Posts Tagged ‘Online Resources’

Friday, December 5, 2014

A New Online Alpinism Fitness And Training Forum

High Peaks ForumADKHighPeaks.com has gained popularity in recent years due to a well-organized format and plethora of hiking/scrambling information contributed by a broad base of members. For those unfamiliar with their layout, a variety of sub-forums (trip reports, general hiking information, ADK 100 Highest, Slide Climbing Reports, New England Hiking etc.) are organized by broader categories (hiking, Adirondack Slides, Special Interest, etc.).

The newest sub-forum, Fitness and Training, is an exciting new addition to the Foundation’s site located under General Hiking – those serious about training won’t want to miss this. Steve House and Scott Johnston, authors of Training for the New Alpinism, are the mentors for the sub-forum. They bring an incredible depth of knowledge to the table and offer forum members a rare chance to interactively tap into the collective knowledge of two experts in the climbing and training fields. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, December 4, 2014

Redesigned Tupper Lake Website Launched

Tupper Lake WebsiteCORRECTION: The press release announcing this new website misstated who is eligible to be listed on the new website.  All tourism-related businesses are listed, whether they are members of the Chamber of Commerce or not.  Chamber members that are not necessarily tourism-related businesses will be added in the future in a business directory. (For example, service-related businesses that don’t fit into the leisure travel navigation categories, like a lawyer.) This story has been corrected to reflect this new information.

The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) has announced the launch of the newly designed TupperLake.com.

The redesigned site is geared toward promoting visitor experiences available in the towns of Tupper Lake and Piercefield, from hiking to shopping to historic sites, and includes an events calendar.  The new site design is responsive, which means that it displays properly in all screen sizes and formats from desktop to tablet, phablet, and phone.
» Continue Reading.


Thursday, August 7, 2014

New Era For Collaborative Mapping In The Adirondacks

ADKmashupMap

In a recent blog post about Washington County’s new interactive webmap, I alluded to the new and exciting opportunities maps like this present for collaborative mapping in the Adirondacks.  To illustrate these opportunities, I’ve created a ‘mashup’ map that brings together data from several sources, including Washington County, Long Lake / Raquette Lake, and Newcomb, along with some data collected at a more regional level as part of an Adirondack Partnership project I was peripherally involved with.  The mashup map can be viewed by clicking here.

I had to do some custom coding to bring the data together and add features like the type-ahead search box in the upper-right and the quick zooms, but the actual information is being pulled ‘live’ from online databases maintained by each of these entities.   So when Washington County, Newcomb or Long Lake adds a new restaurant, modifies the route of a hiking trail or changes the contact info for a hotel, it is immediately reflected not only on their map, but also on my mashup and any other sites pulling from their database.  » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A New Interactive Map Of Washington County

WaCoScreenShot

Washington County launched a wonderful interactive webmap a couple months ago.

Created for the county by Jimapco in Round Lake, NY, the map is user friendly and playful, and includes amenities such as dining, lodging and services as well as attractions like covered bridges, agri-tourism and arts.  It also includes several ‘tours’ in and around the county, including fiber, maple, beverage (aka wine and beer!) and walking and bike tours for selected locations.   This map has several other nice features like dropdown lists for each layer that allow you to quickly zoom to attractions and information packed popups that will even give you driving directions. » Continue Reading.


Monday, July 7, 2014

Natural History Online: Watching Wildlife Cameras

Idaho'sDecorahEaglesAs a lifelong fan of wildlife observation, I’m living the dream thanks to modern technology.  As a young child a half century ago, I would regularly peek in on the nests of robins and other birds to see what was going on. For hours on end, I’d observe the nests of sunfish, bass, and lampreys in the river that flowed along our yard. I’d capture crayfish, plus fingerlings of northern pike, muskie, and other native fish and raise them in an aquarium. The excitement of learning while observing was intoxicating.

In adulthood, I did more of the same, adding photography to the mix—not that the nature photographs were of great quality, but they did capture some interesting moments. Today, all those things from the past have evolved into a spectacular learning tool: online wildlife cams. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

DEC Launches New Outdoor Recreation Mobile App

DEC Mobile AppThe NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has launched a new outdoor recreation tool – The New York Fish & Wildlife  App.

The app is a useful interactive tool that provides information about outdoor sporting and recreation in the palm of your hands. It features species profiles, rules and regulations, important permits and licensing details, and interactive GPS mapping capability that even allows you to store maps for use when out of cell service range.   » Continue Reading.


Thursday, April 24, 2014

New Mapping Resources From The Adirondack Park Agency

APA-GIScapture The Adirondack Park Agency has some of the most skilled GIS (Geographic Information Sysytems) analysts at work in the park, and they have also been very proactive in sharing their mapping resources with the public.    I thought Adirondack Almanack readers might be interested in some of the new additions to the agency GIS page found here: http://apa.ny.gov/gis/

Some of the new products include maps of Park Webcams (with links so you can see the live feed), USGS Stream flow stations, and a newly released (Feb 2014) version of their meticulously curated ‘Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan Map and State Land Map’ that now includes the newly classified land in the Essex Chain lakes between Newcomb and Indian Lake. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 15, 2014

DEC Streamlined Environmental Assessment Webinars

DEC LogoA series of webinars to instruct government agencies and the public on how to use the streamlined and revised Environmental Assessment Forms (EAF) will be held this spring according to a press release issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The revised EAFs are used primarily by state and local agencies to assess the potential environmental impact from proposed actions such as development projects requiring a discretionary approval by a state or local agency. Examples of such projects include residential subdivisions, solid waste management facilities and commercial developments. » Continue Reading.


Monday, April 7, 2014

Forest Preserve History:
Apperson-Schaeffer Collection Going Online

Kelly Adirondack CenterGovernor Al Smith helped block the construction of a highway along the shore of Tongue Mountain, but it was Franklin D.  Roosevelt who was instrumental in protecting the east shore of Lake George, documents in the Apperson-Schaefer collection at the Kelly Adirondack Center at Union College in Schenectady suggest.

With funding from the bond acts of 1916 and 1926, much of Tongue Mountain and many of the islands in the Narrows were now protected, permanently, as parts of the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

But by 1926, John Apperson, the General Electric engineer who dedicated much of his life to the protection of Lake George, had become concerned about the future of the east side. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Steve Signell: A Recreation Web Portal Fail

PortalFailThe Adirondack Recreation Web Portal was released at the end of January with much back-slapping and horn-tooting from Governor Cuomo and other involved parties.  Upon closer inspection, however, it is clear that this web ‘portal’ falls far short of expectations.

In an Almanack post last October I described the project and outlined some of the expected functionality of the new site, including what I described as “a strong mapping component, rather than the menu/catalog driven approach used by most Adirondack recreation sites.”  The opportunities afforded by modern online search and mapping technologies presented an incredible chance to build a truly useful, fun-to-use, map-based virtual gateway to the Adirondacks.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

New DEC Sporting and Game System Online

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) new computerized sporting licensing system is operational, allowing sportsmen and sportswomen to conduct license transactions.

The transition of hunter, angler and trapper data required a temporary shutdown for sales of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses, recreational marine fishing registrations and harvest game reporting. The data transfer has been completed and individuals can resume normal transactions and reporting on the new system. » Continue Reading.


Monday, January 13, 2014

Local Publishing And Some Surprising E-book News

Books Image JW01The most recent news on e-book sales might be startling to some, particularly those who have commented or sent emails regarding pieces I’ve previously written on the subject. The gist of many of those missives: like it or not, print is dead, and within a few years (2015 was a popular choice), digital books will rule. For my taste, it was far too simplistic a view, based solely on one mathematical bit of information: since e-books had suddenly risen to comprise about 20% of all book sales, the pace of growth would continue, and even accelerate.

That viewpoint ignored the most important requirement for just about any ongoing, successful endeavor in this country: a sustainable economic engine must be in place. That hasn’t happened yet.

Yes, money is being made, but it’s important to know how it’s being made and who is making it. Dozens of companies have been trying to solve the future of e-books and harness them economically. That future is still bright with promise, but some unforeseen realities are now coming into play. » Continue Reading.


Friday, November 15, 2013

Adirondack Park Recreational Web Portal Planned

BrochuresA group of Adirondack Region organizations are partnering to develop an inventory of recreational opportunities in the Adirondack Park to be made available as a web portal and travel app. The new webpage and app is expected to launch at the peak of ski season in early 2014.

The Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages (AATV), in partnership with the Capital Region’s Center for Economic Growth, the Mohawk Valley’s Central Adirondack Partnership for the 21st Century (CAP-21), and the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council (ARTC) are currently working to compile an inventory of tourism amenities and opportunities available in the Adirondack Park that will form the basis of the new website and app. » Continue Reading.


Monday, November 11, 2013

Public Lands: How Does Your Town Rank?

adkHamletBuffersSortI’ve often heard people say that there’s either too much or not enough public land in the Adirondacks.  I thought I’d crunch some numbers and let readers explore the data for themselves:

I put together a map visualization that shows the relative proportion of public land, trails and lean-to’s around the interior hamlets of the park.  The land classification figures are probably very accurate, as they are derived from the Adirondack Park Agency’s Land Classification and Land Use map.   If you notice some strange numbers for biking and horse trails its because these trail types have not been as diligently classified in the DEC trails database as hiking and snowmobile trails.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, October 10, 2013

An Adirondack Recreational Web Portal In The Works

adkGoogleMapsScreenShotI have to confess, I love Google Maps, and not just because I’m a map guy.  Google Maps is my “go-to” when exploring unfamiliar territory. There’s a reason why Google Maps is the most popular smartphone app.  Forget browser searches—it is far more efficient to just type in what you’re looking for into Google Maps, and presto- you have a nice interactive map showing the nearest examples complete with links and (mostly) accurate directions, not only for driving, but also bicycling, public transit and even walking.

However, you may have noticed that the usefulness of Google Maps declines as you get into the Adirondack Park.  » Continue Reading.



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