Editor’s note: This commentary is in the May/June 2023 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The Explorer has been running a series on the 500+ dams that can be found within the Adirondack Park boundary. (Click here to see all the stories in the series) One of the articles specifically looks at dams that are in Wilderness areas. Marcy Dam is now gone and same with the dam that once made Duck Hole a celebrated paddling destination. Lake Colden is the only remaining dam.
The question remains: Do dams have a place in these protected areas? Should the state maintain the ones that remain? The article points to Lows Lake and the Boreas Ponds tract as examples of dams the state is willing to maintain. Weigh in here with your thoughts.
Photo at top: Debris from the old wilderness dam at Duck Hole. Photo by Mike Lynch
The futures of two closed Adirondack Park prisons are still in limbo. A panel of experts talked about redevelopment proposals. Read more here.
What should be done with former Adirondack prison buildings, now sitting vacant? Does the state have a responsibility as the owner to redevelop the properties?
Photo of Moriah Shock Correctional facility. Photo by Nancie Battaglia/Almanack archive
Editor’s note: This commentary is in the Jan/Feb 2023 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address an issue. For more on this particular topic, read this Adirondack Almanack post on the planned closure of the Lake Placid Emergency Room.
The question: What’s your take on closing emergency services in Lake Placid?
Wondering where Almanack readers stand on the debate about phasing out gas in heating appliances and stoves. Are you on board with a “gas ban”? Or are you like “hands off my gas”?
What would potential solutions be on each side of the debate?
Editor’s note: This commentary is in the Nov/Dec 2022 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. For more on this issue, read this story by Gwendolyn Craig. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The question: Does the Concealed Carry Act fit the park?
Wolf (Canis lupus) – captive. Larry Master photo
WOLF DNA: Our reporter Mike Lynch has been tracking the ongoing controversy around a canid that was killed by a Mohawk Valley hunter. While that particular animal was outside the Blue Line, it’s believed to be an indicator that wolves could be returning to northern New York. And now, groups are calling on the state to do more to foster a safe return of wolves/wolf hybrids. Peter Bauer has this commentary in the Almanack. And this week, a second outside DNA test confirmed the animal was indeed a wolf, and the DEC has agreed with the findings.
My question for you: Should NYS play an active role in facilitating wolves’ population being able to re-establish itself?
Photo: Wolf (Canis lupus) – captive. Larry Master photo
Editor’s note: This first appeared in Adirondack Explorer’s March/April 2022 issue, in its ongoing “It’s Debatable” column. Click here to subscribe. The topic: The invasive round goby fish.
Editor’s note: This first appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The question: Should ORDA reshape Whiteface?
As reporter Tim Rowland wrote this week on the Adirondack Explorer’s website, the 30 mile rail line that ends in Tahawus is on the auction block. Among the first bids to be made public are the Open Space Institute, which aims to turn the corridor into a recreational trail, and Revolution Rail, which currently runs rail bikes out of North Creek and other U.S. locations. The company is also working with another rail operation to make freight runs available on the line.
What’s your take on this decades-long debate? Does rail still have a chance on this line? Or is it time for another rail trail?
Photo by Phil Brown/Almanack archive
Editor’s note: This commentary is in the Jan/Feb 2022 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The question: What are the top priorities in the park for billions coming to NY in federal infrastructure money?
The $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure bill means $170 billion is slated for New York.
Working with the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages, we asked 100 municipalities what they see as the top project in their communities. (Stay tuned for a full report.)
Editor’s note: This commentary is in the Nov/Dec 2021 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
This past year, we’ve been reporting on the problems around affordable housing in the Adirondack region. At times, people have referred to it as a “crisis.”
Here are some recent examples:
Editor’s note: This “It’s Debatable” column is running in the July/August 2021 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine. Click here to subscribe. This issue’s debaters don’t fit neatly into the Explorer’s usual yes/no format, as both support inspections of some kind. We’ve attempted to frame the question in a way to reflect their nuanced views.
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It’s debatable: Offensive place names
This brook near Bloomingdale was recently renamed to John Thomas Brook, for a 19th century Black settler. Photo by Mike Lynch
Editor’s note: This commentary is in the July/August 2023 issue of Adirondack Explorer magazine, as part of our “It’s Debatable” feature. In this regular column, we invite organizations and/or individuals to address a particular issue. Click here to subscribe to the magazine, available in both print and digital formats: www.adirondackexplorer.org/subscribe.
The question: Should place names that offend disappear?
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