Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Nature Conservancy Buys Two Miles Of Moose River

The Adirondack chapter of the Nature Conservancy has purchased 753 acres with a two-mile stretch of the Main Branch of the Moose River on the western edge of the Adirondack Park.

The conservancy bought the property for $880,000 and intends to sell it to a buyer who will protect it.

The two miles of river are part of a 13-mile stretch of whitewater that is rafted in the spring. “It’s nice to know that this section of the Moose River will be preserved in its wild state,” said Garry Staab, a rafting guide and owner of Adirondack River Outfitters.

In a news release, the conservancy said the parcel will preserve the river’s forested shoreline and help protect a wildlife corridor between the Tug Hill Plateau and Adirondacks. The property has a variety of habitats, including wetlands and hardwood forests.

“The Moose River with its intact shoreline, free-flowing water, and mosaic of habitats stands out as highly resilient to climate change, not just in the Adirondacks, but in the entire northeastern United States,” said Dirk Bryant, the chapter’s director of conservation programs.

Connie Prickett, the chapter’s spokeswoman, said the conservancy will be talking to stakeholders and potential buyers, including the state. The property lies just inside the Adirondack Park in Lyonsdale and borders a parcel of state-owned Forest Preserve.

Prickett said the Moose River property is leased for recreation and not open to the public.

The Moose flows into the Black River just west of the Park’s boundary. The Black River flows northwest to Lake Ontario.

Photo of Moose River by Carl Heilman II. 

 

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Phil Brown is the former Editor of Adirondack Explorer, the regional bimonthly with a focus on outdoor recreation and environmental issues, the same topics he writes about here at Adirondack Almanack. Phil is also an energetic outdoorsman whose job and personal interests often find him hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, trail running, and backcountry skiing. He is the author of Adirondack Paddling: 60 Great Flatwater Adventures, which he co-published with the Adirondack Mountain Club, and the editor of Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks, an anthology of Marshall’s writings.Visit Lost Pond Press for more information.




5 Responses

  1. Tom Leustek says:

    Good work Nature Conservancy. It’s great to see progressive actions taken to preserve the Adirondack Park.

  2. Tim-Brunswick says:

    Gee whiz wonder who that buyer could be???

    • Charlie S says:

      Fortunately it cannot be to anyone other than someone whose allegiance is to the Dame Nature. Isn’t is just dandy that we have organizations like the Nature Conservancy?

  3. Paul says:

    Why can’t the TNC just hold onto some of these parcels? Sounds like they have lease income to maybe cover holding costs. It sounds very well protected now. No arguments on how many roads we should leave open how many snowmobile trails we should build….. Just leave it be. Like Barbara McMartin said in her book “The Privately Held Adirondacks” owners like this serve a vital role in land protection – and it doesn’t cost the state.

    • Bruce says:

      Paul,

      I’m guessing that rather than sitting on land it purchases, lease or no lease, it’s a way for the Conservancy to keep a cash flow going for more land purchases.

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