History, Natural History & the Arts
Precocious, blanket-toting Linus from the Peanuts comic strip awaited the Great Pumpkin each Halloween night from 1950 to 1999. If anyone else had been stood-up that many times, they’d have thrown in the blanket for sure.
Perhaps Linus’ resolute faith that the mythical pumpkin would show up was because every year brings the world a greater pumpkin. [Read more…] about Great Pumpkins: A Ton Of Fun
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Makes Rescues at Lake George, High Peaks, Catskills
Judges selected 12 photographs that represent the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor for the organization’s 16th Annual Erie Canalway Photo Contest. Winners were chosen from a competitive group of more than 300 entries. [Read more…] about Erie Canalway Photo Contest Winners Announced
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reminded anglers that the State’s new catch-and-release trout stream season begins on October 16th. [Read more…] about New Catch-and-Release Season in Trout Streams Starts Oct 16th
Bold action is needed in Congress if the Adirondack Park is to benefit from several federal funding and policy initiatives that could combat acid rain, climate change and water pollution, while making much-needed investments in communities including broadband communications and new infrastructure to cope with more frequent storms and flooding, the Adirondack Council said in a statement to the press this week. [Read more…] about Adk Park Advocates Call For Civilian Climate Corps, Action by Congress
It’s likely that the early farmers, millers, colliers, lumberers and teamsters helped spread the word of the springs and waterfalls on the Poesten Kill, but it was the early artists and travelers whose record remains. One of the first depictions of the beauties of the Poesten Kill High Falls was an engraving made in Paris in 1817. As the 19th century wore on, changing attitudes about nature combined with regional guides and maps led to increase in American travel for travels sake. [Read more…] about ‘Wild, Picturesque and Beautiful’: Mount Ida, Poestenkill Falls and Troy’s Prospect Park
“I’ve got something for you,” my husband calls from the front door. He’s found an oddly beautiful beetle in the autumn woods. It’s around three quarters of an inch long, a dark iridescent teal, and its wings and wing-covers look comically small. Something about its body shape reminds me of a fat carpenter ant. But this is an oil beetle, a member of the blister beetle family, Meloidea. [Read more…] about Blister Beetles Have A Formidable Chemical Defense
According to a press release issued by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, on September 24th, Environmental Conservation Officer Godson received a report of two whitetail deer with locked antlers on Gillette Road in the town of Barre, Orleans County. [Read more…] about Whitetail Bucks With Locked Antlers Rescued
Last week, we saw news that Governor Kathy Hochul instructed state agencies to develop and submit plans for greater transparency. This is good news and welcome news. I’ve watched over the decades as state agencies have restricted more and more of what was once basic and easily accessible public information. [Read more…] about DEC Should Embrace Gov. Hochul’s Calls For Transparency