Almanack Contributor John Sheehan

Before John Sheehan joined the Adirondack Council's staff in 1990, he was the managing editor of the Malone Evening Telegram, and previously worked as a journalist for the Troy Record, (Schenectady) Daily Gazette, Watertown Daily Times and Newsday. For the past 20 years, John has been the voice of the Adirondack Council on radio and television, and on the pages of local, regional and national media.


Thursday, January 13, 2022

Adirondack Council leader recruited to Park Agency

megan phillipsMegan Phillips, former VP of Conservation, to become APA’s new Deputy Director for Planning

RAY BROOK, N.Y. – The Adirondack Council said today it was both pleased and disappointed today by the announcement that the Adirondack Park Agency had hired the Council’s Vice President for Conservation Megan Phillips to become the state agency’s new Deputy Director for Planning.

“We are pleased that the APA recognized her talents and will assign Megan a key role in its efforts to protect the park,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “But we are disappointed to be losing her talents here on our staff.  She will be missed.”

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Adirondack coalition launches campaign for clean water, jobs, wilderness

Aaron Mair

A new coalition launched this week, advocating saving the Adirondacks forever, through a campaign for clean water, people and wilderness.

The Forever Adirondacks Campaign Director Aaron Mair released a bold 15-point agenda for protecting clean water, creating new jobs and preserving wilderness in the Adirondack Park.  Elements of the platform have already gained crucial support from a broad array of Adirondack residents, activists, educators and elected officials.

            “The focus of this campaign is on three goals: cleaner water, better employment opportunities and wilderness preservation,” said Campaign Director Aaron Mair.  “I am thrilled to say we are building a strong and diverse coalition of support for these goals, starting here inside the park and moving outward as we go.  We want everyone to know that the coalition will welcome support from all those who love the Adirondacks — whether you are lucky enough to live nearby or come to us from far away.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, November 18, 2021

Adirondack Council reveals new Vision 2050 plan

The Adirondack Council unveiled a new long-range vision for the Adirondack Park in a publication entitled Adirondack VISION 2050, offering recommendations for how to preserve the park’s ecology, sustain its small villages and hamlets, and improve park management by the middle of this century.

            The Adirondack VISION 2050 publication (98 pages of text and illustrations) was released principally in digital form via the Adirondack Council’s web site.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 9, 2021

Adirondack Council: Park has become a ‘wilderness of refuge’

Adirondaack Council reportThe remote, peaceful and serene wilderness areas of the Adirondack Park have become a place of refuge for millions of New Yorkers and others seeking a respite from the troubles of a rapidly changing world, according to the Adirondack Council’s annual State of the Park report.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 13, 2021

Wildlife advocate John Davis to join Adirondack Council

John DavisThe Adirondack Council hired John Davis, a renowned national wildlife advocate with Adirondack conservation experience, to advocate for wild land restoration and reconnected wildlife pathways that have been disturbed by roads, buildings and other obstacles, to benefit nature and communities.

Davis served as Conservation Director of the Council from 2005 till 2011.  He rejoins the staff as Rewilding Advocate.

“We are very pleased to welcome John Davis back after a decade away from our offices,” said Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “We and others have kept tabs on John’s work as he helped to introduce the idea of ‘rewilding’ to the national lexicon. He has been all over North America talking about it and we are excited to add him to our talented and growing conservation team.”

“It is a privilege to bring John, a renowned rewilding expert, back onto the Conservation team to add capacity and expertise to our efforts,” said Vice President for Conservation Megan Phillips. “His experience and vision will amplify the Council’s voice as a strong advocate for the wild character of the Park and the myriad species that call this national treasure home, as a complement to our efforts with others to foster more vibrant human communities.” » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Microgrants boost farms’ sustainability efforts

North Country CreameryIn celebration of Earth Day 2021, the Adirondack Park’s largest environmental organization awarded 21 micro-grants totaling $29,601 to local farmers and value-added food producers, in an effort to build a climate-friendly local economy in the Adirondack Park.

It was the sixth consecutive year that the Adirondack Council has awarded micro-grants to farmers and small business owners who want to reduce their environmental impact and adapt to a changing climate.

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, April 11, 2021

Adirondack Council cheers state budget wins

Boreas Ponds Dam photo by Carl Heilman/Wild Visions, Inc. courtesy of the Adirondack Council.The Adirondack Council praised the NYS Budget agreement for treating the Adirondack Park like the national treasure that it is, providing new funding for wilderness preservation, clean water projects and community enhancement.

The Council noted that the budget includes money for state and local officials to cope with overuse of the park’s wilderness by record crowds, new clean water projects, broadband communications, increased diversity and new jobs.

“We thank Legislative leaders Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie as well as Environmental Conservation Committee Chairs Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assemblyman Steve Englebright and the Governor’s office for the Adirondack Park wins in this budget,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “We are excited to see that legislative leaders took Adirondack community needs seriously and worked to address them while keeping environmental protection at the forefront of Adirondack policy.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, January 21, 2021

Adirondack conservation groups bring priorities to Albany

loonFour Adirondack conservation organizations this week called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to boost both public health and the Upstate economy with new investments in the Adirondack Forest Preserve and clean water.  They also urged him to fix lingering problems at the Adirondack Park Agency.  

“The Adirondack Park is a national treasure and the birthplace of the wilderness movement in our country,” noted the letter sent to the Governor by the groups.  “We urge you to uphold the 125-year, multi-generational, bipartisan tradition of protecting the Adirondack Park. At six million acres, the Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous United States. It is also the largest intact temperate deciduous forest in the world, making it a primary source of our state’s clean water, a refuge for wildlife and biodiversity, and a sponge for greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.”

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Adirondack Council’s Top 10 list of 2020 progress

Progress on reducing road salt, managing visitors to the overused High Peaks Wilderness Area and making the Adirondacks more welcoming to all New York residents led the Adirondack Council’s list of 10 reasons to be thankful as 2020 draws to a close.

 The Council’s 2020 highlights included:

State Budget is Good for the Adirondack Park – April 1, 2020 

The Adirondack Council and partners secured crucial funding for pristine Adirondack waters and wildlands in the state budget. New York State approved a $300 million Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). There was a total of $1 billion for new clean water infrastructure. Both are cornerstone sources of funding that go to keep Adirondack waters free of invasive species, sewage and pollution. Additionally, the budget included dedicated funding to combat overuse in the Adirondacks.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Siena Poll shows support for limits on High Peaks use

A Siena College Research Institute poll of New York voters in September showed that by 68% to 22% they overwhelmingly want New York State officials to protect heavily used public lands in the Adirondack Forest Preserve by enforcing resource capacity limits. The poll results were released by the Adirondack Council.

The Governor and the State have acknowledged the overuse problem, expanded education and public information efforts, and appointed a Wilderness Overuse Task Force. The Center for National Center for Leave No Trace recommendations have been endorsed by the task force, and include testing hiker permits to improve visitor access and help communities.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Groups urge Gov. to sign road salt reduction bill

A coalition of Adirondack conservationists is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign into law a bi-partisan bill that would help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park.

The legislation creates an Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force and Pilot Program. If approved by the Governor, the new law would establish a salt-reduction pilot program from October 2021 through 2024 to test alternative measures already shown to work better and cost less than current winter road maintenance practices.  Highway safety would remain the top priority.

New York State has applied millions of tons of road salt to the park’s highways since it began using salt in 1980.

The Adirondack Park contains more than 11,000 lakes and ponds, and more than 30,000 miles of rivers, brook and streams.  It is the source of most of the state’s major rivers.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, July 31, 2020

Adk Council reacts to loss of bond act; urges state to acquire Whitney estate

adirondack council new logoThe Adirondack Council expressed disappointment over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to withdraw the $3-billion environmental bond act from the 2020 ballot, saying the measure could have helped get New York residents back to work and would have provided significant tax relief to rural communities, while protecting clean water and wildlife.

“We are very disappointed that the bond act has been withdrawn,” said Adirondack Council Deputy Director Rocci Aguirre.  “We believe it would have helped to spur economic growth while it benefited the environment.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, July 23, 2020

Adirondack groups cheer passing of road salt reduction bill

road salt The NYS Senate granted final approval Thursday to a bi-partisan bill that would help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park.

The legislation creates an Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force and Pilot Program. If approved by the Governor, the new law would establish a salt-reduction pilot program from October 2021 through 2024 to test alternative measures already shown to work better and cost less than current winter road maintenance practices.  Highway safety would remain the top priority.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Adirondack Earth Day at 50 

NY invests in environment, public health infrastructure, bond act;

Trump’s Federal Government tearing down 50 years of progress

loonAs we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in the Adirondacks today, we see a state and a nation going in opposite directions in terms of environmental and public health protections. 

In New York, we are seeing unprecedented support for environmental progress from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s team, lawmakers and citizens.  Not only does New York have the most aggressive climate change law in the nation – the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act – but it is backing up its greenhouse gas reduction commitment with funding from a $300-million Environmental Protection Fund and a proposed $3-billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act. 

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, April 4, 2020

NYS Budget Capital Projects Good for Adirondacks

The Adirondack Council thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Legislative leaders April 1 for much-needed environmental capital projects that were slated to be approved in the NYS Budget agreement.

They included a $3-billion “Restore Mother Nature” bond act and a $300-million Environmental Protection Fund that includes money to address overuse and preserve the most popular wilderness areas, trails and destinations in the Adirondack Park.

Given the challenges the Governor and Legislature are facing with the coronavirus outbreak, this is a very good budget for the Adirondacks.  We understand that there may still be some need to economize as state revenues may be affected by the current public health crisis.  This budget recognizes that clean water, open space, wildlife and a healthy environment remain priorities no matter what other challenges we are facing.

» Continue Reading.



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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

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