Posts Tagged ‘Adirondack Wilderness Advocates’

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Wilderness Advocates Incorporate As Nonprofit

adirondack wilderness advocates logoAdirondack Wilderness Advocates (AWA) has announced its incorporation as a non-profit 501(3)(c) charitable corporation dedicated to the purpose of advancing public knowledge, enjoyment, expansion, and protection of the Adirondack Park’s wildest places. AWA also named its initial Board of Directors.

“I am very excited to be a part of AWA,” Board Chair Bill Ingersoll said in an announcement sent to the press. “We want to make a difference. Our goal is to ensure our wilderness areas are managed in a sound, ecologically intact way, and enlarged in a manner that protects the remotest places in the Adirondack Park while respecting other forms of recreational access.” » 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.


Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Boreas Ponds Wilderness Advocate Will Hike To APA

adirondack wilderness advocates logoAdirondack Wilderness Advocates (AWA) has announced that Tyler Socash, AWA member and activist, will attend the Adirondack Park Agency’s next meeting on November 16th by walking from the Boreas Ponds Tract to the APA’s Ray Brook headquarters.

Socash will be carrying over 1,000 letters that AWA supporters have sent to the APA in the last three weeks, calling for a full Wilderness classification for the Boreas Ponds Tract with the entire length of Gulf Brook Road closed. Socash grew up in Old Forge, NY. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 28, 2017

Adirondack Wild’s 2017 Wilderness and Wild Stewardship Awards

Pete Nelson of AWA, at right with microphone, answers a question during a Forum about Boreas Ponds in Schroon LakeAdirondack Wilderness Advocates will receive Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve’s highest honor – the Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award. The wilderness award will be conveyed on Saturday afternoon, September 30th at Adirondack Wild’s annual meeting at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek. The meeting includes a Community Forum about Practical Steps to Better Land Use Decisions in the Adirondack Park beginning at 1 pm. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Adirondack Wild Leaves BeWildNY Coalition Over Boreas Ponds Plan

boreas pondsAdirondack Wild has left the BeWildNY coalition, saying it disagrees with the coalition’s proposal to allow the public to drive to within a mile or so of Boreas Ponds.

Adirondack Wild announced its decision as the Adirondack Park Agency prepares for public hearings on the classification of the 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract, which the state bought from the Adirondack chapter of the Nature Conservancy in April.

The classification decision could influence how much motorized access is allowed on the tract.

Much of the debate over Boreas Ponds has focused on the future of Gulf Brook Road, a dirt road built for logging trucks when Finch, Pruyn & Company owned the land. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Green Groups Call On APA To Reject Boreas Proposals

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAdirondack Forest Preserve advocacy groups are calling on the Adirondack Park Agency’s board to reject at this week’s meeting all three staff proposals for classifying the 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract.

The major objection is that under all three proposals, a 6.8-mile logging road that leads to Boreas Ponds would be designated Wild Forest, which could allow people to drive all the way to the ponds.

Neil Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), said it’s even possible that motorboats could be allowed on the water. Under the APA’s first alternative, the ponds would be classified Wild Forest, which could allow motorboats. The other two alternatives are silent on the ponds’ classification.

Woodworth said the APA board should direct the staff to come up with new proposals, a step that would delay public hearings on the Boreas classification. “It’s more important to get this classification right than do it fast,” he said.

» Continue Reading.


Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Towns Campaign For Motorized, Bike Access At Boreas Ponds

North Hudson and four nearby towns have launched a website and petition drive to muster support for classifying Boreas Ponds as Wild Forest instead of Wilderness, the designation supported by Forest Preserve advocates.

Called Access the Adirondacks, the website says the 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract has a network of former logging roads and is suitable for a variety of recreational uses, including mountain biking, horseback riding, and snowmobiling.

“While some would have you believe the Boreas Ponds Tract is a unique ecological jewel untouched my man, nothing could be further from the truth,” the site says.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

New Group Seeks More Wilderness Around Boreas Ponds

AWA-Draft-Map-20160803Three wilderness advocates have banded together to garner public support for adding nearly all of the Boreas Pond Tract to the High Peaks Wilderness and keeping out motor vehicles.

Adirondack Wilderness Advocates, as they call themselves, has created a website where people can sign a letter to the Adirondack Park Agency calling for statewide hearings on the classification of the Boreas tract. People can also sign up for the group’s emails.

The founders of the Adirondack Wilderness Advocates are Bill Ingersoll, publisher of the Discover the Adirondacks guidebooks; Brendan Wiltse, a photographer and scientist employed by the Ausable River Association (his work is unrelated to his involvement with AWA); and Pete Nelson, a teacher who frequently writes for Adirondack Almanack.

» Continue Reading.



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