The 837-acre Huckleberry Mountain Forest tract in Warrensburg, Warren County, which New York State acquired from the Open Space Institute in 2017, will, in all likelihood, become part of the Lake George Wild Forest and be subject to the strictures of an updated Lake George Wild Forest Unit Management Plan. [Read more…] about 6 Years Later Warrensburg Addition to Lake George Wild Forest Still Awaits Approval
Recreation
Rangers Find Gun, Weed; Rescue Unprepared, Injured, Ill Hikers & More
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. 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 Rangers Find Gun, Weed; Rescue Unprepared, Injured, Ill Hikers & More
Adirondack Voices: Residents Speaking Out For Environmental Protection
I recently came across copies of Adirondack Voices from the 1990s, published by the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA). This organization was founded in 1990 by full-time residents of the Adirondack Park intent on trying to keep some peace in the Adirondacks.
RCPA believed that the integrity and economic viability of the Adirondack communities they lived and worked in could be enhanced while preserving their unique wilderness and wild forest landscape. [Read more…] about Adirondack Voices: Residents Speaking Out For Environmental Protection
Ceremony To Celebrate Renaming Adirondack Stream in Honor of Black Settler
On Saturday, September 16th at noon there will be a public unveiling of a historic roadside marker to celebrate the recent naming of John Thomas Brook. The new name pays homage to 19th-century Black settler John Thomas.
Thomas escaped enslavement in Maryland and established a successful farm near the small stream in Vermontville that was formerly known pejoratively as “N***** Brook,” then as “Negro Brook.” Thomas, his wife Mary, and their son, Richard, are buried in Union Cemetery in Vermontville, in Franklin County, NY. [Read more…] about Ceremony To Celebrate Renaming Adirondack Stream in Honor of Black Settler
Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Located in Allegany County, Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area is a designated Bird Conservation Area (BCA) in the aptly named town of Birdsall.
The 708-acre parcel, located about 13 miles northeast of the village of Angelica and six miles southwest of the Village of Canaseraga, includes nearly 530 acres of shrub swamp, emergent marsh, and open water wetlands and approximately 150 acres of brush and grassland. The area is primarily made up of wetland habitat and is home to a variety of waterfowl and song birds. [Read more…] about Keeney Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Lake Ontario Fishing Boat Survey Summer 2023 Report Now Available
According to the Summer 2003 Lake Ontario fishing boat survey, the lake provides anglers with a diverse world-class trout and salmon fishery worth an estimated $560 million dollars to New York’s economy. [Read more…] about Lake Ontario Fishing Boat Survey Summer 2023 Report Now Available
Cliffs Host Varied Flora and Fauna
On a recent hike up Eagle Mountain in Milton, Vermont, we climbed to a ledge overlooking Lake Champlain. Turkey vultures soared overhead, tilting back and forth on the breeze. A sheer cliff dropped to the forest below us, a lush variety of plants clinging to its face. Cliffs are defined as areas of exposed bedrock with a slope greater than 60 degrees. We tend to think of cliffs as solely geological features. But they also host distinct natural communities of plants and animals. [Read more…] about Cliffs Host Varied Flora and Fauna
Saranac Chain of Lakes Upper Locks Getting $1.6M Makeover
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced a $1.6 million rehabilitation project for the Upper Locks on the Saranac Chain of Lakes in the Adirondacks. The project is funded by NY Works and will include necessary maintenance and repairs. [Read more…] about Saranac Chain of Lakes Upper Locks Getting $1.6M Makeover
Lake George Battlefield Visitor Center Season Extended, Programs Planned
The Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance is marching through its second season of operating the Park’s new Visitor Center by extending the Center’s season through the end of October. [Read more…] about Lake George Battlefield Visitor Center Season Extended, Programs Planned
DEC Releases New Forest Preserve Work Policy
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalized DEC’s Commissioner Policy 78 (CP-78), the Forest Preserve Work Plan Policy. This policy is expected to serve as a guide for newly proposed projects and the evaluation of their site-specific impacts to the environment and character of the New York State Forest Preserve. [Read more…] about DEC Releases New Forest Preserve Work Policy