Monday, September 30, 2013

Lake Champlain Power Line Public Informational Meeting

Champlain Power ProjectThe public, organizations, businesses, municipalities, and others interested in the plans for running an underwater power transmission line on the bottom of Lake Champlain from Canada to the southern end are invited to a Champlain Hudson Power Express Public Informational Meeting to learn more about this project and have an opportunity to ask questions.

Representatives from Transmission Developers Incorporated will be in Plattsburgh to provide an update on the current status of the project along with near- and long-term plans and timeframes for constructing this power line.  Information on what this project might look like for Lake Champlain, the route of the power cable and how it will be installed, equipment needed for the installation, and time frames will be included in the discussions.  Updates on progress to date including such items as approvals and permits, as well as, underwater surveying and mapping will be presented. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, September 29, 2013

Peter Bauer:
Governor Cuomo’s Role in Forest Preserve Classification

Essex ChainGovernor Andrew Cuomo visited the Adirondack Park on Thursday September 26th and devoted a full day to discussions with various parties about the looming decision by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) on the Forest Preserve classification of 21,000-acres of former Finch Paper lands along the Hudson River and around the Essex Chain Lakes.

I give the Governor high marks for making the trip and holding these meetings. (In the interest of full disclosure no one from Protect the Adirondacks was invited to these meetings. We are, after all, suing the Cuomo Administration with two pretty big lawsuits.) With Joe Martens, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in tow, the Governor met at Follensby Pond (his second trip there) with the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the Adirondack Council and ADK. Those most closely aligned with the Cuomo Administration, who supported for the Adirondack Club & Resort project and/or the NYCO land swap, get to go fishing with the Governor.

The Governor then went to Gore Mountain and met with seven local government officials as well as Senator Betty Little and Assemblyman Dan Stec. At Gore, the Governor held a press conference. » Continue Reading.


Monday, September 23, 2013

Input Sought on Mandatory Lake George Boat Inspections

LGPC Lake George Invasive Species PhotoThe Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) has published a proposed rule for mandatory inspection of trailered boats launching on Lake George in an effort to limit the continued introduction of aquatic invasive species into the lake.

The public comment period is now open and public hearings have been scheduled for October 10th at 2 pm at the Roaring Brook Conference Center in Lake George and at 6 pm at the Best Western in Ticonderoga. (Note the hearing in Lake George was changed from its original day and location). » Continue Reading.


Sunday, September 22, 2013

Peter Bauer: Homage to the 1924 Sign Law

billboards-AAThe 1924 sign law that effectively banned billboards throughout the Adirondack Park shows how our forbearers were braver, wiser, and more prescient than we are today.

It was a bold decision that resulted, by some accounts, in the removal of over 1,400 billboards. In the Adirondack Park this law largely prevented an assault of rooftop and roadside billboards that dominate broad stretches of the U.S. – the cluttered strips of Anywhere USA. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Invasive Asian Clams Continue to Spread in Lake George

Asian Clam Locations on Lake George Sept 6 2013Post-treatment survey results this spring suggested that the seven acres of mats placed on the bottom of Lake George  last winter successfully killed off several populations of Asian clams.  However, a two-week lakewide survey in early September has revealed that the invasive clams are showing up in new locations, and spreading beyond the treated areas.

New clam populations have been identified by volunteers and staff from the various organizations that make up the Lake George Asian Clam Task Force.  New locations with clams have been found at Million Dollar Beach, Sandy Bay, Cotton Point and Basin Bay in southern Lake George, as well as the private boat launch area in Glenburnie in the Northern Basin.  » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Johns Brook Stream Restoration Begins

Johns Brook Restorian 2013 - Photo by Corrie MillerWork has began this week on a stream and habitat restoration project at Johns Brook in Keene Valley. This first phase of restoration, addressing the lower third of the impacted reach, should be complete by the end of this month and is intended to speed the stream’s return to pre-Irene character and function, reduce bank erosion and improve wildlife habitat.

In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene in August of 2011, nearly half a mile of Johns Brook was dramatically altered by local officials from its natural state – from the Route 73 bridge upstream. The work was done in the spirit of public safety to remove stream blockages and protect property. Unfortunately, flattening (removing cascades and filling in pools) and straightening the stream channel reduced its ability to dissipate the water’s energy and the faster moving water causes additional flooding and erosion problems. Furthermore, the stream’s trout habitat was drastically diminished. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Park Perspectives: Regaining the Lead in Park Protection

preservationofprivateownedspace1Four decades ago the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) came into being. It was not an easy birth or infancy. Political opposition weakened this new creature even before it saw the light of day. And controversy surrounded its early years as it worked to incorporate conservation values in the regulation of private lands. Its efforts often were met with misunderstanding, misinformation, hostility, and defiance.

Its future, though, seemed as promising as its present was turbulent. Conceived with the promise of protecting the Park forever, the APA embodied the optimistic view that the Adirondacks could become a model for the world, a mix of public and private lands managed for the benefit of wild nature and human communities, natural beauty and an economy nurtured by the attractions of outdoor recreation and the wise use of natural resources. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

In Bolton An Unparalleled Japanese Knotweed Infestation

23With aquatic invasive species attracting so much attention, it’s not surprising that terrestrial invasives have received comparatively little notice from Lake George residents.

But according to Bolton Landing resident Anne Green, “this town is ground zero for Japanese knotweed. Bolton has more dense beds per acre than any other town in the Adirondacks.”

Last year, Green began working with a program called the Regional Inlet Invasive Plant Program (RIIPP), which was started in Herkimer County in 2008, to combat Japanese Knotweed. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 12, 2013

APA Member Opposes ‘Wild Forest’ For Essex Chain

Essex ChainThe Adirondack Park Agency commissioners have yet to vote on the classification of the Essex Chain Lakes, but one commissioner asserted Thursday that a Wild Forest designation would be inappropriate.

Richard Booth, one of eleven members of the APA board, said his reading of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan leads him to the conclusion that motorized access to, and motorized use of, the Essex Chain should be prohibited.

Under a Wild Forest classification, state officials would have the option of allowing people to drive all the way to the Essex Chain and to use motorboats. Thus, Booth favors a Wilderness, Primitive, or Canoe designation, all of which prohibit motorized use. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Small Species: Critical to Ecosystem Health

Michael Klemens sampling for amphibians(1)Small species slithering unseen within the forest leaf litter, or croaking and peeping from the edge of wetlands rarely take center stage in either conservation or Adirondack land development discussions. 

In fact, they are often completely overlooked, but that is changing with the leading work of Dr. Michael Klemens. An internationally recognized biologist, herpetologist and scientist-advocate for conservation design, Dr. Klemens has been retained by Adirondack Wild to give much needed attention to frogs, salamanders, and reptiles – key to the base of our Adirondack forest ecosystem and food chain. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Adirondack Park Agency Meeting This Week

APA officeThe Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at its Headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, September 12 and Friday, September 13, 2013.  Among the issues the meeting will address are the use of Rotenone to kill largemouth bass in Lower Sargent Pond, the expansion of a Westport RV campground, a Webb subdivision, and more.

Although a decision is not expected, the APA will continue deliberations on how the former Finch Pruyn / Nature Conservancy lands recently added to the State Forest Preserve will be managed. These new state lands are located in the Towns of Minerva and Newcomb, and Indian Lake and include the Essex Chain Lakes, Indian River and OK Slip Falls. The meeting is streamed live online at the APA website. What follows is the meeting agenda released to the media. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Study: Wetlands Key to Revitalizing Acid Streams

New York GLA team of University of Texas at Arlington biologists working with the U.S. Geological Survey in the Black and Oswegatchie river basins has found that watershed wetlands can serve as a natural source for the improvement of streams polluted by acid rain.

The group, led by associate professor of biology Sophia Passy, also contends that recent increases in the level of organic matter in surface waters in regions of North America and Europe – also known as “brownification” – holds benefits for aquatic ecosystems.  The research team’s work appears in the September issue of the journal Global Change Biology. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

No Decision Yet On New State Lands: A Deliberations Update

Essex ChainAdirondack Park Agency (APA) spokesperson Keith McKeever has confirmed that the agency will not make a decision at its September meeting on how former Finch Paper lands recently acquired by New York State will be managed.

The classification of the lands around the Essex Chain of Lakes and Hudson Gorge is one of the biggest Forest Preserve decisions the APA has faced in more than a decade, one that has recently dominated public discussion in the Adirondacks.  » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Adirondack Council’s Willie Janeway On His First 100 Days

Entering-Adirondack-ParkWhen I started as the Council’s executive director on May 1, friends in the Park said “welcome home.”  I had worked here for the Adirondack Mountain Club for close to 10 years after graduating from St. Lawrence University with a degree in Economics and Environmental studies back in 1985.

That led to work with The Nature Conservancy, the Hudson River Greenway Council and – for the past six years – as a Regional Director for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in the Hudson Valley/Catskills region. I continued to visit the park when time allowed and kept myself current on park issues, hoping that someday I would get a chance to return to this special place. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Adirondack Explorer Hosting Conference On The APA

Paul Smiths AreaIn this 40th anniversary year of the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan, experts from the Adirondack Park and around the country will convene at the Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center on September 26, 2013 to assess the progress and unfinished business of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA).

The conference hopes to identify ways the agency can be strengthened, based on successful examples here and elsewhere of preserving water quality, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty, while also bolstering the regional economy. The principles of conservation design will be a theme of the conference.   A $25 registration fee covers coffee, lunch, and a reception following the event. » Continue Reading.



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