Information attributed to NYSDEC is taken from press releases and news announcements from New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation.
The following are the most recent notices pertaining to public lands in the Adirondacks. Please check the Adirondack Backcountry Information webpages for comprehensive and up-to-date information on seasonal road statuses, rock climbing closures, specific trail conditions, and other pertinent information.
Big Moose Conservation Easement (Independence River Wild Forest): The Stillwater Mountain trail and fire tower will reopen for public use on December 20.
DEC Announces Summer Environmental Education Camp Registration Opens March 6, 2022
Online registration for DEC’s 2022 Summer Camps program will open Sunday, March 6, 2022, at 1 p.m. To celebrate 75 years, DEC’s Summer Camps program will host a series of events and share mementos, including retro logos incorporated into camper shirts, special recognition certificates, and a camp celebration each Saturday during the season. Past campers, families, sponsors, and staff will also have an opportunity to take a literal stroll down memory lane at their favorite camps.
This year, lighten your holiday celebrations by reducing waste and recycling right!
Here are some holiday waste reduction tips:
The following are the most recent notices pertaining to public lands in the Adirondacks. Please check the Adirondack Backcountry Information web pages for comprehensive and up-to-date information on seasonal road statuses, rock climbing closures, specific trail conditions, and other pertinent information.
William C. Whitney Wilderness: The Lake Lila Road has been closed for the winter.
Lake George Wild Forest: Palmer Pond access road is closed starting at the snowplow turnaround due to a failing culvert. Winter parking is allowed before the snowplow turnaround on the right side of the road facing downhill (east side). Please do not park in the snowplow turnaround or block driveways.
The Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society and community volunteers repaired the accessible trail and picnic area at Thirteenth Lake in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness this fall. The trail was severely eroded during the 2019 Halloween storm. DEC purchased the necessary materials while volunteers supplied wheelbarrows, rakes, and a bucket loader.
The .1-mile hardened path from the Thirteenth Lake trailhead to the shore of Thirteenth Lake provides access to an accessible hand launch and four accessible tent sites.
DEC thanks the Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society for their continued commitment to trail work and community improvement and the local volunteers who helped complete this project.
DEC photo
Recent NYS DEC Forest Ranger actions:
Town of Hadley
Saratoga County
Wilderness Search: On Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call requesting Forest Ranger assistance for a 36-year-old from Glenmont in medical distress approximately one-half mile into the Hadley Mountain Fire Tower trail. Forest Rangers Kabrehl and Perryman responded and located the subject, who had suffered a head injury. Rangers helped the subject out of the woods and met an ambulance at the trailhead. The hiker declined further medical care and resources were clear by 4:30 p.m.
Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.
If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on state lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region.
A polystyrene burger box pollutes a the reeds by the side of the river.
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, no covered food service provider or store (retail or wholesale) will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute disposable food service containers that contain expanded polystyrene foam in New York state. In addition, no manufacturer or store will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute polystyrene loose fill packaging (commonly referred to as packing peanuts) in the state.
Tuesday, December 7, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
(Register now)
Our presenters will draw on two decades of socio-ecological research experience to discuss best practices for protecting wildlife and habitat through conservation and land-use planning. They will share regional studies that demonstrate why such practices are needed, the type and quality of existing protection mechanisms in Northeast land-use codes and ordinances, and factors associated with success or failure to implement conservation design principles. The presenters also will discuss critical areas for future research.
Presenters:
Dr. Michale Glennon, Science Director at Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute
Dr. Heidi Kretser, Senior Conservation Social Scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society
For more information, please visit the Hudson River Estuary Program’s Conservation and Land Use page on DEC’s website.
The following are the most recent notices pertaining to public lands in the Adirondacks. Please check the Adirondack Backcountry Information webpages for comprehensive and up-to-date information on seasonal road statuses, rock climbing closures, specific trail conditions, and other pertinent information.
High Peaks and Giant Mountain Wilderness: Expect snow and ice above 2,500’ elevation and very wet and muddy trail conditions below 2,500’. Some river crossings may be hazardous or impossible. Microspikes and/or crampons are necessary for travel above 2,500’. Expect full winter conditions at higher elevations.
Grand Prizes Include Lifetime Fishing and Hunting Licenses and Deluxe Equipment
All Entrants Receive Subscription to DEC’s ‘Conservationist’ Magazine and a Tree Seedling
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the new ‘Take Your Shot for an Outdoor Adventure’ sweepstakes is now open. Launched last week by Governor Kathy Hochul, the COVID-19 vaccine incentive is intended to bolster vaccination rates among New Yorkers who enjoy the great outdoors. During the month of December, anyone that receives their first COVID-19 vaccine dose is eligible to enter the sweepstakes and a random drawing to win special prize packages tailored to anglers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Five entrants will be randomly selected to receive the Grand Prize and the opportunity to choose one of the following deluxe packages valued at approximately $2,000:
Recent NYS DEC Forest Ranger actions:
Town of Watson
Lewis County
Wilderness Search: On Nov. 24 at 10:17 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Lewis County requesting Forest Ranger assistance in the search for a missing person from Lowville. The county indicated they found the subject’s vehicle at Francis Lake in the Independence River Wild Forest in the town of Watson. Rangers Hanno and McCartney responded and found the missing person at 12:29 a.m. Rangers determined the subject was likely suffering from hypothermia, packaged her into a litter, and carried her out of the woods to a Lewis County Search and Rescue ambulance by approximately 1 a.m.
Over the course of two chilly days on Little Clear Pond in November, staff from DEC’s Adirondack Fish Hatchery and Region 5 Fisheries completed the annual landlocked Atlantic salmon egg take.
Staff collected a total of 748,100 eggs from 174 wild females and 156 captive broodstock, allowing DEC to meet stocking targets for 43 waters throughout New York State.
Thanks to the continued success of this annual effort, anglers can expect good opportunities to catch a leaping landlocked.
Editor’s note: Mike Lynch reports on a new salmon stocking study that took place this fall. Read about it here on the Adirondack Explorer’s website
Anglers now have boating access on a 10-mile stretch of the Black River between Castorland and Carthage that did not previously exist. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant fishing access site is located in the Town of Denmark at the confluence of the Deer and Black rivers. It features a single-lane gravel launch, with an additional area for launching canoes and kayaks. Anglers also have improved access to Public Fishing Rights (PFR) on 0.35 miles along the Deer River and approximately 0.66 miles along the Black River. Anglers can find smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike and chain pickerel in this section of the Black River. DEC Region 6 Operations constructed the site with Marks Farms Natural Resources Damages settlement funds.
For more information, visit the DEC’s website.
You may have heard about the songbird illness affecting fledgling birds in many Eastern states this spring and summer. Several of these Eastern states issued restrictions on bird baths and feeders in an attempt to curb the spread of illness. By early September, all states have lifted their do not feed recommendations due to decreasing reports of bird illness. Please note: DEC did not issue a special summer notice as the agency recommends removing feeders annually between April 1st and November 29th to prevent unwanted black bear activity. To view up to date information and recommendations, visit Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds.
Graduate students at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) are asking for public assistance in the collection of samples as part of a study for an emerging zoonotic parasite. Samples for this study consist of gastrointestinal tracts from coyotes harvested within DEC Regions 3-7, which can be shipped to SUNY ESF where they will be screened for the parasite Echinococcus spp.
The parasite is a tapeworm that typically infects wild canids (foxes, coyotes) but can infect domestic animals as well as humans. The goal of this study is to identify the distribution of the parasite throughout the sampling range, so that areas of high parasite levels and infection risk can be found.
More information on the project can be found at the NY Echinococcus Project webpage or by emailing Corinne Conlon.
Photo by Gregory VanSplunder.
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