The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the Department of Environmental Conservation are holding a joint public comment period to solicit comments regarding proposed Minimum Requirements Approach Guidance.
The guidance pertains to the construction of trail bridges on State Land classified as Wild Forest Areas in the Adirondack Park.
The APA and DEC will accept comments on the Minimum Requirements Approach Guidance until April 14, 2017. » Continue Reading.
On Saturday, April 8th Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County will host a seminar on the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Mark Whitmore of Cornell University one of the foremost authorities on the Wooly Adelgid will give a one-and-a-half-hour presentation starting at 10 am at the Cooperative Extension Education Center in Warrensburg.
Following his presentation, he will then conduct a field detection workshop at Pack Forest in Warrensburg from 12:30 pm to 2 pm. During that time, Whitmore will detail what to look for and how to distinguish adelgid damage from other tree issues. » Continue Reading.
For many of us, winter in the Northeast means cold temperatures and piles of snow, drifting through forests and across fields. It’s hard to imagine that winter here could be different, but the prospect of climate change has scientists asking just what our winters might look like in the future – and how those changes might influence forest ecology.
At the U.S. Forest Service’s Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, scientists are thinking about the year 2100. How much warming will occur isn’t certain, but some projections suggest that average air temperatures in our region may increase 5.5 to 9 degrees over the course of this century. The effects are likely to be complex and are difficult to predict, with benefits and costs for different organisms. Some tree species, for example, may benefit from longer and warmer growing seasons, but they may also sustain root damage from more frequent soil freezing. » Continue Reading.
Three New York-owned ski resorts, Belleayre Ski Resort, Gore Mountain and Whiteface Mountain, have joined the Climate Reality Project I AM PRO SNOW 100% Committed program and pledged to be powered by 100 percent renewal energy by 2030.
The initiative corresponds with the Cuomo administration’s Clean Energy Standard, which requires that half of all electricity used in New York come from renewable sources by 2030. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is drafting a Recreation Management Plan (RMP) for the Croghan Tract Conservation Easement.
The privately owned Conservation Easement encompasses approximately 12,816 acres located in the towns of Croghan and Watson in Lewis County.
The Croghan Tract shares approximately 8.8 miles of boundary with Adirondack Forest Preserve lands, including the Pepperbox Wilderness Area and Watson’s East Triangle Wild forest. A scoping session with the public was held in 2001. » Continue Reading.
As the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) prepares for their March meeting, a decision on classification of the Boreas Ponds Tract is not on the agenda. That’s a good thing, indicating that more research and deliberations are ongoing and providing some comfort that the decision is not just pro forma.
Adirondack Wilderness Advocates believes that it is therefore an excellent time to review the status of the deliberation process. In doing so, we can justly say “hats off” to the Adirondack Park Agency staff. Their thorough analysis of the Boreas Ponds Tract, conducted as part of developing a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), and presented to the State Land Committee at the February Agency Meeting, was a breath of fresh, evidence-based, rational air in a process that to this point has been in dire need of reason and facts. » Continue Reading.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Women’s History Month, I want to recognize the work of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national grassroots organization dedicated to protecting wilderness and wild lands. This organization was conceived by older women who love wilderness, giving voice to the millions of older Americans who want to protect their public lands as wilderness for this and future generations. The group prides itself on the thousands of hours (37,857 last year) people volunteer to care for the environment. Based in Durango, Colorado, their on-the-ground work happens throughout the country, with 36 active chapters in 16 states. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, on Thursday, March 9th beginning at 10 am.
The Full Agency will come to order Thursday at 10 am for Executive Director Terry Martino’s monthly report. At 10:30 am, the State Land Committee will come to order to determine if the proposed amendment to the Moose River Plains Wild Forest Unit Management Plan conforms to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP). » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) postponed action on the classification of the Boreas Ponds this month. The APA had planned to unveil its proposal for these lands in March and make a decision in April. The schedule going forward is uncertain.
The Cuomo Administration is divided on how to best manage the Boreas Ponds and as a result, it has no final plan for classification. Top staffers to the Governor and top brass at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are vacillating between two main options. » Continue Reading.
Champlain Area Trails (CATS) recently conserved 128-acres on Murtaugh Hill in Beekmantown through a conservation easement donated by Dick and Leanna DeNeale. The wooded property is set in a large forested area where limiting development is expected to help maintain habitat connectivity for wildlife, protect clean water, and allow for a hiking trail.
The DeNeale Property was used as a research site for a SUNY Plattsburgh Wildlife Ecology and Management Class and is expected to be used for additional studies because of its proximity to the campus, varieties of habitat, and ecological features. The most recent study found that it had higher species richness and population densities than a forested site at lower elevation several miles away because of its intact habitat and lower level of human impact. » Continue Reading.
The scale of the threats to our national and global security that climate change is creating is staggering. These are well known to America’s military and security experts. Yet the voices of these persons are not being adequately heard and acted on in Washington, even as these dangers to our country increase.
Climate change is creating a tremendous range of problems that will increasingly cause and worsen violence and conflicts. For example, droughts (like that in Syria) are multiplying the scale of conflict and migration. Water, food and grazing shortages will push tremendous numbers of people into areas controlled by others, creating and worsening conflicts in places like Darfur, in Sudan. Rising sea levels are a truly enormous threat, including through the future flooding of mega-cities on coasts around the world and the forced displacement of many millions. The melting of the Arctic icecaps is already creating international tensions with Russia over rights to underwater resources. » Continue Reading.
Protect the Adirondacks offered its first witness Wednesday in a civil trial that could clarify the meaning of Article 14, the section of the state constitution that declares that the Forest Preserve “shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.”
Historian Philip Terrie spent several hours on the stand, establishing his credentials and testifying about the meaning of timber circa 1894, the year Article 14 (then Article 7) was approved.
Article 14 mandates that timber on the Preserve shall not be “sold, removed or destroyed.”
Protect the Adirondacks contends that the state’s construction of “community connector” snowmobile trails violates this provision and will destroy tens of thousands of trees. The nonprofit group is suing the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Adirondack Park Agency.
Congressional representative Elise Stefanik should invite the new head of the U.S. EPA, Scott Pruitt, to visit her district. She might introduce Mr. Pruitt to the homeowners in Ballston Spa whose homes have been turned upside down thanks to release of some very bad chemicals from a nearby, now closed dry cleaning facility.
In July 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation requested that EPA perform an environmental assessment. In August 2016, the EPA collected air samples and detected high levels of chloroform; TCE (trichloroethylene); PCE; vinyl chloride; benzene; and naphthalene. These chemicals are likely in the ground water as well. This winter, EPA is evaluating homes downstream of the dry cleaners for vapor intrusion into those homes. » Continue Reading.
Some might wonder: What’s the big deal about Boreas Ponds? Yes, it boasts a fantastic view of the High Peaks, but you can paddle the waterway in less than an hour. And then what?
Unlike Lake Lila, Boreas Ponds has no sandy beaches where you can loll in the sun or go for a swim. Nor is there a nearby peak to climb for a lookout (though you could bushwhack to the top of Boreas Mountain).
Nevertheless, Boreas Ponds is a big deal. It’s one of our last chances to add a sizable water body to the Forest Preserve and declare it motor-free.
The Alice T. Miner Museum has announced that Dr. Curt Stager, professor of natural sciences at Paul Smith’s College, will speak on the regional impact of climate change on March 2nd.
Climate change is about more than distant polar bears and rising sea levels. It is happening here, too. The talk will look at what changes are already under way, and what changes may be coming in the future. » Continue Reading.
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