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Hydrilla. Eurasian watermilfoil. Parrot feather. Yellow floating heart. I listened to the captivating and often funny Scott Kishbaugh of the Department Environmental Conservation go through 14 aquatic invasive plants at the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program’s Aquatic Invasive Plant Identification and Survey Techniques training. This past June, the Speculator Pavilion was packed with eager volunteers excited to survey their lakes for invasive plants that cause economic, ecologic, and societal harm. The four-hour workshop gave us the education we need to scope out invaders in ponds, rivers, and lakes. » Continue Reading.
Posts Tagged ‘boating’
On The Search For Invasive Species At Limekiln Lake
DEC Removing Adirondack Boat Launch Docks
Removal of the state’s boat launch docks will begin today as the boating season draws to a close, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced.
DEC manages 395 boat docks and fishing access facilities across the state in 57 of New York’s 62 counties, the majority which are located in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
Understanding Zebra Mussel Impacts On Lake Champlain
Invasive species have earned their bad reputations. English sparrows compete with native birds from Newfoundland to South America. Australian brown tree snakes are well on their way to exterminating every last bird from the forests of Guam. And I don’t think anyone can fully predict how Columbia’s rivers will change in response to drug lord Pablo Escobar’s escaped hippopotamus population.
While our climate protects us from rampaging hippos, the Northeast has plenty of exotic species in its waterways, including some that cause serious damage. Zebra mussels are possibly the most familiar of these. » Continue Reading.
Paradox Lake Boat Launch Closing For Paving
The Paradox Lake Campground and the Paradox Lake Boat Launch will undergo a $598,000 improvement project this fall, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced.
The campground portion of the facility is already closed for the season. All roads within the campground, including those leading to the boat launch, will be milled and paved beginning October 1. The boat launch will be closed during the construction project and is expected to reopen by October 18. Boaters and camp owners should be aware the boat launch will be closed on Columbus Day Weekend.
» Continue Reading.
Fish House: Great Sacandaga Lake’s Underwater Mysteries
One of the real pleasures in researching and writing When Men and Mountain Meet was exploring the actual sites of the historic places mentioned in my book: the little town of Castorland on the Black River, the LeRay Mansion at Fort Drum, Gouverneur Morris’ Mansion at Natural Dam and David Parish’s house, now the Remington Art Museum, in Ogdensburg. And then there was finding Zephaniah Platt’s grave in the Riverside Cemetery in Plattsburgh, in Lake Placid the site of the 1813 Elba Iron and Steel Manufacturing works , Charles Herreshoff’s flooded iron ore mine in Old Forge and the complex of building foundations that made up John Thurman’s 1790 development at Elm Hill.
There was one site, however, that was a little harder to locate than the others; Sir William Johnson’s fishing camp “Fish House”. » Continue Reading.
Outdoor Conditions in the Adirondacks (Aug 6)
This weekly Adirondack outdoor conditions and trails and waters report is issued on Thursday afternoons, year round.
Get The Outdoor Conditions Podcast Friday Mornings
Regional Efforts To Combat Invasive Species Advance
Regional efforts to control the spread of invasive species in the Adirondacks are making advances recently. The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has approved two general permits relating to invasive species. At the same time, Warren County has approved a Framework Agreement for a region-wide aquatic invasive species plan that could mean expanded voluntary boat inspections.
APA General Permits 2015G-1 and 2014G-1A authorize a rapid response to both aquatic and terrestrial invasive species throughout the Adirondack Park by qualified and trained persons. These general permits approve eradication efforts both on a park-wide scale as well as for individual waterbodies or specific locations.
New Online Boater Safety Course Offered
Boaters and personal watercraft operators can now obtain a boating safety certificate by successfully completing an approved online course.
Until now, the only option for the 20,000 people seeking a boating safety certificate in New York each year was to complete an eight-hour classroom-based course. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Boat Inspection Program For 2015
Boat stewards are being deployed at 14 new locations and 11 new decontamination stations will be available across the Adirondacks this summer as part of a collaborative program to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Adirondacks.
The program is the result of an agreement reached among more than 60 conservation groups, owners associations, and local and state governments in March. » Continue Reading.
New Boat Launch Regs: DEC Inspections This Weekend
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that Environmental Conservation Police will conduct boat inspections in the Adirondacks on May 16 and 17 to ensure boaters are aware of new state regulations, adopted in 2014, to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
The new regulations are limited in their scope, applying only to DEC managed lands such as boat launches and fishing access sites. The regulation requires boaters to remove all visible plant and animal materials from boats, trailers and associated equipment, and to drain boats prior to launching at or departing from DEC managed state lands. DEC also recommends drying boats, but that is not required under the regulations. » Continue Reading.
Clean and Safe Boating Tips for 2015
The ice is gone and the boating season has begun on Adirondack waterways.
New York Sea Grant offers the following top 10 tips for boaters in 2015:
. Learn about Suddenly In Command training so everyone aboard can be prepared to act calmly and properly in the event of an emergency on the water.
. Learn how to conduct an easy-to-do Clean, Drain, Dry inspection of your watercraft, trailer and gear to remove aquatic invasive species and debris each time you enter and leave new water. » Continue Reading.
Boat Inspection Program Leaders Workshop Planned
New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, and New York State Parks are sponsoring a day-long workshop for those interested in starting a new watercraft inspection program or in standardizing an existing water-based steward program that includes watercraft inspection.
The Watercraft Inspection Steward Program Leaders Workshop will be held on Friday, May 1 from 10am to 4pm as part of the 32nd Annual Conference Celebrating Citizen Science in Hamilton, NY. » Continue Reading.
Lake George Effort To Reduce Permit Violations
Customizing a dock on Lake George? There may be nothing in the Lake George Park Commission’s regulations explicitly allowing or prohibiting some modification or embellishment, but according Molly Gallagher, the Lake George Park Commission’s permit administrator, there are precedents.
“Some of these precedents for what is allowed or for what requires a permit were in my head, or in the head of the Commission’s first executive director, Mike White,” Gallagher told the Commissioners at a recent monthly meeting. “We also have Records of Decisions and individual resolutions. Now I’m putting some of these on paper in the form of a memorandum that will aid you in your deliberations and help guide administrators as well as dock builders and homeowners.” » Continue Reading.
Lake Champlain Getting 10 Launch Stewards
The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) has announced that it will hire up to 10 seasonal Lake Champlain boat launch stewards to work at New York and Vermont public boat launch access areas this summer.
In 2014, the LCBP boat launch stewards surveyed 14,175 boats at Lake Champlain access sites. This will be the 9th season of boat launch stewards on Lake Champlain. » Continue Reading.
Bolton Quick Launch’s Proposed Height Raises Concerns
A proposal by the owner of the Bolton Landing Marina to increase the quick launch facility’s height by twenty feet is drawing the scrutiny of Bolton’s Zoning and Planning Boards, both of which will have to approve the expansion before it can be sent to the Adirondack Park Agency for its review.
“No one, to my knowledge, has ever sought a variance to exceed Bolton’s 35-foot height limit,” said Henry Caldwell, a member of the Planning Board. » Continue Reading.
Latest News Headlines
- Avid Hikers Asked to Avoid the Adirondack Rail Trail; Here’s Why
- Charlotte Sena is found alive, suspect in custody
- Annual road salt summit follows release of task force report
- Two deaths in Lake Placid plane crash
- Lincoln's sparrow: Sweet notes from a secretive bird
- Taking Stock of Housing: The role of nonprofits
- Can art encourage stewardship of North Country waters?
- Opinion: Climate Doomism Disregards the Science
- Indian Lake's challenge to raise and release butterflies
- Fall color unfolding across the Adirondacks
Latest News Headlines
- Avid Hikers Asked to Avoid the Adirondack Rail Trail; Here’s Why
- Charlotte Sena is found alive, suspect in custody
- Annual road salt summit follows release of task force report
- Two deaths in Lake Placid plane crash
- Lincoln's sparrow: Sweet notes from a secretive bird
- Taking Stock of Housing: The role of nonprofits
- Can art encourage stewardship of North Country waters?
- Opinion: Climate Doomism Disregards the Science
- Indian Lake's challenge to raise and release butterflies
- Fall color unfolding across the Adirondacks
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