History, Natural History & the Arts
The New York State Archives have announced the 2020-21 Hackman Research Residency Awards.
The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program supports advanced work on New York State history, government, or public policy using historical records in the State Archives by academics, graduate students, public historians, and teachers. [Read more…] about 2020-21 NYS Archives Research Residents Announced
This is the last article in a 5-part series on possible amendments in 2020 to Article 14, Section 1, of the NYS Constitution, the famed forever wild provision.
This article looks back at the amendment for NYCO Minerals, Inc., in 2013, that authorized exploratory drilling on 200 acres in Lewis Lot 8 in the Forest Preserve in the Jay Mountain Wilderness. This amendment was barely approved, passing by the narrowest margin of any successful Article 14 amendment. The NYCO Amendment was different from all other amendments to Article 14 because it marked the first time that a private corporation used the amendment process to seek and obtain Forest Preserve lands for no other purpose than benefiting its bottom line. Every other amendment had a public benefit and purpose. The NYCO Amendment did not. [Read more…] about DEC’s Efforts To Lobby For A Mine In Adirondack Wilderness
This is the fourth article in a series that looks at three possible constitutional amendments to Article 14, Section 1 that are being debated in 2020.
This article looks at the issue of utilizing Forest Preserve lands around Cathead Mountain, in the south edge of the Silver Lake Wilderness area, in the Adirondack Park in Hamilton County, to locate a new emergency communications tower, similar to such towers on Blue Mountain and East Mountain. [Read more…] about Hamilton County’s Tower Plans For Cathead Mountain
Abraham (1789-1871) and Harriet Best moved from Claverack, Columbia County, NY to Vischer Ferry in the Town of Clifton Park (Saratoga County) in 1815 and built a fine brick federal style home that still stands on Vischer Ferry Road. My late wife Martha and I purchased this home in 1987 and so I live in the “Best House.”
Abraham had red hair and a temperament to match. He was a farmer who seems to have been very opinionated, and sometimes argumentative. He was a staunch member of the Amity Reformed Church, and in 1835 he petitioned the consistory in a suit against a neighboring landowner, John Clute, who he accused of wrongfully removing a fence from his property. [Read more…] about Abe Best: Contentious Clifton Park Resident
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the Museum Association of New York (MANY) have announced a third round of the Pomeroy Fund for NYS History to provide an additional $50,000 in grants in a continuation of rapid response to history-related organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…] about Pomeroy Fund For NYS History Launches 3rd Round
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has launched a new exhibit: Women at the Helm, celebrating women leaders of the Champlain Valley from the 18th century to today. [Read more…] about Women at the Helm: The Maritime Museum’s New Digital Exhibit
Each fall, thousands of broad-winged hawks soar across Northeastern skies in flocks known as kettles, on their way to wintering grounds in South and Central America.
The sky swirls with hawks bubbling up on thermals of hot air and then streaming southward. It is enough to take your breath away – all those raptors, more than you could imagine seeing in a lifetime, coursing across one stretch of sky together. [Read more…] about Broad-Winged Hawk Migrations
Giant hogweed plants are beginning to bloom across many parts of the state, making it a prime time to spot this harmful invasive. Giant hogweed is a large, flowering plant from Eurasia with sap that can cause painful burns and scarring. [Read more…] about Identify Giant Hogweed, Then Avoid It
As the last enslaved people living in New York State were officially freed on July 4th, 1827, celebrations reigned.
According to the New-York Spectator, people packed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church on the corner of Church and Leonard Streets in Manhattan. The major societies for the support and liberation of African American people were there. Banners and flags festooned the church. “Several hymns written for the occasion were sung.”
Portraits of John Jay, a founder of the Manumission Society who had himself owned five people until 1800, and Matthew Clarkson, who introduced a bill for the gradual end of slavery to the New York State Legislature, were hung near a bust of Daniel D. Tompkins, who as Governor of New York had proposed this date as the day for emancipation. [Read more…] about July 4th, 1827: Freedom Day
Every summer DEC forest rangers receive calls for dogs in distress, especially on hot days. Pet owners often overestimate how physically fit their dog is, how much water their dog will need, or how walking on scalding hot rock can negatively affect canines.
Pet owners to should generally avoid bringing their dogs hiking with them in the summer. Dogs hiking in warm temperatures are at risk of experiencing heat exhaustion and death. If your dog does collapse, quickly move to create shade for the dog and cool their feet and stomach – this is the most effective way to help an overheated dog. [Read more…] about Hiking With Dogs