The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is urging hikers to postpone hikes on trails above 2,500 feet until high elevation trails have dried and hardened. As snow and ice continue to melt at high elevations, steep trails can pose a danger to hikers due to thick ice and deep, rotten snow. Thin soils are susceptible to erosion and sensitive alpine vegetation can be easily damaged. [Read more…] about DEC Issues Adirondack Mud Season Trails Advisory
Nature
Chittning Pond Dam (Oneida Co) Improvements Planned
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the upcoming rehabilitation of the dam that impounds Chittning Pond, located north of State Route 20 on Albert J. Woodford Memorial State Forest in the town of Sangerfield, Oneida County.
Chittning Pond is a 70-acre pond that is home to a warm water fishery and provides habitat for a multitude of bird, amphibian, reptile, and mammal species. [Read more…] about Chittning Pond Dam (Oneida Co) Improvements Planned
DEC, Private Club Piloting High Peaks Hiker Reservation System
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Ausable Club have announced a pilot reservation system to access the Club’s private lands, the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR). Since 1978 the State has held a conservation easement on Club/Reserve lands which allows limited access to some of the more popular places in the Adirondack Park’s High Peaks Wilderness Area.
A press release from DEC cited “reliable access” and public safety along Route 73 among the reasons for the change. The pilot program is slated to run for three years according to DEC. [Read more…] about DEC, Private Club Piloting High Peaks Hiker Reservation System
Understanding Winter Fish Kills
New Yorkers may be seeing more dead fish in the water this spring than in past years. The winter of 2020-2021 created optimal conditions for winterkills, which usually occur in shallow waterbodies with aquatic plant growth. [Read more…] about Understanding Winter Fish Kills
New Trout Stream Regulations Go Into Effect April 1st
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalized new trout stream regulations that will take effect on April 1st, 2021.
The new rules eliminate more than 20 types of special regulations associated with trout stream reaches, reducing 26 regulations to four. [Read more…] about New Trout Stream Regulations Go Into Effect April 1st
Study Finds Genetic Shuffling Speeds Up Evolution of New Species
New research reveals that a recently discovered songbird has traveled a very rare evolutionary path — a finding that challenges the typical model of how new species form. Exploration into the origins of the Iberá Seedeater of southern South America shows that a new lineage need not always arise from genetic mutations accumulated in geographic isolation over millions of years. Instead, the novel mixing and matching of existing genetic traits already found in closely related species can create something new, at a much faster pace. [Read more…] about Study Finds Genetic Shuffling Speeds Up Evolution of New Species
NYS Wildlife Management Area Regulation Changes Being Planned
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a draft proposal for public comment that would update regulations governing public use of the State’s vast network of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
New York State has more than 120 WMAs containing nearly 250,000 acres, including 124,000 acres of forests and grasslands and 53,000 acres of wetlands. DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife manages an additional 38,000 acres of land, including Unique Areas and Multiple Use Areas, for a total of approximately 150 areas that thousands of New Yorkers visit and enjoy each year. [Read more…] about NYS Wildlife Management Area Regulation Changes Being Planned
Grants Available For Great Lakes Youth Projects
New York Sea Grant, in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), has announced funding is now available for projects that engage youth under the age of 21 and address local watershed challenges and New York’s Great Lakes Action Agenda priorities.
A total of $200,000, up to $25,000 per project, in New York Great Lakes Basin Small Grants is expected to be awarded. [Read more…] about Grants Available For Great Lakes Youth Projects
New 2021 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Guide
New for 2021, DEC streamlined its annual fishing regulations guide. With few exceptions, contents in the new guide are limited to only a summary of the laws and regulations anglers need to know before hitting the water. [Read more…] about New 2021 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Guide
Daphnia: Microscopic Crustaceans and Resurrection Ecology
At this very moment, nestled into the sediment at the bottom of your nearest lake or pond, are Daphnia eggs – as many as 100,000 per square meter, according to one Michigan study.
A genus of microscopic crustaceans, Daphnia are sometimes known as “water fleas,” and their eggs can remain viable for anywhere from several years to a century or more. This trait has earned them a position of prominence in a fascinating new field known as “resurrection ecology,” which aims to shed light on how ecosystems adapt to environmental change. [Read more…] about Daphnia: Microscopic Crustaceans and Resurrection Ecology