Almanack Contributor Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff

Stories under the Almanack's Editorial Staff byline come from press releases and other notices.

Send news updates and story ideas to Almanack Editor Melissa Hart at [email protected]


Wednesday, December 2, 2020

DEC Announces Annual Arbor Day Poster Contest

2019 arbor day poster by Paul BergwallThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced the start of the DEC’s Annual Arbor Day Original Artwork Poster contest. This contest is held by the DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry Program yearly in order to commemorate Arbor Day. The public is invited to submit original photos and artwork celebrating the immeasurable value of trees.

The contest is sponsored by the New York State Arbor Day Committee, and the DEC will be accepting photographs and artwork submissions for the committee through December 31, 2020. The photos and artwork submitted must include trees within New York State, and can be sent to [email protected]. Participants will be limited to five submissions and each submission should include a completed artist information form available on DEC’s website.

To obtain past New York State Arbor Day posters, contact any local DEC forestry office or call 518-402-9428.


Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Indian Lake orgs host holiday event

A virtual event to benefit the Arts Center, Indian Lake Theater, and the Indian Lake Chamber of Commerce!
Don’t miss this fun holiday event! For the link to this livestream, go to adirondackarts.org.
To reserve your seat at the Theater to watch this livestream on the big screen, stay tuned for info and a link at indianlaketheater.org.
For information on how to enter or be a judge for the Let There Be Lights! holiday lighting and decorating contest, go to indian-lake.com


Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Workshops provide health management tools during COVID-19 pandemic

The North Country Healthy Heart Network has teamed up with the St. Lawrence Health Initiative and the New York State Office for the Aging to promote Better Choices, Better Health, a free, six-week online workshop to help people prevent or better manage diabetes, high blood pressure, or other chronic disease, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Better Choices, Better Health’s self-paced workshop is designed by Stanford University to help people with a wide range of medical conditions, including anxiety, COPD, diabetes (type 1 & type 2) and more.

The workshop will help participants stay informed about medications and physical activity, as well as pain, stress, and isolation management skills. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/bcbh2020.

For more information about the North Country Healthy Heart Network, visit heartnetwork.org.


Monday, November 30, 2020

ADI Director receives award from Adirondack Wild

Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve has honored the work of Nicole “Nicky”’ Hylton-Patterson, the executive director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, a project of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA). The group presented her with Adirondack Wild’s 2020 Wild Stewardship Award in recognition of her initiating and elevating difficult conversations about race, shared power, and influence in the Adirondack region over the past year. Such conversations are integral to improved and shared stewardship of the Adirondack Park.

Nicky Hylton-Patterson, joined by the ADI’s core team of volunteers, leads this necessary educational work in all its complexity. Adirondack Wild’s award recognizes Ms. Hylton-Patterson’s intelligence, personality, and courage, in addition to her collaborative and educational talents, which have all been brought to bear on anti-racism progression in the Adirondack Park.

“Nicky’s ‘Anti-Racism 101’ and other seminars are breaking down barriers and opening eyes, minds, and hearts. In just one year, cooperators have learned from her how to become accomplices through the consequential work of learning to become an antiracist,” reads Adirondack Wild’s award letter.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, November 30, 2020

Ausable River Association presents Wild & Scenic Film Festival

On Saturday, December 5 from 7-9pm, the Ausable River Association (AsRA) will be hosting a virtual “Wild & Scenic Film Festival.”

Inspired by the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City California, it is designed to celebrate the beauty of wild places and the work being done to protect them.

For December 5, AsRA has chosen 12 films which will be showcased on their virtual platform. AsRA’s Executive Director Kelley Tucker, along with Donor Outreach Associate Tyler Merriam will introduce the films and establish their connection to the local natural world.

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, November 29, 2020

Call to Artists: NorthWind Gallery Virtual Juried Show

NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery will be hosting an upcoming juried art show, under the theme: “The Healing Wilderness.” Organizers are inviting artists of any type of media to submit work inspired by the power of the wild places to heal after tumultuous times.

The gallery is located in the heart of Saranac Lake, a village founded on its healing powers since the 20th century when it was discovered that fresh air could help ease tuberculosis.

Selected works will be displayed in a digital format at the NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery during Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival, as well as online and via social media. Award-winning pieces will be showcased on North Country Public Radio’s virtual art gallery, the UpNorth Gallery.

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, November 29, 2020

VW Settlement funds advance clean transportation in NYS and Akwesasne

electric vehicle courtesy decA report from Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA):

Earlier this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that $11M in funds from the State’s allocation of the federal Volkswagen Settlement will be used to expand electric transportation infrastructure across New York.

The program addresses goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) to increase access to clean energy and the benefits of sustainable infrastructure. This latest announcement will advance EV adoption and improve access to charging stations in disadvantaged communities in upstate and northern New York.

Charging station developers for the North Country region are invited to apply by February 18, 2021.

This is great news, coming on the heels of ON-RAMP, ANCA’s clean transportation summit, where we convened stakeholders and partners who are committed to advancing clean transportation efforts in the region.

In the far north of the state, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environmental Division announced it will use Volkswagen Settlement funds to invest in electric vehicles and charging stations in the Akwesasne community. Kudos to the National Tribal Air Association for advocating for Indigenous communities to be included in the federal settlement, and to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Air Quality Program Manager Angela Benedict, whose hard work resulted in $249K for the purchase of two new trucks and installation of four charging stations in 2019. The second settlement payment will go toward the purchase of low-emission vehicles for the community’s casino and transfer station.


Sunday, November 29, 2020

Adirondack Weekly Roundup

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, November 28, 2020

OSI Protects Warren County Property in Southern Adirondack Foothills

Newly protected property, located west of the West Mountain Ski Area, aids in clean water protection and efforts to fight climate change

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the permanent protection of land in the Town of Lake Luzerne- building on over thirty years of land protection in and around the Adirondack Park Preserve. The town is composed of hard and softwood forests and wetlands, within the Hudson River watershed. This acquisition will be providing protections for clean water, as well as contributing to the fight against climate change via the capture of carbon.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 27, 2020

Public Feedback Sought for Scenic Byway Signs

Sign designs The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) and Adirondack Research, LLC are seeking public input on a series of interpretive signs that will be placed along the Central Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway — a scenic corridor that follows Route 28 through the Hudson River watershed.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 27, 2020

Saratoga PLAN opens former dog-sled training grounds as public trails

This Thanksgiving weekend, Saratoga PLAN will be opening their latest public trail system, the Barkersville Trails, located in the Towns of Galway and Providence. Formerly grounds for sled-dog training, the Barkersville Trails are still privately owned by Dolores Arste and her husband David Hickey, and consist of relatively flat to hilly terrain, with winding pathways through moss-covered boulders and brooks.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 27, 2020

Latest News Headlines

News from around the Adirondacks this week:

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Lake Placid Film Festival Announces Sequel To Online Film Festival

Virtual series to feature winners of 2020 short film competition

Following the successful launch of its first-ever virtual film festival this fall, the Lake Placid Film Festival announced it will host a second online short-film series starting in February 2021.

“We know how hungry audiences are to see movies and gather with fellow film-lovers, and the response to our first-ever virtual film festival proved it,” said Gary Smith, chair of the Adirondack Film Society, the festival’s parent organization. “It was such a thrill to reach so many people from around the world. And instead of waiting until next fall, we’ve decided to do it again this winter.”

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Biden won the election, say 2/3rds of NYers

Recent Siena College Research Institute findings:

  • Biden Won the Election, Says 2/3 of NYers; 9%, Including 1/4 of Republicans, Say Trump Won; Nearly 2/3 Say Trump Should Cooperate Immediately for Peaceful Transition
  • Voters’ Top 2021 Priority for Albany By Far: Addressing the Pandemic; By 20-Point Margin, Majority of Voters Want Legislature to Let Cuomo Continue Using Executive Powers It Gave Him to Manage the State
  • 2/3 of NYers Say they will Definitely/Probably Get an FDA-Approved COVID-19 Vaccine, 1/4 Say they Will Definitely/Probably Not
  • Voters Strongly Approve of the Way Biden is Acting as President-Elect; Cuomo Ratings Slip, Still Positive; Trump Ratings Rise, Still Strongly Negative

» Continue Reading.


Monday, November 23, 2020

Common Ground Alliance releases 2020 Blueprint for the Blue Line

Adirondack leaders submit annual legislative priorities

Following its 13th annual summer forum, the Common Ground Alliance released its 2020 Blueprint for the Blue Line, a set of suggested legislative priorities for the Adirondacks.

» Continue Reading.



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