Sunday, June 24, 2018

Adirondack Watershed Institute Gets $9.3M State Contract

Adirondack Watershed Institute steward conducting a watercraft inspectionThe Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) has been awarded a five-year, $9.3 million contract by New York State to implement the Adirondack Park Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program.

The contract calls for the AWI to implement a region-wide watercraft inspection and decontamination program to stop the introduction, spread, and transport of aquatic invasive species such as Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, and spiny waterflea. Through it, 58 stewards will be funded at dozens of locations across the park. Public-facing efforts are seen as key as recreational watercraft susceptible to spreading invasive species move about the park in the coming months. » Continue Reading.


Friday, June 22, 2018

Comments Sought On Gore Mountain Plans

Northwoods Gondola in summerThe Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have announced they are accepting public comments for two associated actions related to proposed improvements at the Gore Mountain Intensive Use Ski Area.

The public comment period on the proposed changes ends July 13, 2018. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Public Comment Sought On Grass River Area Management

grass river wild forest umpThe Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has announced they are now accepting public comment for the Grass River Wild Forest Unit Management Plan.

The APA will accept public comments until July 13, 2018 regarding Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance for the proposed management actions. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

50K Grant For Upgrades to Bolton Wastewater Plant

The FUND for Lake George has presented a Water Quality and Clarity Protection Grant of $50,000 to the Town of Bolton. This funding is expected to be applied toward upgrading the Bolton Wastewater Treatment Plant, specifically for the installation of a Woodchip Bioreactor that will reduce the levels of nitrates entering Lake George.

This measure was a recommendation of the Lake George Waterkeeper’s report “Bolton Bay (Lake George, Warren County) Water Quality Assessment – a Monitoring Program to Evaluate Current Water Quality Issues.” The grant award is among the investments being made by The FUND to complete The Model for Enduring Protection of Lake George. » Continue Reading.


Monday, June 18, 2018

DEC Adds Third Public Meeting On High Peaks Changes

2018 Draft Amendment to the High Peaks Wilderness ComplexThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced a third public meeting seeking public comment on the High Peaks Wilderness Complex and the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Draft Unit Management Plan Amendments has been scheduled.

The meeting is scheduled for June 21, at 6 pm in the Lussi Ballroom of the Olympic Conference Center, 2364 Main Street, Lake Placid. The meeting will provide the public another opportunity to learn more about the proposed management actions in the Draft UMP Amendments and comment on the proposals. The meeting facilities are wheelchair accessible. Provide any requests for specific accommodations to (518) 897-1361 at least one week in advance of the meetings. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 17, 2018

APA Approves Three Unit Management Plans

cranberry lake wild forest The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board approved amendments to the Black River Wild Forest, the Cranberry Lake Boat Launch and the Lake George Beach and Battlefield Unit Management Plans at its June 2018 Board meeting.

What follows is part of APA’s press release describing the changes.  The Unit Management Plans can be found on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s UMP webpage.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Advocates: State Responsible for Polluting Adirondack Wells

road saltLake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky has called road salt “the acid rain of our time.”

Now, a newly-completed study of Adirondack wells claims that most wells that receive runoff from state roads are contaminated with salt.

The study conducted by the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute comes on the heels of an earlier study that argued that 84% of the contamination of surface waters by road salting could be attributed to state practices. » Continue Reading.


Monday, June 11, 2018

AWA: Snowmobile Decision Calls Into Question Other Road Claims

black river wild forestA local wilderness advocacy organization is expressing concerns about road definitions in a pending management plan that could have implications around the Adirondack Park.

Adirondack Wilderness Advocates (AWA) says that DEC’s plan for new trails and parking facilities the Black River Wild Forest likely does not conform with State Land Master Plan guidance, and part of the reason is a recent snowmobile decision that went against Protect the Adirondacks in 2017. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 10, 2018

Mountain Bike Trails Management Guidance Issued

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently approved guidelines for mountain bike facilities on “forever wild” Adirondack Forest Preserve lands.

The document, Management Guidance: Siting, Construction and Maintenance of Singletrack Bicycle Trails on Forest Preserve Lands in the Adirondack Park is expected to assist DEC in planning bicycle trail networks on Forest Preserve lands classified as Wild Forest. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

National Changes Across Rural America Shape the Adirondacks

misleading county election mapOne of the most striking maps coming out of the 2016 Presidential election is the red-blue county map. Despite Clinton winning the popular vote by 3 million, the county map shows a sea of red across the U.S. as Trump won 2,632 counties and the country is flecked with blue dots in the interior and on the coasts where Hillary Clinton won 489 counties. In our part of New York, Trump swept everything north of the Mohawk River with the lone exception of Clinton County. He won Lewis, Hamilton, Fulton, and Herkimer counties by wide margins. Having poured over maps of Rural and Urban America in the last few years, the interesting thing to me is that the 2016 Trump victory map tracks closely to the rural-urban divide in the U.S. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

New Adirondack Invasive Species Awareness Campaign Launched

keep invasives outThe Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary by launching a new public awareness campaign focused on the simple steps Adirondack residents and visitors can take to prevent invasive species from spreading into the places they love.

The “Keep Invasive Species Out” campaign is centered around a new logo and a website, KeepInvasiveSpeciesOut.com that provides an overview of the problem and offers simple, preventive solutions for limiting the likelihood of unintentionally spreading an invasive. Tips are given for specific outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, horseback riding, gardening/landscaping, and farming. The site is designed to provide information quickly and easily, and serves as a complement to APIPP’s longstanding website, adkinvasives.com. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Busy Schedule For June Adirondack Park Agency Meeting

APA Building in Ray Brook NYThe Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, June 8th, 2018.

The meeting will cover proposed enhancements to the Olympic Jumping Complex, proposed amendments to the Black River and Cranberry Lake Boat Launch, Lake George Battlefield, Gore Mountain, Saranac Lake Wild Forest, and Grasse River UMPs, a private RV campground, and more.

What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 3, 2018

Adirondack Wild: Stop the Rush to Accommodate Overuse

Hikers on Cascade Mountain, eastern High Peaks Wilderness What follows is a press release issued by Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve:

At public meetings held in Albany and Newcomb this week, the non-profit advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve told the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and NYS Adirondack Park Agency (APA) that the agencies are rushing to approve complex amendments to management plans for the High Peaks Wilderness and nearby Forest Preserve units. Such haste risks exposing these wilderness landscapes to more overuse and degradation of their natural resources and wild character.

The agencies are on course to approve the amendments in just over 45 days, or half the time that the agencies previously agreed should be taken to consider complex unit management plans for “forever wild” state lands. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 3, 2018

Saranac Lake Adopts Climate Smart Community Resolution

saranac lake tourism logoOn May 14, the Saranac Lake Village Board voted unanimously to join the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program.

In joining this program, Saranac Lake joined 221 other communities around NYS in leading on climate action, and became one of a few communities in the Adirondacks to participate. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, June 3, 2018

LGLC Northwest Bay, Indian Brook Initiatives Move Forward

Indian Brook Northwest Bay BrookThe Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has been awarded a $20,000 matching grant from the Cloudsplitter Foundation to be used to leverage new donations for land protection efforts within its Indian Brook/Northwest Bay Brook Conservation Initiative.

The Cloudsplitter grant award is expected to be put towards the acquisition costs of the 159-acre Wing Pond property, purchased by the LGLC in December of 2016. This property, which is within the scope of the Conservation Initiative, includes 15 acres of sensitive wetlands, 750 feet of stream corridor, important habitat for birds and wildlife (including critical rattlesnake breeding habitat), and four-season public recreational opportunities. » Continue Reading.



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