New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) charged an Allegany man with multiple violations in connection with an ongoing investigation into the illegal possession and sale of wildlife, resulting in what they say is the largest seizure of illegal reptiles in New York State history.
Several of the animals seized were threatened species or species of special concern. » Continue Reading.
One afternoon last summer, my partner Rick called me out onto our deck to see a tiny hummingbird. Not just tiny, but the tiniest hummingbird he had ever seen. My curiosity piqued, I walked out and there it was – hovering in front of the bee balm, sipping nectar and beating its wings at an impossible rate. It was a rich rust color and about an inch and a half long. By comparison, the smallest ruby-throated hummingbirds are twice that length. This was truly the most diminutive hummingbird imaginable.
Or was it? » Continue Reading.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that statewide efforts to control giant hogweed are making headway in eradicating this large, invasive, and dangerous plant.
The Giant Hogweed Program, managed by DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests, is in its twelfth year and has eradicated the plants from 623 sites, with another 448 plant-free sites being monitored. » Continue Reading.
Now that the weather has finally warmed up, we can appreciate ice a little more. Among other things, ice greatly improves summertime drinks, and an icy watermelon is hands-down better than a warm one. And in this part of the world, ice also provides us with unique wildflower meadows.
Along stretches of riverbank in the Southern Adirondacks, rare Arctic-type flowers are blooming now in the fragile slices of native grasslands that are meticulously groomed each year by the scouring action of ice and melt-water. » Continue Reading.
Here in the Adirondacks the stars are our night light, the crickets and bull frogs our bedtime lullaby.
This is a place where the simple things are seen and not overlooked. Mountain life affords us an advantage, serene surroundings to ponder about the little things and the opportunity to witness nature at work up close and personal. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Garden Club and Garden Club of Lake Placid is set to host Judith Enck, Senior Fellow and Visiting Faculty Member at Bennington College, who will give a presentation and strategy session focused on eliminating single-use plastics in the Adirondacks, at Lake Placid’s Olympic Conference Center on Tuesday, July 16, from 3 to 5:30 pm. » Continue Reading.
Consider for a second a fish that can live in turbid, low-oxygen water. Can breathe through its skin. Eats almost anything. Has a wickedly effective defense mechanism. And is a really focused parent. Plus, it’s good to eat.
We’re talking about the humble hornpout. Or “horned pout,” if you prefer. Or “mud cat.” Taxonomically, Ameiurus nebulosus. The brown bullhead. » Continue Reading.
Have you seen a spotted lanternfly? If you live in New England, and answered “no,” that’s good. But we’ll have to check back with you next year.
The lanternfly is one of the latest foreign invasive insect pests to become established in North America. And it isn’t a picky eater. Dozens of crops and native trees are go-to foods for this destructive bug. » Continue Reading.
One of the mantras for waste reduction and energy efficiency is the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” slogan, which indicates the order of preference for resource conservation: It’s best to use fewer things in the first place, but once you got ‘em you may as well reuse them. In the end, though, it’s better they get recycled than chucked in a landfill. » Continue Reading.
The Whallonsburg Grange is set to present a panel discussion on the growing problem of ticks on Tuesday, June 25 at 7:30 pm. “A Ticking Time Bomb: The Tick Crisis in the Adirondacks” will include the latest scientific and medical information and time for participants to tell their own stories. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they have renamed the State Tree Nursery in Saratoga Springs the “Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery.”
Born William Freeman Fox on January 11, 1840, in Ballston Spa, just miles from the tree nursery on Route 50, he studied engineering at Union College for three years. In 1862, at 22, Fox joined the Army of the Potomac as a Captain commanding Company C of the 107th New York Volunteer Infantry. Shortly afterward, he saw his first combat in at the Battle of Antietam, considered among the bloodiest days in U.S. history. Fox was wounded in this battle, as well as at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he served as a Major, and the Battle of Resaca, where he served as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was discharged from the U.S. Army on July 8, 1864.
Before the 19th century, cougars were abundant across the American continent. In fact, the cougar was the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. They were found in forests from tropical to boreal; from Chile to the Canadian Yukon.
A lion living in the Arizona desert may appear different than one living in the coniferous forests of British Columbia or the freshwater marshes of Florida, but genetically, they’re the same animal, Puma concolor. Taxonomists classify cougars from different regions by subspecies, however. Examples are the North American cougar, Eastern cougar, Western mountain lion, and Florida panther. They’re also called pumas and catamounts. » Continue Reading.
Last June I was walking through our field when I flushed a wild turkey hen. She emerged from the raspberry patch just a few feet away from me. I parted the thorny canes to reveal a nest on the ground lined with dried grass and containing nine large, creamy eggs, speckled with brown.
Since we were planning to have the field mown to control invasive wild chervil, I set stakes topped with orange flagging near the nest. The man we had hired to mow was a turkey hunter, and he was happy to give the nest a wide berth. » Continue Reading.
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, has announced it has acquired ownership and rights on roughly 51,300 total acres in the Northwestern Adirondack Park.
The Three Rivers Forest properties include exceptional northern hardwood timberland near the headwaters of three major rivers flowing north to the St. Lawrence River – the Raquette, Oswegatchie and Grasse. The lands were purchased from investor-owners who had previously purchased former paper company lands, including former tracts of the Champion and International paper companies. » Continue Reading.
The Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, located at 110 Marble Mountain Lane in Wilmington, has announced it’s 2019 Ray Falconer Science/Natural History Lecture Series. Lectures have been set for July 9th, July 23rd, August 6th, and August 20th at 7 pm. All lectures are free and open to the public. » Continue Reading.
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