Several typically restricted Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties will be open to the public from Saturday, August 11, through Sunday, August 26, 2018.
Portions of these WMAs are marked as “Refuge” or “Wetlands Restricted Area” to allow waterfowl and other listed species to breed and raise young without interference from people. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY on Thursday, August 9th, 2018.
The meeting will address Town of Caroga’s Approved Local Land Use Program’s zoning ordinance; expansion Lake George Riverview RV Park; State Land reclassifications involving the Gore Mountain Intensive Ski Area, and more. In the afternoon, the Board will tour Mt. Van Hoevenburg Olympic Sports Complex (the public is invited).
What follows is the agenda issued by the APA: » Continue Reading.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that the State has purchased 180 acres of land to add to the Washington County Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The $326,000 land acquisition, located along Plum Road and County Route 46 in the town of Fort Edward, will increase the amount of grassland habitat protected in the WMA to 466 acres.
The Washington County Grasslands WMA is home to more than 100 bird and animal species, including wintering snowy owls and state endangered short-eared owls. The area also provides critical habitat to 10 of the 11 grassland bird “species of greatest conservation need,” including Northern harriers, upland sandpipers, Eastern meadowlarks, horned larks, and American kestrels. » Continue Reading.
Protect the Adirondacks is hosting a Canoe-In for Motorless Waters on Weller Pond on Saturday, August 18, 2018. PROTECT is aiming to get 100 canoes and kayaks in a flotilla of protest calling for state action to make Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond motorless waters.
The protest is starting at 10 am. People who plan to attend should register online. Boat rentals are available in the area.
“Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond should be managed by the State of New York as a quiet waters area, made off-limits to motorized watercraft and only accessible by non-motorized vessels. These ponds should be managed by state agencies as a quiet and beautiful refuge and respite among the heavily motorized and extremely popular Saranac Lakes Chain,” Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, said in an announcement sent to the press.
PROTECT issued the following list of reasons why the Weller Ponds should be motorless: » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Lakes Alliance (ALA) will present new initiatives to address road salt use, contamination issues and remediation efforts at their 4th Annual Symposium from 9 to 3:30 on August 8 at Paul Smith’s College, Joan Weill Student Center.
Venetia Lannon, New York State’s Deputy Secretary for the Environment, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s conference. She will speak about strategies the State is implementing to help protect water quality.
In addition to Lannon, Dan Kelting, PhD, of Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) will provide an overview of a newly-completed scientific study conducted by AWI with AdkAction and The FUND for Lake George on wells contaminated by road salt and issues unique to the Adirondack Park. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy is bringing science and nature together for a one day nature fair at their Keene Valley, New York office. Though a lot of the Nature Conservancy’s hard work is behind the scenes, the August 9 celebration is an opportunity for the staff to showcase their specialties and demonstrate how they continue to work to support communities and nature.
According to Associate Director of Philanthropy Erin Walkow, the idea for a nature fair sounded like the perfect way to connect the public with all the different departments within The Nature Conservancy. » Continue Reading.
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has announced a family-friendly party at Up Yonda Farm on Saturday, August 18, from 11 am to 1 pm to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
The free event will feature local food trucks, drink vendors, face painting and more as a way to engage and thank all of the organization’s friends, supporters and community partners. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is now accepting public comments for a proposed amendment to the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex Intensive Use Area Unit Management Plan.
The APA will accept public comments until July 27, 2018 regarding Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance for the proposed management actions.
What follows is a press announcement from APA: » Continue Reading.
Local outfitter The Mountaineer recently partnered with Patagonia to support educational and research efforts this summer atop the highest peaks through a grant to the Adirondack High Peaks Summit Stewardship Program.
According to an announcement sent to the press, the grant will enable the program to educate hikers about the fragile nature of the alpine vegetation and conduct research on the populations of rare, threatened and endangered plant species. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is accepting public comment on Volume 1 of the Generic Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan (TCUMP) for State Highway Travel Corridors in the Adirondack Park.
The generic plan outlines park-wide goals, strategies, objectives, policies, guidelines and best management practices to enable the development of route-specific corridor plans. In addition, the TCUMP coordinates and integrates the planning responsibilities of the state agencies statutorily responsible for state highway travel corridors within the Adirondack Park.
The APA will accept public comments until August 10, 2018 regarding Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance. » Continue Reading.
A Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMa) workshop has been set for Thursday, August 2, from 1 to 4 pm at the Nicandri Nature Center, 19 Robinson Bay Rd, Massena, NY.
The emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive beetle which is lethal to native ash trees, has been confirmed in Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties, as well as very near the southern border of Jefferson County.
Developed by the Poughkeepsie-based Ecological Research Institute in cooperation with the US Forest Service, MaMA offers tools to help citizens identify ash that may show some natural resistance to EAB. It is believed that these so-called “lingering ash” may hold a genetic key to finding resistant strains of ash, thus saving them from extinction. » Continue Reading.
Protect the Adirondacks is set to hold its annual membership meeting at The Grange in Whallonsburg on Saturday July 21st. The annual meeting includes the Conservation and Advocacy report, financial report, membership report, and election to the Board of Directors. » Continue Reading.
Given ongoing evidence of recreational crowding, overuse and resource damage of the eastern High Peaks Wilderness, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve has called on our DEC to institute permit systems, sometimes called Limited Entry systems, to assure and restore Wilderness preservation, character and opportunity in the most heavily used portions of the High Peaks. Such systems are widely used around the country.
The internal debate at DEC over whether to institute permit systems for the High Peaks has gone on for more than 40 years. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service is considering the expansion of such a system within 500,000 acres of federal Wilderness in Oregon’s Cascade Range. » Continue Reading.
At their recent 2018 Annual Meeting, The FUND for Lake George announced $443,000 in grant awards across each of The FUND’s “four portals to protection” — Science of Solutions, Invasive Species Prevention and Treatment, Salt Reduction, and Water Quality and Clarity Protection. » Continue Reading.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), St. Lawrence County, and the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) have announced a public meeting has been set for Friday, July 20, 2018, to provide the public with a comprehensive presentation of cleanup efforts at the former Jones and Laughlin (J&L) Steel Company site (Benson Mines) at Star Lake.
The Magnetic Iron Company began developing the area on top of what they believed would be a valuable ore body in the late 1880s. The Benson Mines Company started open pit mining operations at the site and produced magnetite and non-magnetite ore intermittently until the mine closed from 1919 to 1941.
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