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The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Transportation (DOT) and Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced that beginning this weekend, boat stewards will be deployed at nearly 200 locations across the state as part of a collaborative program to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS). » Continue Reading.
Boaters: Help Prevent Spread of Invasives
Peaks To Avoid This Weekend; Some Access Roads Closed
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has urged hikers to postpone hikes on trails above 2,500 feet until high elevation trails have dried and hardened. Snow and ice are currently melting on high elevation trails and steep trails with thin soils are dangerous for hiking and susceptible to erosion, and sensitive alpine vegetation is easily damaged. » Continue Reading.
High Peaks Happy Hour: Bolton Landing Brewing Co.
It isn’t often a brewery is borne of a desire to live in a particular location. In most instances, a long-time home brewer’s obsession propels him or her to that outcome. Not so for Brendan Murnane of Bolton Landing Brewing Company. He knew where he wanted to live. His quandary was finding a way to make a living. Oh, and he’s never really made beer, except in a class once. So naturally he decided to open a brewery.
Brendan, who is from Westchester County, has spent summers in Bolton Landing with his family since 1988 and wanted to find a way to live there year-round. A love for the craft beer scene turned his thoughts toward opening a brewery. It was his first idea and he felt it was the perfect fit, just what the town needed. Following three years of meticulous research and planning, he came up with a business plan to do just that. His father, John Murnane, was impressed enough to become a partner. » Continue Reading.
Mud Advisory Issued: Current Adirondack Conditions (May 24)
This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is compiled each Thursday afternoon.
Contribute Your Knowledge: Add a comment below, or send your observations, corrections, updates, and suggestions to adkalmanack@gmail.com.
Practice Leave No Trace Principles when visiting the Adirondack Park.
Adirondack Museum Opens for 2018 Season
One of my favorite places to go no matter the weather is Adirondack Experience (ADKX), the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake. Though Cabin Fever lectures and special ADKX holiday store hours were available throughout the winter months, the ADKX is will be open daily from Friday, May 25 to October 14, 10 am to 5 pm, for the 2018 season.
The 19,000 square-foot “Life in the Adirondacks” exhibition explores what it is to settle, work, and live in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
High Peaks Hiking, WWI: New Adirondack History Museum Exhibits
The Adirondack History Museum is set to open for the 2018 season on Saturday, May 26th with a seasonal exhibit reflecting on World War One and a new permanent exhibit, Hiking in the Adirondack High Peaks.
The exhibit, Over There: Local Boys Go to War, examines the impact of World War I on the men of the Adirondacks. The exhibit features local stories and experiences presented through photographs, artifacts, and ephemera. » Continue Reading.
Equipment Failure At Adirondack Hatchery Hits Salmon Stocks
A severe storm Friday, May 4, cut power to the Adirondack Fish Hatchery at Lake Clear, east of Saranac Lake, killing most of the salmon stock.
Power lines to the hatchery were downed during the storm according to DEC, causing the facility’s backup generator to activate. When power was restored from the grid, it caused the backup generator to go off-line, and a transfer switch failed. That failure prevented the flow of well water into the raceways, depriving the salmon of oxygenated water.
The New York State Conservation Council estimates more than 85% of the salmon that remained in the raceways following the spring stocking operations were lost – or more than 250,000 fish. » Continue Reading.
AsRA’s River Steward Begins Field Season
AsRA’s River Steward, Nicole Pionteck, started her field season last weekend at the Ausable River Two-Fly Challenge. She was at the Whiteface Visitor’s Bureau with a Wader Wash Station, educating participants on invasive species spread prevention methods and encouraging the anglers to “Check, Clean, and Dry” their equipment before entering the water.
Pionteck’s duties include educating river users on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, attending local events to educate the public on river ecology and indicators of water quality, monitoring the river and watershed for new invasive species infestations, and maintaining wader wash stations throughout the watershed during fishing season. » Continue Reading.
New State Records for Walleye, Black Crappie
Two new state fishing records were set over the course of one weekend in New York recently.
Brian Hartman of Alexandria Bay eclipsed the 2009 state record walleye by more than 1.5 pounds when he caught an 18-pound-2-ounce walleye from the St. Lawrence River on May 5 using a swimbait.
On May 6, William Wightman of South Dayton used a black marabou jig to reel in a 4-pound-1-ounce crappie from Lake Flavia in Cattaraugus County, exceeding the 1998 state record by five ounces. » Continue Reading.
Gibson: State Rushing Process For High Peaks, Boreas Plans
I’d like to recognize the Adirondack Daily Enterprise for its recent editorial “APA, DEC Skimp on Public Meetings.” The newspaper wrote that two public meetings, both held on the same day (Wednesday, May 23) about numerous management amendments to the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderwhacker Wild Forest:
“while important, are also severely wanting. These lands belong to the people of New York, and folks near New York City, in Syracuse and Buffalo, Watertown and Ithaca all deserve to have APA and DEC staff come explain what the plans mean and hear the public’s concerns. Together, the two UMP amendments run to more than 300 pages, and it would be beneficial to the public to have them explained by the people who wrote them.”
Now that the classifications are decided and amendments to the unit management plans (UMP) are underway, the process seems highly accelerated and rushed. » Continue Reading.
A Plastic Mess Where Vacationers Go — See It Yourself!
Have you ever wondered what happens to the many pieces of plastic we contact in our daily lives? I wrote here recently on recycling, and the negative impact on others that littering can have. The best solution to wondering where plastics end up is to control their fate — by recycling and not littering. Trash left lying anywhere in the Adirondacks reflects negatively on the region and lessens the experience of both locals and visitors alike. » Continue Reading.
2nd Wilmington Mountain Bike Festival Slated
The 2nd Annual Wilmington Mountain Bike Festival has been set for Labor Day Weekend, August 31st to September 2nd, 2018, and registration is now open.
All events takes place on 25+ miles of Adirondack Single Track, rideable directly from the festival base camp at the Wilmington Town Park, which also features dirt jump and skateboard parks.
Spoonwood: Mountain Laurel
If you were fortunate enough to grow up with freedom to roam outdoors, there are likely certain places that stick with you. For me, one of these places is a thicket of old mountain laurels that my brother and I hiked through on our way to an outcrop we called The Ledge. What I loved about them was how their shreddy, red-brown trunks forked and twisted, like trees in a fairy tale, or in the Haunted Forest on the way to Oz. In early summer, they held delicate pink and white flowers that were sticky to the touch — another sign that they were, if not enchanted, at least special. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack's contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The Almanack is the online news journal of Adirondack Explorer. Both are nonprofits supported by contributors, readers, and advertisers, and devoted to exploring, protecting, and unifying the Adirondack Park.
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