The Adirondack Land Trust purchased five acres of forest along the shore of Upper Saranac Lake to ensure that a mile-long stretch of shoreline between Indian Carry and Indian Point remains forever wild.
The tract features 570 feet of rugged lakeshore edged by boulders and northern white cedars. The Adirondack Land Trust is expected to work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to transfer the land to the state to close a gap in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, which is protected under the “forever wild” clause of New York’s constitution as part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. » Continue Reading.
Noah Shaw, former general counsel for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), contributed to the drafting of New York State’s groundbreaking 2019 climate legislation. This September, he wrote an op-ed in the Adirondack Explorer, “What New York’s Bold Climate Law Means for the Adirondacks.”
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 “outlines a so-called ‘carbon offset’ program as a counter-weight to the 15 percent of emissions that may remain after all our other emissions-reducing actions are taken,” he wrote. “These will likely come from hard-to-clean-up activities like aviation, agriculture, shipping and heavy industry. New York’s most valuable carbon offset resource, also known as a ‘sink,’ is its forestland. This is good news for the Adirondack Forest Preserve.” » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY Thursday, October 10th and Friday October 11th, 2019.
The meeting will address a seven-lot subdivision in the Town of Black Brook, primitive tent sites and management practices, and a discussion of proposed changes in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the final Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Management Plan.
The Saranac Lakes Wild Forest is comprised of 75,000 acres of Forest Preserve lands and 19,600 acres of lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds located in the towns of Santa Clara, Brighton, Tupper Lake, Harrietstown, and Franklin in Franklin County and the towns of St. Armand and North Elba in Essex County. Three of the largest population centers in the Adirondack Park-the villages of Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid-are within the general boundaries of the unit. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency Board (APA) has recommended approval for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF) Unit Management Plan (UMP).
Its recommendation will be forwarded to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for their concurrence. » Continue Reading.
Protect the Adirondacks is hosting a Canoe-In for Motorless Waters on Weller Pond on Saturday, August 18, 2018. PROTECT is aiming to get 100 canoes and kayaks in a flotilla of protest calling for state action to make Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond motorless waters.
The protest is starting at 10 am. People who plan to attend should register online. Boat rentals are available in the area.
“Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond should be managed by the State of New York as a quiet waters area, made off-limits to motorized watercraft and only accessible by non-motorized vessels. These ponds should be managed by state agencies as a quiet and beautiful refuge and respite among the heavily motorized and extremely popular Saranac Lakes Chain,” Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, said in an announcement sent to the press.
PROTECT issued the following list of reasons why the Weller Ponds should be motorless: » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has announced they are now accepting public comment for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF) Unit Management Plan.
The APA will accept public comments until July 13, 2018 regarding Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan conformance for the proposed management. » Continue Reading.
What follows is a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), announcing that the draft Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (UMP) for 76,000 acres of Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondacks has been released for public review and comment.
Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (SLWF) is comprised of 76,000 acres of Forest Preserve lands and 19,600 acres of lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds in the towns of Santa Clara, Brighton, Tupper Lake, Harrietstown, and Franklin in Franklin County and the towns of St. Armand and North Elba in Essex County. Three of the largest population centers in the Adirondack Park – the villages of Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid – are located within the general boundaries of the unit. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold a series of public hearings to solicit public comments for State Land classification and reclassification proposals.
The action involves proposals for State Lands in all 12 counties in the Park, including the recently acquired Boreas Ponds Tract.
The 2016-2017 classification package includes 33 State Land classification proposals totaling approximately 50,827 acres, 13 State Land reclassifications totaling an estimated 1,642 acres, and a number of classifications involving map corrections (1,949 acres). » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have announced a plan to update the popular Second Pond Boat Launch on Route 3 in Harrietstown, part of a 10.5-acre Intensive Use Area that provides key access to the Saranac Lakes. A part of the plan includes a land swap with the adjacent High Peaks Wilderness Area.
The DEC is planning to rebuild and expand the boat launch and resurface the parking area, including the addition of a new firewood storage building, the removal of an old cabin, and the construction of a new registration booth and invasive species kiosk. According to press reports a boat washing station, considered important to prevent the spread of invasive species by boaters, was not included in the plan. » Continue Reading.
One of the perks of living in the Adirondacks is the lunch-hour hike or ski. In winter, I sometimes ski with sandwich in pocket to Oseetah Marsh. From Route 86 on the outskirts of Saranac Lake, I follow a trail through a pine forest for a half-mile to the edge of the marsh and then ski across the marsh. The marsh has fabulous views of nearby peaks, including McKenzie, Scarface, and the Sawtooth Range. The trail through the forest and across the marsh happens to be a snowmobile route. This would not be noteworthy except that the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan identifies Oseetah Marsh as a “Special Management Area.”
All told, the plan lists eighty-nine Special Management Areas, selected for their scenic beauty or their geographical, natural, or historic significance. It’s kind of an odd list. For instance, seventeen summits were selected for their scenic beauty. I’ve been up all but two. They all have nice views, but there are other mountains with equal or better views. Why these seventeen?
Twenty-six places were singled out for their natural significance. They include patches of old-growth, two mountains (in addition to the other seventeen), a few bogs and marshes, and one pond—Church Pond. Of the three thousand ponds in the Adirondacks, what’s so special about this one?
The master plan gives the state Department of Environmental Conservation the authority to draw up management guidelines to protect these areas and, where appropriate, to install interpretive signs.
I wondered what special management Oseetah Marsh receives. I also wondered why, if this marsh is so special (it was chosen for its natural significance), snowmobiles are allowed to ride through it. I don’t know if the snowmobiles are doing ecological harm, but the machines do emit oil and gas.
As it turns out, Oseetah Marsh receives no special treatment. But DEC spokesman David Winchell said the agency will consider special guidelines as it draws up a management plan for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest (the marsh lies within the Wild Forest tract).
As far as I can determine, few of the eighty-nine Special Management Areas receive special management. The High Peaks Wilderness Area, for example, contains more than a dozen Special Management Areas. Most receive no mention or only incidental mention in the 336-page unit management plan for the High Peaks.
APA spokesman Keith McKeever said the list of Special Management Areas was drawn up in the early 1970s by the APA and DEC. He said the purpose of the list is not only to provide management guidelines, but also to publicize these treasured places.
“It was to identify areas of the Park that are really magnificent,” he said, “so people can enjoy them and visit them.”
But my guess is that few people are aware of the list of Special Management Areas in the back of a rather obscure state document. Indeed, it seems to have escaped the attention of officialdom as well.
Photo by Phil Brown: snowmobile tracks at Oseetah Marsh.
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The Adirondack Land Trust purchased five acres of forest along the shore of Upper Saranac Lake to ensure that a mile-long stretch of shoreline between Indian Carry and Indian Point remains forever wild.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its monthly meeting at its headquarters in Ray Brook, NY Thursday, October 10th and Friday October 11th, 2019.
What follows is a press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), announcing that the draft Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (UMP) for 76,000 acres of Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondacks has been released for public review and comment.
The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold a series of public hearings to solicit public comments for State Land classification and reclassification proposals.
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