Communities across New York State are at risk of more severe impacts from increased heat due to climate change. Infrastructure traps and stores heat throughout the day and reduces cooling at night, which is known as the urban heat island effect. This effect can exacerbate the dangers of extreme heat events. [Read more…] about New Heat Island Mapping Tools Now Available
New Audio Tour at Lake George Battlefield Park
Anyone who loves French and Indian War and American Revolution history will want to be present at Lake George Battlefield Park for the premiere of Voices of the Lake George Battlefield, a free, self-guided audio tour of the popular historic site. The unveiling takes place at the Battlefield Park Visitor Center, 75 Fort George Road from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturday, October 10. [Read more…] about New Audio Tour at Lake George Battlefield Park
Victory Season at Saratoga Bringing Siege of 1777 to Life
October marks the point in the American Revolutionary War’s Saratoga Campaign when the story moves from battlefield to siege, surrender and captivity. After the American victory at Bemus Heights on October 7, British General John Burgoyne‘s army withdrew north toward Saratoga. American forces surrounded the British position, and negotiations followed. On October 17, nearly 6,000 British and German troops surrendered their arms near the ruins of Fort Hardy in what is now Schuylerville, NY. [Read more…] about Victory Season at Saratoga Bringing Siege of 1777 to Life
New York State 2035 Wildlife Action Plan Finalized
The New York State Wildlife Action Plan for 2025–2035 is now finalized. An assessment conducted for the report found 570 species of special concern, including 269 native plants. Of these, 147 are designated as a high priority. [Read more…] about New York State 2035 Wildlife Action Plan Finalized
New Saratoga Mineral Springs Museum; Spa Park Lincoln Bath Upgrades
The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has reopened the Lincoln Bathhouse at Saratoga Spa State Park after multimillion-dollar renovation projects inside and out. It now includes a new mineral springs museum focused on cultural history of Saratoga waters. [Read more…] about New Saratoga Mineral Springs Museum; Spa Park Lincoln Bath Upgrades
Rangers Recover Bodies at AuSable Chasm, Giant Mountain; Fight Fire & More
NYS Forest Rangers recovered the bodies of a 45-year-old hiker in the Giant Mountain Wilderness and a 60-year-old found in the water under the bridge at Ausable Chasm, in addition to responding to a wildfire in Long Lake and several other lost and injured Adirondack hikers. Three incidents occurred on a single day. [Read more…] about Rangers Recover Bodies at AuSable Chasm, Giant Mountain; Fight Fire & More
Two-Wheel Bureaucracy: How America Once Governed Bicycles
For those who choose two wheels, bicycles are celebrated as eco-friendly, low-barrier alternatives to the automobile. A bicycle license plate recently highlighted by the Vermont Historical Society however, reveals a time when they were subject to the same municipal oversight, state regulation, and licensing as motor vehicles.
In fact, municipal bicycle licensing and registration was widespread across Vermont, New York State, and indeed the United States, from the 1930s through the mid-1970s. [Read more…] about Two-Wheel Bureaucracy: How America Once Governed Bicycles
Lake Awosting Carriage Road Restoration Complete
Restoration work on nearly three miles of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve’s Lake Awosting Carriage Road, a historic trail circling Lake Awosting, the largest “sky lake” on the northern Shawangunk Ridge is now complete. [Read more…] about Lake Awosting Carriage Road Restoration Complete
Oakley Corners State Forest: Southern Tier Single-Track
Oakley Corners State Forest is 1,160 acres of woodlands in the Towns of Newark Valley and Owego, in eastern Tioga County, that features a 15.3-mile multi-use trail system. The trails are available for all skill levels and offer family-based recreation, including hiking, wildlife viewing, mountain biking, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and cross-county skiing. [Read more…] about Oakley Corners State Forest: Southern Tier Single-Track
Niagara Falls New Cataract Stairs and Overlook Opens
The new Cataract Stairs and Overlook is now open at Niagara Falls. The new stairs and viewing platform gets visitors up close and personal with the falls’ powerful cascade bring visitors as close as 35 feet from the American Falls. [Read more…] about Niagara Falls New Cataract Stairs and Overlook Opens
Usage Highlights New Adirondack Rail Trail’s Popularity
Counters along the Adirondack Rail Trail recorded 211,000 passes during its first year of full operation according to reports provided to New York Almanack by the Adirondack Rail Trail Association.
The 34-mile universally accessible multi-use trial connects Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake for non-motorized recreation and seasonal snowmobiling. [Read more…] about Usage Highlights New Adirondack Rail Trail’s Popularity
William Floyd’s Daring Demand For Independence
William Floyd (1734–1821), who lived on a large slave plantation on the south shore of eastern Long Island, was the first of four men who signed the Declaration of Independence from New York. [Read more…] about William Floyd’s Daring Demand For Independence
Peebles Island Historic Preservation Open House Returns
For the first time in 15 years, the New York State Division for Historic Preservation is opening the doors to the Peebles Island Resource Center and inviting the public to explore a behind-the-scenes look at the labs that support New York’s state historic sites. [Read more…] about Peebles Island Historic Preservation Open House Returns
State Parks, Historic Sites Friends Groups Make $31M Impact
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has released its Friends Group Impact Report, highlighting the significant contributions that Friends Groups made to New York’s state parks and historic sites in 2025.
A “Friends Group” is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting one or more park or historic sites under the jurisdiction of State Parks through volunteer activities, financial support, on-site programming, and other means. [Read more…] about State Parks, Historic Sites Friends Groups Make $31M Impact
A Buffalo Sociologist, Brooklyn Saxophonist Named MacArthur Fellows
The MacArthur Fellowship is a $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential.
Among the 20 individuals to receive a MacArthur Award in 2026 are just two from New York State, Buffalo Sociologist and Energy Policy Researcher Holly Jean Buck and Brooklyn Saxophonist and Composer Immanuel Wilkins. [Read more…] about A Buffalo Sociologist, Brooklyn Saxophonist Named MacArthur Fellows
Katharine Bement Davis & America’s First Sexual Revolution
Decades before Alfred Kinsey released his famous “Reports” on human sexuality, Katharine Bement Davis (1860-1935) conducted a pioneering study of female sexuality.
Published in 1929, Factors in the Sex Life of Twenty-Two Hundred Women was notable not only as the first major study of women’s sexuality and the first such study conducted by a woman, but also as the first published study of “normal” women’s sexuality ― what Davis defined as the study of women who were “not pathological mentally or physically.” [Read more…] about Katharine Bement Davis & America’s First Sexual Revolution
Battle of Valcour Island 250th Anniversary Weekend Oct 9-11
Clinton County will mark the 250th anniversary of the October 11, 1776 American Revolutionary War Battle of Valcour Island with three days of education, living history, music, ceremony and public commemoration, October 9-11, 2026. [Read more…] about Battle of Valcour Island 250th Anniversary Weekend Oct 9-11
Auburn Museum Party Celebrating 90 Years
In 1935, Ted Case, the inventor of Movietone, the world’s first commercially successful process for putting sound on film, sold his former home for $1 to a group of local artists looking to create Auburn’s first art museum. [Read more…] about Auburn Museum Party Celebrating 90 Years
New Trail Monument at Maine Junction, Vermont
North Country Trail Association (NCTA) and North Country Trail National Park Service staff, alongside a variety of partners, gathered at Maine Junction in Killington, Vermont on National Public Lands Day last weekend to dedicate a monument for the eastern terminus of the North Country National Scenic Trail. [Read more…] about New Trail Monument at Maine Junction, Vermont
New Netherland and the World Conference Set for Albany
The Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues famously described New Amsterdam as a place where eighteen different languages were spoken. Although he meant to suggest that the Dutch colony was a confused and confusing place, he did put his finger on an important characteristic of New Netherland.
While it may have been a relatively small colony, it was also global in reach. [Read more…] about New Netherland and the World Conference Set for Albany