Walden, NY – Morgan Duke Conservation Society was awarded a $5,789 matching grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s Park and Trail Partnership Grants program to get resources for volunteers so they can continue protect the environment at the Hudson River Special Management Area in Lake George Wild Forest in Lake Luzerne New York. The grant will help provide volunteers with safety orange uniform shirts, custom made patches for the shirts that will be designed and made from local business Adirondack Patch Co, community event pop up safety signs and a custom logo EZ-up tent for the community clean up events.
Posts Tagged ‘Lake George Wild Forest’
Featured Hike: Fivemile Mountain, Lake George
Fivemile Mountain is located within the Lake George Wild Forest and is part of the 10.8-mile Tongue Mountain Range Trail. There are two trailheads to begin this hike, both of which are moderate out-and-back hikes. » Continue Reading.
Featured Trail: Buck Mountain, Lake George
If you are looking for a way to introduce your family to hiking or snowshoeing in the Adirondacks, the Buck Mountain Trail in Lake George Wild Forest is a great place to begin.
The summit views are outstanding, offering vistas of nearby Lake George, Bolton Landing and the expansive Adirondack Mountains. » Continue Reading.
Featured Trail: Sleeping Beauty Mountain, Lake George
Sleeping Beauty Mountain, part of the Lake George Wild Forest, is located on the east side of Lake George and is a moderate hike with a few steeper switchbacks. The trail ascends 1,038 feet and 2.1 miles from the Dacy Clearing Parking Area to the summit at 2,347 feet.
From the parking area, follow the trail about half a mile to the first intersection, then turn right and continue the rest of the way to the summit. Hikers will encounter the false summit first which provides stunning views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The wooded summit is approximately a half mile further from the false summit. » Continue Reading.
LGLC Protects Land in Huletts Landing
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has protected 37 acres in the hamlet of Huletts Landing, Washington County, by purchasing a 33.3-acre upland piece and a conservation easement on the adjoining lower 3.7-acres lakefront property on Lake George. This conservation project is expected to provide permanent water quality protection by preventing the development of uplands directly above the lake, viewshed protection, and the addition of a small, family-friendly recreational opportunity.
A press release from the LGLC said the organization intends to make “modest improvements to the uplands property to allow for minimal passive recreational use.” A small parking area is expected to be identified so as to not interfere with traffic on Bluff Head Road, and a short trail will lead to one or two picnic tables installed at the lookout area. » Continue Reading.
More Rec Development For Lake George’s Eastern Shore
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Town of Fort Ann have announced efforts to improve parking on Shelving Rock Road, and access along Dacy Clearing Road in the Lake George Wild Forest.
Town of Fort Ann crews is planning to construct a new parking area on DEC managed Forest Preserve lands along Shelving Rock Road and rehabilitate the eight existing parking areas. Together, the nine parking areas will provide parking for 92 vehicles.
The popular Shelving Rock Day Use Area on the eastern shore of Lake George provides access to Shelving Rock Bay, Shelving Rock Falls, the summits of nearby Buck, Sleeping Beauty, and Shelving Rock Mountains, and climbing routes on Shelving Rock and Sleeping Beauty Mountain. » Continue Reading.
Forget Peak Bagging, Name Baggers See It All
Long-distance hiking, peak bagging, and trail hiking are great ways to experience the out-of-doors, yet they’re also “been there, done that” pursuits for most hikers. More than 10,000 people have hiked the Adirondack Forty-Six, dozens thru-hike the Northville-Placid Trail each year, and adjectives used to describe High Peaks Wilderness Area have changed from pristine and wild to impacted and confining. Taking pride in being the black sheep of the hiking community and loving land where there are few traces of mankind, there is no Pacific Crest Trail in my past, no popular peak bagging list in my future. For me it’s all about pursuing unique forms of recreation that take me through the backdoor of beyond. Thus my latest conception: “name bagging.” » Continue Reading.
‘Miss Lonelyhearts’ Woods Being Protected
John Sanford, the writer who placed a series of novels and stories in Warrensburg, once recalled, “In the spring of 1931, when Nathanael West was writing his second novel, Miss Lonelyhearts, I was working on my first. Neither of us was progressing… and when West proposed that we get away from the city, I turned up the right place to go. I’d met an upstate game warden, and through him, we obtained, for $25 a month, a seven-room cabin in the Adirondacks, together with a forest preserve of 1,200 acres and a 50-acre pond – Viele Pond, it was called. There in that private realm, we wrote, fished, swam and shot away the summer.”
That Adirondack Forest Preserve that accommodated West and Sanford so hospitably in the 1930s is about to be enlarged by another 836 acres. » Continue Reading.
State Purchases Lake George Berry Pond Tract
New York State has purchased the Berry Pond Preserve in Warren County in order to protect water quality in Lake George and its tributaries. The State purchased the 1,436-acre property from the Lake George Land Conservancy with $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Fund.
The Berry Pond Preserve lies within the Warren County towns of Lake George, Lake Luzerne and Warrensburg, and includes the headwaters of West Brook, a major tributary to the southern basin of Lake George. » Continue Reading.
Former Girl Scout Camp Little Notch Saved
The efforts of a group of former campers and staff and community supporters have saved a wilderness camp that for more than 70 years has taught generations of young women life skills and environmental stewardship. Camp Little Notch a former girl scout camp abutting the Lake George Wild Forest in Fort Ann, Washington County, has been purchased by the non-profit Friends of Camp Little Notch (Friends of CLN) from the Open Space Institute (OSI).
Organizers say it is the only former Girl Scout camp in the United States to have been purchased by an alumnae organization and operated as an independent camp. Situated between Lake George and Lake Champlain, the property is an important migratory pathway for large mammals and a vital part of the Lake George watershed region. » Continue Reading.
Recent Adirondack Search and Rescue Incidents
The Forest Ranger Search and Rescue Report below is issued intermittently by DEC and is not a comprehensive list of all emergencies in the back-country, these are only a few of those recently reported by DEC.
The events reported below are reminders that wilderness conditions can change suddenly and accidents happen. Hikers and campers should check up-to-date forecasts before entering the backcountry and always carry a flashlight, first aid kit, map and compass, extra food, plenty of water and clothing. Be prepared to spend an unplanned night in the woods and always inform others of your itinerary.
The Adirondack Almanack reports the most current outdoor conditions on Thursday evenings. On Friday mornings, John Warren’s reports the latest outdoor conditions on WSLP (93.3) and on the stations of North Country Public Radio. To subscribe to the weekly conditions podcast.
» Continue Reading.
Completed 2014 Lake George Conservation Projects
The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) has issued a report to the press outlining its work in 2014 and looking forward to its plans for 2015. In tallying their efforts, LGLC has found that over the last nine months they have protected 462 acres of Lake George watershed lands through partnerships, purchases, donations and conservation easements and are currently working on plans to protect over 750 acres in the near future.
Land conservation projects have been completed in five towns around Lake George, including Bolton, Hague, Putnam, Fort Ann, and the Town of Lake George. The projects protect forests, wetlands, rocky slopes and ridges, and streams, as well as wildlife habitat.
LGLC also achieved land trust accreditation in August from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. The organization is also preparing for a change in leadership. Executive Director Nancy Williams is expected to retire this fall, and LGLC’s Board of Directors hope to have a new executive director in place by January of 2015. » Continue Reading.
Climbing and Peregrine Falcons:
Upper Washbowl Reopens, Shelving Rock Routes Close
Rock climbers will have a few more routes to climb this weekend, according to Joe Racette, a biologist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation who monitors the nesting of peregrine falcons on cliffs.
Racette said the Upper Washbowl cliffs near Chapel Pond are now open to climbers. DEC closes Upper Washbowl and Lower Washbowl each spring at the start of the falcons’ breeding season. DEC has ascertained that that this year the falcons are nesting on Lower Washbowl. » Continue Reading.
Setting the Record Straight on Lake George:
Robert Moses, John Apperson, and Tongue Mountain
According to local lore, Robert Moses, secretary of the State Parks Commission, and John Apperson, leading defender of the “forever wild” clause of the NY constitution, had a confrontation of historic proportions, one summer day in August of 1923. Moses, who was already carrying out an ambitious scheme to grab power, had convinced Governor Al Smith that the development of state parks would be a very popular election issue.
As the center-piece of his plan, Moses wanted to build a parkway on the Tongue Mountain peninsula (plus, eventually, gas stations, scenic overlooks, and hotels). Apperson wanted to prevent development altogether. He dreamed of bringing the central portion of the lake (Tongue Mountain, the Narrows, Black Mountain and Paradise Bay) under state ownership, and thus under the protection of the NY constitution.
The battle over the highway at Tongue Mountain happened quietly, behind the scenes, and out of the headlines. In fact, Robert Moses’ biographer, Robert Caro, never mentioned this story, and apparently knew little about the work of John Apperson at Lake George. Fortunately, we can now examine letters and documents long hidden from view that shed considerable light on the politics concerning the creation of a Lake George Park.
» Continue Reading.
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