Vibrant communities are essential to the economic, social, and cultural health of the Adirondacks.
At this year’s Common Ground Alliance Forum, we will explore how to increase the vibrancy of our communities. Done right, this will help maintain our existing population and – hopefully – attract new residents to these mountains we call home.
The event will take place over Zoom on Wednesday, July 21 over a split day.
I was hiking in Hamilton County recently when one of my companions spoke of the days of the Perkins Clearing land exchange (1979), a publicly supported amendment to Article 14 of the NYS Constitution which led to a significant land exchange between the State of New York and International Paper Corporation north of the village of Speculator.
We spoke of that land exchange as not only highly sensible and pragmatic for both sides, but also a classic Adirondack “win: win” result for the public’s Forest Preserve and for private forest industry.
Perkins Clearing Exchange: The confusing checkerboard pattern of state-private land evolved over many decades around Perkins Clearing (named after Isaiah Perkins, who owned a deer hunting camp here in the late 19th century). It was finally ended after 1979. Ownerships were consolidated, clearer boundaries established. Unbroken ownership blocks facilitated better land management. Both parties gained roughly the same acreage. The state’s Forest Preserve gained a little over 10,300 contiguous acres, International Paper gained just over 7,100 contiguous acres.
Visitation and social trends during 2020 were noticeably different in some areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitation by respondents from New York State jumped to 79%. With the border closing and travel restrictions, only 2% of respondents indicated visiting from Canada, and only 5% of out-of-state visitation was from outside the Northeast.
The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) contracted with an independent third-party research firm, PlaceMaking, to conduct the 2020 Leisure Travel Study (LTS), which includes a regional return on marketing investment analysis, plus traveler data for Essex and Hamilton counties.
Northern Current is excited to announce that we will be back in 2021!
This year’s event will be a pared-down version of what we typically shoot for. It wasn’t until recently that it was clear we could have the festival, so we have a shorter period of time to throw it together.
We won’t have a play area or non-food vendors, and will have a smaller number of bands – around five. But the Northern Current team is super excited to enjoy some live music and to get together with our community to dance it all out!
See you at Riverside Park in Saranac Lake on Sunday, September 5! Stay tuned for our lineup, which should be coming out sometime in the next few weeks.
All about berries! Blueberries, both wild and cultivated, are native to the Northeast. They belong to the Ericaceae plant family, along with cranberries. They are in season in the Adirondack region from mid-July through September. The United States is the primary producer of blueberries worldwide, followed by Canada, and Peru. In the US they are mostly grown in Oregon, Washington State, Michigan, New Jersey, California, and North Carolina. Many diversified farms and orchards grow blueberries in the Adirondack region. Blueberries like acidic soil and cold winters for a dormancy period.
Above photo: Blueberry harvest at Wild Work Farm in Keene Valley, NY. Netting over berry bushes protects the crop from birds. Most small-scale diversified farms and orchards pick their harvests by hand.
Point Positive, Inc., in collaboration with Clarkson’s Shipley Center for Innovation, will hold a series of Business Ideation Workshops to help individuals interested in starting their businesses. These workshops will help aspiring entrepreneurs identify promising ideas and map out the steps for moving forward.
Not only does it form the basis of the aquatic food web, algae have the power to put a lid on bovine burps. Algae can also be made into a substitute for fossil fuels, and is a heathy and tasty food supplement for humans. But from mid-summer through early fall, certain algae can spread toxins through freshwater lakes and rivers, posing a risk to people, pets, fish, and more. Be on the lookout in northern New York State this summer for harmful algal blooms (HABs).
The term algae itself has no strict definition. It may refer to any number of photosynthetic organisms, many of which are not even closely related. Everything from single-cell microbes to giant kelp measuring 150 feet long can be labeled as algae. Worldwide, there are more than 5,000 species of algae, and nearly all of them are beneficial.
Muffins cooked in oranges – whomever originally came up with this idea deserves a medal! This versatile recipe can be made with any muffin mix, allowing you to tailor it to your preferences.
The Lake George Association’s Floating Classroom will be in Sandy Bay to support the Lake Stewardship Group of Cleverdale Asian Clam Day on Thursday, July 15. Asian Clam Day is a hands-on educational and awareness event for residents and visitors.
By Alice Menis, Paul Smith’s College VIC Steward
Do you dream of finding an Adirondack moose? Look no further, here at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Information Center we have had multiple sightings of a moose!
Our first photograph of the moose was taken via trail camera during a research project by STEM students at Paul Smith’s College. For the past few weeks, we have been finding tracks on our trails but no one reported a sighting until Wednesday, June 16, when a lucky hiker captured a picture of the moose on the Heron Marsh Trail. The moose has been hanging out near this trail because there is plenty of food in the marsh. Moose love to eat wetland plants such as pond lilies because of their high sodium content. Moose also enjoy leaves, twigs, and buds of hardwood and softwood trees and shrubs.
DEC, Essex County, and the Town of Keene are working together to implement a shuttle pilot system this summer that will explore how shuttles may help manage sustainable visitation along the Route 73 corridor and in the High Peaks.
Some important details remain, including hiring necessary and properly certified shuttle operators and trail stewards, as well as finalizing route information, but we are continuing to collaborate and reach out to our partners to help make the shuttle successful. Qualified individuals interested in the hiring opportunities available can contact the Town of Keene, and additional information will be made available as the shuttle system details are finalized.
The following are the most recent notices pertaining to public lands in the Adirondacks. Please check the Adirondack Backcountry Information web pages for comprehensive and up-to-date information on seasonal road statuses, rock climbing closures, specific trail conditions, and other pertinent information.
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ARTA to NYS: Let’s speed up the rail trail construction
“Use and misuse of the travel corridor through the Adirondacks.” That’s the subject of a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo from Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, the nonprofit that’s been working for many years to establish a 90-mile recreational trail through the Adirondack Park from Lake Placid to Old Forge. ARTA achieved partial success when the state announced its grand compromise back in 2015 — 34 miles of the old railroad line would be converted to a year-round recreational trail linking Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. The rest of the state-owned “travel corridor” would be devoted to creating the longest tourist train ride in the country.
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