What follows is a press release issued by Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve:

In a letter submitted today to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the nonprofit advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve recommends that the Boreas Ponds tract be managed in ways that avoid damage to natural resources and enhance opportunities to experience solitude.

The highly controversial decision by the NYS Adirondack Park Agency in February, approved by Governor Cuomo, not to consider an all-Wilderness alternative, but to split the 20,000-acre Boreas Pond tract between Wilderness and Wild Forest classifications was opposed by Adirondack Wild, which offered many reasons why the entire tract should be managed as an addition to the High Peaks Wilderness area. » Continue Reading.

The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Agriculture and Markets (DAM) has announced the release of the State’s draft Invasive Species Comprehensive Management Plan for public comment.

The proposed plan is designed to minimize the introduction, establishment, and spread of invasive species throughout New York. Comments will be accepted through June 1, 2018. » Continue Reading.

The 25th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks has been set for May 22nd and 23rd at the Conference Center at Lake Placid.

Sherburne Abbott, Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at Syracuse University and former Senior Science Advisor to President Barack Obama, is set to keynote the conference. Shere will discuss her research and teaching interests at the interface of science and society, principally on issues related to climate change, energy, and sustainability. » Continue Reading.

No place in the state or nation is more vulnerable to aquatic invasive species (AIS) than the pristine waters of the Adirondacks. New York already has the highest number of non-native forest pests in the country and is adjacent to the continent’s main gateway for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasives — the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. As the map shows, the Adirondack Park is literally surrounded by waterways that harbor dozens of destructive species threatening the Park. » Continue Reading.

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is accepting public comment for a proposed amendment to the Black River Wild Forest Unit Management Plan. According to an announcement sent by DEC:

“The primary purpose of this UMP amendment is to classify snowmobile trails to conform to the trail classification system and guidelines set forth in the Management Guidance for Snowmobile Trail Siting, Construction, and Maintenance on Forest Preserve Lands in the Adirondack Park.” » Continue Reading.

Paul Smith’s College is set to hold a day-long festival of music, art and TED-style science talks on Saturday, April 28, from 10 am to 5 pm at the Paul Smith’s College VIC.

The Science, Art, Music Festival – SAM Fest – is now in its fifth year. It will feature performances by North Country musicians, science-oriented talks by faculty, students, and guest speakers, exhibits of works by local artists organized by Paul Smith’s biologist Ann Sporn, and a showing of It’s Happening, a new documentary about the renewable energy revolution. » Continue Reading.

Somewhere I read that up here in the Adirondacks you should not feed the birds after March 31st. I forget the exact logic. The article provided one of those explanations that, you know, sounded quasi-plausible, but might have just been something that a guy would tell his wife so he wouldn’t have to go out into the yard and top off the feeder for the 7,000th time this year.

I think it had to do with birds needing to fend for themselves, and several other sundry character issues that I hadn’t thought of as applying to wildlife. I sort of understand, though. It’s like all our kids thinking that food comes from a supermarket instead of a farm. Maybe bird-parents sit around Starbucks saying, “Fledglings today, do you believe it? They think everything comes from a feeder. They don’t realize all the work it takes to peck it out of a seedhead.” » Continue Reading.

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have announced they are holding a joint public comment period to solicit comments for the Cranberry Lake Boat Launch Unit Management Plan. Public comment will be accepted until April 27, 2018.

The Cranberry Lake Boat Launch Site is located in the Town of Clifton, St. Lawrence County, NY. It is approximately 70 miles east of Watertown and 30 miles west of Tupper Lake on NYS Route 3. The boat launch is in the Hamlet of Cranberry Lake about one-quarter mile south of NYS Route 3 on Columbian Road. » Continue Reading.

A group of Johnsburg residents is working to bring the North Creek Farmers Market back this summer season. The market is set to be held Thursdays from 2 to 6 pm at Riverfront Park in North Creek, from June 21 through September 27, then on Columbus Day Weekend. It will be under and around the northern pavilion in Riverfront Park which is adjacent to the Depot Museum and train station. » Continue Reading.

It’s spring. Days are getting longer. The weather’s getting warmer. The sun is sitting higher in the sky. And, as I write this, the persistent snow in my yard is finally giving way to bare ground.

This is the time of year when the consumer horticulture season really begins in earnest at Cooperative Extension. It often starts with questions from anxious callers about recently discovered lawn, landscape, and garden damage; often from wildlife pests. Questions about mice, squirrels, and chipmunks are frequent. But, perhaps because of their tenacious tunneling activities, the most noteworthy culprits of concern to frazzled callers are meadow voles and hairy, or more often, star-nosed moles, the 2 mole species that live in northern New York. » Continue Reading.

In life and in death we belong to God, I tell my sons. We are having one of our obligatory parental monologues as we sit on the cabin porch. My two sons are aged sixteen and thirteen. I call these monologues ‘obligatory’ because I feel obliged to have them. What the guys want is their breakfast. Their mother is a night person who likes to sleep late on vacation. I am a morning person who likes to get up early on vacation. Night to me is like a prelude to death, a hint or foretaste, a feeling not so much of powerlessness as of do-lessness. Some nights feel better than others. » Continue Reading.

One of the most memorable occasions I have had with my children is an afternoon workshop at the Adirondack Interpretive Center (AIC) in Newcomb.

The day was spent skiing the free AIC trails, sipping hot chocolate while counting birds at the window feeder, and building a Leopold bench. » Continue Reading.

The Chase Lake Trails are located in the Shaker Mountain Wild Forest in the Southern Adirondacks.

Chase Lake Lean-to Trail has red trail markers and extends 2.6 miles from the trailhead to a lean-to on the north shore of the lake. The trail gently ascends 45 feet over the first 0.4 mile and then gently descends 170 feet over the next 0.75 mile. The remainder of the trail is mostly flat. » Continue Reading.