Latest News Headlines
- Fisher that attacked 3 in Queensbury was rabid
- Lewis County General Hospital doubles surgical capacity and plans to restart maternity services
- North Country's congresswomen vote to keep George Santos in office
- Key to farming in the Adirondacks? Resiliency
- Key stretch of Adirondack Rail Trail is complete
- High Rock on the Oswegatchie River
- St. Regis Falls school board fires 2 principals on same day, board member resigns
- Hickory Ski Center faces deadline to fund ski lifts
- Missing RIT student could be in the Adirondacks
- A new Adirondack growth: Whiskey fungus
Latest News Headlines
- Fisher that attacked 3 in Queensbury was rabid
- Lewis County General Hospital doubles surgical capacity and plans to restart maternity services
- North Country's congresswomen vote to keep George Santos in office
- Key to farming in the Adirondacks? Resiliency
- Key stretch of Adirondack Rail Trail is complete
- High Rock on the Oswegatchie River
- St. Regis Falls school board fires 2 principals on same day, board member resigns
- Hickory Ski Center faces deadline to fund ski lifts
- Missing RIT student could be in the Adirondacks
- A new Adirondack growth: Whiskey fungus
Recent Almanack Comments
- Boreas on Fat, happy birds make pit stop at feeders before journeying south
- Rob on State Poll Shows Housing Affordability A Major Concern
- JohnL on State Poll Shows Housing Affordability A Major Concern
- Shawn Typhair on Citizen Pressure Leads to Investigation of Motorized Incursions into Wilderness
- Jeremy on State Poll Shows Housing Affordability A Major Concern

The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities
We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.

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Preview of Salt Panel Recommendations
The Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force is nearing completion of its first round of work and a report on its findings and recommendations could be available in the coming month.
During the first Adirondack Lakes Alliance symposium in recent years, Adirondack Watershed Institute Executive Director Dan Kelting previewed the panel’s recommendations. Here’s a look at some of what he said was included in recent drafts:
The state should adopt the federal EPA standards for chloride concentrations;
The state should set a chloride concentration management target of 10 parts per million for Adirondack surface waters, a goal meant to protect aquatic ecosystems;
Improve salt application tracking at state and local levels: How much salt is actually being put on the roads?;
Require well testing at the time of home sales;
Extend the statute of limitations for homeowners to file claims about salt contamination;
Establish pilot projects to study chemical alternatives to road salt, no salt use in reduced speed zones and the recovery of the most salt-contaminated lakes.
The symposium brought together people from lake associations across the park, researchers and conservationists to discuss the challenges facing Adirondack lakes. The nonprofit organization behind the gathering was quiet during the pandemic, but its leaders said it plans to gear up its programming in the coming months and years.
One session was supposed to focus on the use of the herbicide ProcellaCOR to treat invasive milfoil infestations, but the talk was canceled due to ongoing litigation over the Lake George Park Commission’s plan to do just that.
Lake George Park staff did present an update on its proposed septic inspection program. The plan, which would require homeowners near the lake and its tributaries to inspect and pump their septic tanks every five years, could serve as a model for other Adirondack communities While around 25% of homes around the country rely on septic systems, estimates suggest 70% or more of homes in the Adirondacks rely on the systems, which if they fail can pose a hazard to nearby water sources. Draft regulations are being finalized and should be released soon.
ALSO:
The view of Lower St. Regis Lake from Paul Smith’s College, which hosted the first in-person Adirondack Lakes Alliance symposium since 2019. Photo by Zachary Matson.
Editor’s note: This first appeared in Zach’s weekly “Water Line” newsletter. Click here to sign up.
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Zachary Matson
Zachary Matson has been an environmental reporter for the Explorer since October 2021. He is focused on the many issues impacting water and the people, plants and wildlife that rely on it in the Adirondack Park. Zach worked at daily newspapers in Missouri, Arizona and New York for nearly a decade, most recently working as the education reporter for six years at the Daily Gazette in Schenectady.
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