Recently, I wrote about the Adirondack Council asking the state to fund a wide-ranging study of water quality across the Adirondacks. (Speaking of the Council, it just hired someone away from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office to be its new vice president for conservation.)
I’ve been thinking about how much the public conversation is influenced by money — not just advertising and p.r., but money or lack of money for research.
New York State’s Watercraft Inspection Steward Programs are now recruiting boat stewards for the 2021 season. If you like working outdoors, interacting with the public, and want to help protect New York’s waters from aquatic invasive species, please check out the SLELO PRISM (St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) website for a list of positions across the state.
Photo: Boat stewards assist the public with checking their watercraft for aquatic invasive species. They also provide education and at some locations, free boat washes. (Photo by Adirondack Watershed Institute, Paul Smith’s College)
Upcoming Learning OpportunitiesEach of the following presentations will take place online.
Take Action Against Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Part 2) (Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program) – Wednesday, March 3 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Participants will learn how to adopt a trailhead, carry out self-guided HWA field surveys, and collect environmental data using iMapInvasives, a free, easy-to-use, mobile mapping tool. Register in advance online. Part 1 of this webinar will occur on 2/25 from 3-4:30 pm.
The Adirondack Park is known for its Forever Wild Forest Preserve, but a good majority of conservation efforts are done by private landowners themselves.
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 2nd, three landowners who have put in the effort to conserve their land will talk about their motivations, the methods they used and the challenges that they face in doing so. They will also discuss some of the benefits of private conservation.
AdkAction was recently awarded $50,000 from the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The grant is for a newly formed “Clean Water, Safe Roads” partnership, which will work to reduce salt pollution along the 125-mile-long lake between New York and Vermont. Together with partners from Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and Lake Champlain Sea Grant, the project partners intend to enact an in-depth and personalized outreach and education program to municipal highway departments in the Lake Champlain Basin Area.
Previously, the Almanack has asked “which side are you on” when it comes to a court case involving Article 14, the “forever wild” provision of our state constitution.
Recently, dueling press releases from plaintiff Protect the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Mountain Club, Open Space Institute, Adirondack Council, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve, the group I work for – indeed suggest that all of us are retreating to our separate corners.
In truth we are longstanding and natural allies and proponents of the “forever wild” provision and much else. Politicization has not completely engulfed the world of wild nature – yet.
The Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District is now accepting orders for its annual tree and shrub seedling sale, which means spring is well on its way. Each year, the District offers a diverse selection of low cost bare root seedlings including fruit trees, flowering shrubs, seed mixes and much more. Incorporating native woody vegetation into your landscape can be a great option for establishing pollinator and wildlife habitat, a buffer, edible fruit or strictly for the beauty.
Some highlights for this year’s sale are the new Homestead Pack which includes Elderberry, Witch Hazel, Sugar Maple, American Hazelnut and Blueberry. This pack has great farm value offering species that produce nuts, berries, homemade maple syrup, and supports beneficial insects. The sale has even more to offer this year such as wildflower seeds, bird houses, wood duck boxes, apple and pear trees, and much more!
The order deadline is March 10. The order pick up will be held on April 23 from 8:30am to 6pm at the District Office 394 Schroon River Road in Warrensburg. The order form can be found at warrenswcd.org.
For more information, contact Maren Alexander at marenalexander@nycap.rr.com or (518)623-3119
From the Lake George Association (LGA):
The LGA, in consultation with our members — and our friends at the Darrin Fresh Water Institute — have determined that “Ice-In” for Lake George was Thursday morning, Feb. 11, 2021.
We expect there were a few areas without ice on Feb. 11, as occurs every year, but the conditions met the definition of “ice-in” we have always used: when someone could walk from one end of the Lake to the other solely on the ice – though it is NOT SAFE TO WALK ON YET in some areas!
Much of the Lake had already frozen by that time, but the stubborn area in Hague had open water across the Lake through Tuesday, Feb. 9. The wind stopped after the snow on Tuesday night and the rest froze.
The Lake did not fully freeze last year, so it is the first time it is fully covered in ice since 2019. (Ice-out in 2019 was April 13, Ice-in in 2019 was January 22.)
In fact, according to LGA records that date back to 1908, the Lake has stayed “open” (not fully frozen over) seven of the last 21 years.
Skate sailors on Lake George/Almanack file photo
Since the Halloween Storm raged through Hamilton County on October 31, 2019, excellent progress has been made to mitigate damage. In the wake of the storm, departments worked unceasingly to make roads passable. Then, they spent the spring, summer, and fall repairing infrastructure and stabilizing streams. Work continues, with more projects on tap for 2021.
Greg Boyer, Hamilton County Department of Public Works Road Supervisor II, reported that when the storm first hit, crew members spent countless hours making the roads passable.
“Crews were fabulous as far as getting together to get the work done, and making roads accessible for people to get in and out of their houses,” Boyer said. “Everyone worked together really well.”
The Hamilton County DPW completed the following flood mitigation projects:
There’s something about the weather, particularly when it comes to hydrology, that creates an almost eye-rolling cycle of stories. If it’s not too dry, it’s too wet. With a changing climate, the normal also changes — for instance, while reporting a story on pollution running into Lake Champlain, I heard from officials on both sides of the lake that they’re seeing more rain and storms so intense they’re called “rain bombs,” a recipe for uncontrolled flashes of water that sweep pollution into the lake from fields and streets.
Some people notice all this. Others do not.
Two years ago, while I was reporter in the Southwest and had spent a few years covering a major drought, we had what seemed like an awfully rainy and cold winter for that part of the world. A few people I talked to regularly said, Oh yeah, this is strange weather for here. So, I called the National Weather Service and asked, Ain’t it awfully rainy and cold? Not really, the local meteorologist replied, it was only the 55th coldest stretch on record.
Such is the nature of human perception: We forget what happened or remember things that didn’t.
I dropped into the Lake George Park Commission’s Zoom meeting to check on the status of pending rules to curb runoff into the lake. Known as stormwater regulations, these rules are designed to try to reduce the amount of water that runs across roofs, roads and lots when it rains or snows. Unchecked, this water picks up pollution and sends it straight into the lake.
The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive pest that had made its way over to the US From Asia which feeds on a variety of plants such as grapes, hops, and maple trees. The SLF has been discovered in multiple locations around NY but still hasn’t spread throughout most of the state. A potential pathway for the spread of SLF is its preferred host plant, called the Tree of Heaven, a tree found in many locations across NY.
New York iMapInvasives is seeking volunteers to look for SLF and TOH in your area, where you can help protect New York’s agriculture and forests by catalouging invasive species in the iMapInvasives database.
To learn more about the Spotted Lanternfly and Tree of Heaven, check out iMapInvasives website, and sign up for the “Identifying and Reporting Spotted Lanternfly and Tree of Heaven with NY iMapInvasives” webinar, available Tuesday, February 23rd from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Register online here.
Do you have a favorite tree of the Adirondacks? I do. Among the many wonderful options, it’s quite hard to choose.
My favorite tree isn’t the beautiful sugar maple, responsible for both fiery autumn colors and delicious maple syrup. Though I love the deep green color of the Eastern hemlock, it too is passed over. I regrettably often don’t even notice the birches, the beeches, or the red maples. Although I greatly enjoy hiking uphill through a thick tunnel of red spruce, this conifer is a close friend but not my closest. The tall and delightfully shaped Eastern white pine comes in second, but even this icon of the woods doesn’t hold first place in my heart.
My favorite tree is perhaps many people’s favorite: the Adirondack classic, the balsam fir. If nature has produced a more wonderfully appealing, delightfully fragrant, overall MVP of conifer trees on the East coast, I have yet to encounter it. There isn’t a tree that I associate more directly with the deep sense of peace and wholeness that I feel while in the woods than the balsam fir.
Can I Pre-Cycle That?
PREvent waste before you reCYCLE. One of the main ways we can prevent waste while working toward wellness goals is through precycling, which includes thinking about purchases and choosing options that generate less waste. Precycling your way through your 2021 health goals is as easy as following these tips:
Reduce
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and partners issued an update about ongoing efforts to limit the spread of the invasive pest Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) on Forest Preserve lands in Washington County as part of an ongoing, multi-year initiative. DEC confirmed the HWA infestation in August 2020, and began treatment in October on affected hemlock trees in the Glen Island Campground on the shores of Lake George.
Treatment began Oct. 6, 2020 along the shorelines of Lake George and was conducted over a four-week period by DEC staff. DEC prioritized the infestation at Paradise Bay due to the site’s size and levels of infestation. Crews treated 2,374 trees with insecticide on 138 acres of Paradise Bay and injected insecticides directly into the trunks of 80 trees close to sensitive areas. In addition, the New York State Hemlock Initiative released 620 Laricobius beetles, a biological control for HWA, in the treatment area to feed on HWA.
Latest News Headlines
Latest News Headlines
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.
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here.
sign up for news updates from the Adirondack Almanack!
Help us keep bringing you the Adirondack information you value.
Email
Twitter
RSS
Facebook
Recent Almanack Comments