Posts Tagged ‘Adirondack Council’

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Chris Maron and Champlain Area Trails Receive Adirondack Council Award

CATS Adirondack Council award

At its Forever Wild annual event on Saturday, July 15, the Adirondack Council presented its Special Recognition award to Chris Maron and Champlain Area Trails (CATS) for “all the work he and the organization have done to further conservation in the greater Champlain Valley and Adirondacks.”

In presenting the award, John Davis, who serves as the Rewilding Advocate for the Council, said, “CATS, under Chris’ inspired leadership, has had a tremendously positive impact on the Champlain Valley. People now have more local trails to explore. As for saving land, CATS has worked with other land trusts to conserve almost half of the 20,000 acres of the Split Rock Wildway wildlife corridor, which connects Split Rock Wild Forest and woodlands in the Adirondacks.”  As he invited Maron to the stage, the crowd of over 200 people burst into a spontaneous standing ovation and applause.

After Maron expressed his thanks, he explained how, just fifteen years ago, there were few trails in the Champlain Valley which limited people from connecting with nature and hurt the economies of Champlain Valley communities because people bypassed them on their way to trails deeper in the Park.

“Now, we’ve created 45 trails totaling 78 miles and promoted them by publishing the CATS Trail Maps yearly,” said Maron. “These actions, along with all our outdoor activities, have connected people with nature, and as I hear from many business owners, town officials, and people out and about, the CATS trails are a big boost for local economies and our quality of life.”

And then, to the audience’s cheers, he pulled the newest edition of the CATS Central Champlain Valley Trails Map out of his back pocket and announced that CATS had published and received the newest edition of the map just two days before.

As the audience quieted, Maron acknowledged that “looking back is great, yet it’s about looking to the future. And that’s exciting because we have so many more trails to build—trails to cool places you hike to with friends, family, and on your own. And especially town-to-town trails that connect our communities. Meanwhile, we must conserve the vibrant natural communities, farmland, clean water, and scenic vistas people see from the trails.”

He then thanked the Council again for the award. He said to the audience that “Along with it honoring me, Champlain Area Trails, our board, staff, trail hosts, and volunteers, it honors you and the vision you have of life and love here in the Champlain Valley, the Adirondack Park, and the entire world.”

About Champlain Area Trails: Champlain Area Trails, founded in 2009, is an accredited land trust with a mission to make trails, protect land, connect people with nature, and promote economic vitality in the Champlain Valley. CATS has made 78 miles of trails, protected 983 acres, and hosted hundreds of hikes, outdoor education outings, and volunteer events, attracting thousands of visitors to the Adirondack’s Champlain Valley. Learn more at www.champlainareatrails.com

Photo Credit: From left to right, Adirondack Council’s Rewilding Advocate John Davis, Executive Director Rocci Aguirre, then Chris Maron, Adirondack Council Board Chair, Sarah Hatfield and Council Director of Conservation Jackie Bowen.


Monday, July 31, 2023

Timbuctoo Institute Hosts First Summer Cohort

timbuctoo cohort

The inaugural summer program hosted its first of three 12-day sessions, teaching NYC high school students about the environment and green career opportunities.

Last week, the brand-new Timbuctoo Climate and Careers Institute hosted its first ever cohort of students for the summer, just a year and a half after the concept of the program had been initially discussed.

The program, which was created in partnership with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and CUNY Medgar Evers College, brings high school students from New York City to the ESF campus in Newcomb. The program exposes students to green spaces they may not otherwise have access to, as well as to green careers, with the aim of diversifying students’ career considerations.

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Saturday, June 10, 2023

Conservationist of the Year Award to be announced at Adirondack Council’s Forever Wild Day Celebration

Caucus Chair Assembly Member Michaelle Solage, D-Elmont, right, views rainfall/air pollution testing equipment at the Adirondack Survey Corp laboratory in Ray Brook, October 2022.

Crown Point, NY – The Adirondack Council will present its Conservationist of the Year Award to the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative (BPHA) Caucus for its support of Adirondack environmental science, education, jobs and wilderness protection.

The presentation will take place during the Adirondack Council’s annual Forever Wild Day Celebration on July 15 at the Crown Point State Historic Site on the shore of Lake Champlain.  The Council will hold a virtual annual meeting of its members on Wednesday, July 12.

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Monday, May 8, 2023

Paul Smith’s VIC to host May 11 discussion on how climate change, carbon sequestration impact forests

Paul Smiths, NY – The Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) will be hosting a free panel discussion on the impact of climate change and carbon sequestration in forests. The event will be on Thursday, May 11. The event is free and open to the public. The Adirondack Council’s Rewilding Advocate, John Davis, will lead a world-renowned panel of scientists on how the climate change crisis will impact carbon sequestration in forests, as well as the discussion between “young” and “old” forests and how each sequesters carbon.

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Saturday, April 29, 2023

Adirondack Council awards micro-grants toward sustainable farm projects

Adirondack Council logo.

 

Elizabethtown, NY – In celebration of Earth Day 2023, the Adirondack Park’s largest environmental organization awarded 12 microgrants totaling $26,000 to local farmers and value-added food/beverage/fiber producers. The initiative is an effort to support climate-friendly economic activity in the Adirondack Park.

The Essex Farm Institute, a project of the Adirondack Council supports local sustainable agriculture by working directly with farms and by advocating for soil health, habitat connectivity and climate change mitigation.  This is the eighth consecutive year that the Adirondack Council has awarded microgrants to farmers and small business owners who want to reduce their environmental impact and adapt to a changing climate. This year’s application drew proposals from almost two dozen small and mid-size agricultural enterprises as well as projects featuring collaboration between farmers.

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Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Adirondack Council leader to step down

lobby day 2020

Willie Janeway, executive director of the Adirondack Council for the last decade, is stepping down in September. The news follows leadership changes coming for other prominent Adirondack Park organizations including the Barkeater Trails Alliance and Protect the Adirondacks.

Janeway said he is not retiring, and he’s not sure what’s next. It was time for a transition, he said. You can read more here.

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Sunday, February 19, 2023

ADK Park: Equity and Inclusion Discussion set for March 10

Lake George Land Conservancy logo.

Bolton Landing, NY – The Lake George Land Conservancy’s (LGLC) NextGen Committee has partnered with YMCA Camp Chingachgook to offer a unique look at issues of equity and inclusivity in and around the Adirondack Park.

On Friday, March 10, Camp Chingachgook will open its grounds to the public for an important discussion with the community. The talk, “Equity in Land Conservation and Recreation,” begins at 5:30 p.m., with guests encouraged to arrive early for drinks and an opportunity to walk to camp grounds. The panel is composed of Rocci Aguirre of the Adirondack Council, Pete Nelson and Tiffany Rea-Fisher of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, and Martha Swan of John Brown Lives!

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Thursday, November 17, 2022

Bringing the Adirondacks to a Global Audience at COP27 

aaron mair at cop-27

By Aaron Mair 

It is indeed an honor to represent the Adirondack Council and region at the most significant global discussions on climate known as the 27th Conference of the Parties to the 27th Conference of Parties United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27.  Climate change is the most significant threat to humanity and global biodiversity.   

As recent studies indicate, temperatures are rising at unsustainable rates due to humanity’s inability to control carbon and methane emission rates. It isn’t because we lack the capacity, resources, or technology. It now comes down to the 193 nations and states to act. 

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Thursday, November 3, 2022

A look back at this summer’s Maintain the Chain clean-up event

What started as a wholesome family tradition of cleaning up the area around their Fourth Lake camp has transpired into a widespread clean up event dubbed Maintain the Chain (MTC) that focuses efforts on the Fulton Chain of Lakes. In its inaugural year as a formal event in 2021, Maintain the Chain garnered support from the Fulton Chain of Lakes Association (FCLA), towns of Webb and Inlet, and the Sixth and Seventh Lakes Improvement Association, and partnered with the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI). The momentum continued for the 2022 event this past summer, Aug. 5-14, dates which coincided with Adirondack Water Week and the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

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Thursday, September 29, 2022

Adirondack Council thanks NYS Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus for successful session

adirondack council new logoLAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Adirondack Council today thanked the members of the NYS Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus for again holding its fall retreat inside the Adirondack Park and for the amazing list of accomplishments achieved in partnership with the Adirondack Council and other conservation organizations over the past year.

The caucus held its fall retreat in Lake Placid in 2021, which was the first time it held its annual retreat outside of Albany.  The Council held a reception this year at Smoke Signals restaurant to honor caucus achievements with friends and supporters on the eve of their return to the Adirondacks.

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Monday, September 26, 2022

Adirondack Council urges state to drop plan to remove wolf from NYS endangered species list

 

ALBANY, N.Y. — Adirondack Council today called upon the NYS Dept. Environmental Conservation to drop a previously announced plan to remove the gray wolf from New York’s endangered species list.

Species listed as endangered are granted special protections from hunting and habitat loss.  The state had announced a plan to remove the wolf from the endangered list because the state considered the animal extinct in New York (a.k.a. extirpated).

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Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Adirondack Council’s State of the Park Report: Adirondack Park is “Stressed and Challenged”

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. – The past year has been a period of great change and emotional strain for the Adirondack Park’s natural wonders, its residents and its visitors, according to the Adirondack Council’s annual State of the Park report, entitled Stressed and Challenged.

 

“This year’s report is a bit different than those in past years,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.  “We spent more time considering the impacts of government decisions on the future of democracy and human rights than we have needed to before. Conservation demands a basic respect for all life, a desire to constantly improve our relationships with other people and the natural world.  Those are not priorities in places where democracy is absent or endangered.”

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Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Adirondack Council weighs in on NYSERDA’s draft Climate Scoping Plan, importance of wild forests and farms

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. – As owners of the largest intact temperate deciduous forest on Earth, New Yorkers have an awesome responsibility to save the Adirondack Park from the ravages of climate change. But that “forever wild” forest is also New York’s greatest weapon in the fight to prevent global overheating, the Adirondack Council told the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority recently.

The Adirondack Park’s largest environmental organization was commenting on NYSERDA’s draft Climate Scoping Plan, which will spell out how the state intends to combat climate change and comply with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.  The Act requires New York to stop emitting all greenhouse gases by 2050.

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Thursday, August 11, 2022

Adk Council to DEC: Rural communities’ needs should be considered in ‘disadvantaged’ list

adirondack council new logo

Earlier this year, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation held a public comment and meeting period regarding the Draft Disadvantaged Communities Criteria (DAC). This criteria, which is being overseen by the Climate Justice Working Group, will help the state “identify disadvantaged communities to ensure that frontline and otherwise underserved communities benefit from the state’s historic transition to cleaner, greener sources of energy, reduced pollution and cleaner air, and economic opportunities.”

While the Adirondack Council supports the overall effort of the DAC criteria, the focus is on urban and suburban areas of New York. The Council feels the criteria should be updated to include the challenges faced by the rural communities of New York, in particular those in the Adirondack Park. Our comments on the DAC criteria are below, as written by Adirondack Council Director of Conservation Jackie Bowen and Clarence Petty Climate and Conservation Intern Andrea Shipton.

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Thursday, June 23, 2022

Adirondack area organizations announce promotions/new hires

Several Adirondack-area nonprofit organizations, including the Ausable River Association, Adirondack Council, and View Arts Center, recently announced a lineup of promotions and new hires.
Carolyn Koestner joins Ausable River Association and Lake Champlain Sea Grant

Carolyn Koestner. Photo provided by the Ausable River Association.

Wilmington, NY — Carolyn Koestner of Saranac Lake has joined the staff of the Ausable River Association (AsRA). Her position as geographic information system (GIS) mapping and science communications fellow is made possible through a partnership with Vermont-based Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG). Earlier this year, LCSG awarded AsRA a two-year competitive fellowship that provides $25,000 a year toward the hire of an early career professional. A generous donor gave the required match commitment to AsRA to make this new opportunity possible.

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