cut jeans, and red Nike Air high top sneakers. He may also have been wearing a reversible black or red L.L. Bean coat and carrying and orange and black day pack.
» Continue Reading.


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