Friday, November 3, 2023

Housing series recap: What we learned and what’s happening next

group of people in front of a brown house

This week marks the final installment of our Taking Stock of Housing series, with a look back at the high points and a bit of a look forward at what the Adirondack housing issue holds for the future.

Hopefully the park will do a better job of solving the problem over the next 30 years than it has over the past 30 — despite warning calls being voiced back then just as they are today. “…(A)ffordable housing for the middle class is a thing of the past,” wrote Assemblyman Neil Kelleher in a 1992 letter to The North Creek News Enterprise. “A moderately priced home simply can’t be built.”

Keller worried that an economy based on logging and tourism, or “chainsaws and chambermaids,” as he put it, would fail to support the basic necessities of life. Not everyone was so pessimistic. A Town of Jay comprehensive plan drawn up in 1997 felt confident housing construction was adequate to meet housing needs — barring some great upheaval that would send city dwellers scurrying to the wide open wilderness spaces. But what were the odds of that?

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 3, 2023

The Wild Center to host 160 students for Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, Nov. 8 & 9

Adirondack Youth Climate Summit

Tupper Lake, NY – On Nov. 8 and 9, the annual Adirondack Youth Climate Summit (AYCS) will bring approximately 160 students from 27 schools and community groups across Northern New York State to The Wild Center. The Summit includes fun, informative speeches and workshop sessions that will assist students in developing a climate action plan that they can use to implement climate solutions in their own communities.

 

Speakers include:

  • Keynote, Alexia Leclerq: award-winning educator, artist, and grassroots organizer in advancing environmental justice
  • David Yang, Julia Dworetzky, Leila Tevlin: interviewers of climate leaders from Roadtrip Nation: Empowered State
  • Rob Breen: climate policy analyst for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Office of Climate Change
  • Shauna Potocky: Education Strategist for the National Park Service

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 3, 2023

Outdoor Conditions (11/3): Daylight Savings ends this Sunday, Nov. 5

outdoor conditions logoThe following are only the most recent notices pertaining to public lands in the Adirondacks. Please check the Adirondack Backcountry webpages for a full list of notices, including seasonal road statuses, rock climbing closures, specific trail conditions, and other pertinent information.

NEW THIS WEEK

Daylight Savings ends this Sunday (Nov. 5). Remember to account for time changes when planning your daylight hours.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, November 3, 2023

Latest news headlines

Here’s a look at news from around the Adirondacks this week:

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, November 2, 2023

Lost and found on the old trail

 

The old trail was familiar. I walk it monthly. The loop meandering along the state and private land line was only two miles long. It showed some blazes on the trees left by the hunting parties and solo hunters who have hunted this section for generations. Less than a mile in, bordering state land,  I walked confidently in an October afternoon because it was a familiar route.  I wore a blaze orange vest because it was hunting season. Watching for the faded blazes on the trees was unnecessary. The past footfalls of others were easily followed. Someone had recently walked here. The beech leaves were beautiful this time of the year.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, November 2, 2023

Saratoga PLAN Secures $301,000 Grant to Help Preserve Portion of Palmertown Range

Saratoga plan logo

 

Saratoga Springs, NY — Local land trust Saratoga PLAN (Preserving Land and Nature) is proud to announce a significant milestone in its ongoing efforts to safeguard critical forested landscapes within Saratoga County. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos has officially granted over $1.35 million to six land trusts, including PLAN. The funding is aimed at preserving local forests that are integral to New York State’s environmental conservation objectives and the sequestration of climate-altering emissions. This funding was provided through the Forest Conservation Easement for Land Trust (FCELT) grant program and administered through the Land Trust Alliance.
» Continue Reading.


Thursday, November 2, 2023

Oh, Adirondacks

poetry logo

By Sam Levine

“Biggest park in the contiguous United States.”
Or some other
Advertising
But…

A park
Public and private.
Call it the “Adirondack Regional Zoning Area”
And be done with it.
“No billboards or sprawl!”
“Lowest population density per square mile east of the Mississippi!”
More advertising.
Proud of?
Humans and non-humans
Life, non-life
All things in a pen
But the holes.
The entries and exits.
The coming-and-going.
Through the “Blue-Line.”
Proud of?
Soaring-and-plunging.
The shoulders of a “shoulder season.”

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Call Me David

Gun clip

Call Me David

There are moments when a writer’s voice, his best weapon, must rise. This moment is one of them. When will our great nation answer the call? This story is fiction. The issues are real. How many must die? Click the link to read on.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Tips for hunters, outdoor recreationists on safely sharing the woods this fall and winter

A hiking trail in the Adirondacks

On October 31, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) encouraged outdoor enthusiasts to respectfully share the woods and follow safety precautions this fall and winter. Hikers, nature photographers, leaf peepers, and mountain bikers are encouraged to follow safety measures while hunters and trappers are afield. Regular big game hunting season in the Northern Zone began Oct. 21 and closes Dec. 3. Bowhunting season for deer and bear is ongoing in the Southern Zone and ends at the beginning of the regular firearms season on Nov. 18.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Lost and disoriented Piercefield hunter, Rock River Trail hiker found

forest ranger reportTown of Indian Lake
Hamilton County
Wilderness Search:
 On Oct. 25 at 2:56 p.m., Forest Ranger Scott responded to a call for a missing hiker. The 54-year-old from Pennfield made a wrong turn on the Rock River Trail. Ranger Scott located the subject at Benton Road and helped her back to her vehicle at the trailhead. Resources were clear by 4 p.m.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Great Pumpkins

Linus, the precocious, blanket-toting character from the “Peanuts” world, which by the way is now a Canadian franchise, waited faithfully for “The Great Pumpkin” each Halloween night from 1950 to 1999. If anyone else had been stood-up that many times by the same character, they’d have thrown in the towel (or blanket) for sure. Perhaps Linus’ resolute faith that the mythical pumpkin would show up was spurred on by the fact that almost every year brings the world a bigger “great pumpkin” of the sort one can measure, and – at least potentially – eat. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

A Spooky Good Time: Inlet’s Halloween Costume Contest Results

Kids dressed up for Halloween

The Inlet Youth Commission held their annual Halloween Parade & Party on Friday, October 27, following another very successful Trunk-or-Treat at the Inlet Community Church. Many costumed children paraded through town behind an Inlet fire engine, before heading over to the Inlet Volunteer Emergency Services building for costume judging and treats.

This year’s M.C. Greg Rudd announced the winners, which were selected by the 2023 judges: Brittany Bartolotti, Toni Rudd, and Gina Greco.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

How to identify northern snakehead “Frankenfish,” an invasive, predatory fish

Northern snakehead fish

Almost as scary as Frankenstein’s Monster, northern snakehead are an invasive, predatory fish species native to Asia. Dubbed the “frankenfish,” northern snakehead can breathe air and survive for days out of water. Once established, these voracious predators have the potential to wreak havoc on an aquatic ecosystem – out-competing top predators, throwing off the balance of native fish communities and more.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, October 30, 2023

Spooky Season: Adirondack Almanack Roundup

pumpkins on a table

The end of the year is closing in on us. The leaves continue to fade and fall, the nights are long and we’re all slowly realizing that winter is only a few weeks away.

Breathe.
Smell the crisp fall days and maybe a subtle hint of candy corn.

We’ve gathered up a few of our all time favorite “Spooky Season” posts for you to reflect on.
Check them out!

1. History Matters: Humble Spirits: https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/10/history-matters-humble-spirits.html

This beautifully written piece by Amy Catania is sure to give you a few goosebumps. We get so wrapped up in our day to day lives, it’s important to remember the ones who had lives BEFORE us.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, October 30, 2023

Locked Up

construction being done on an Adirondack lake

Locked Up

For an on site October update on the DECs Saranac Lake Upper Locks construction project, click the link & read on.

 

Photo provided by Dick Monroe.

 



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