Pine barrens are certainly piney – but they’re not the least bit barren. They were so named not because they lack life, but because colonists found them unsuitable for raising cattle or growing vegetable and grain crops. Left behind by the glaciers more than 10,000 years ago, pine barrens are characterized by sandy, acidic soil where pitch pine and scrub oak are the dominant trees. [Read more…] about Pine Barrens Are Definitely Not Barren
Recreation
Dave Gibson: Establish A Wilderness Training Center in NYS
The stress of our sheer numbers on wild lands, other hikers, summit stewards, forest and assistant rangers and local communities and volunteers bordering Routes 73 and 86 this hiking season – and many before this – easily disconnects and untethers us from the historical and philosophical roots of wilderness preservation and management. [Read more…] about Dave Gibson: Establish A Wilderness Training Center in NYS
200 Acres At Owasco Lake Will Expand Fillmore Glen State Park
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have announced the acquisition of a parcel in the Owasco Lake watershed that is expected to help protect public water supplies and safeguard riparian buffers and wetlands.
The acquisition of the Hirst Tract in the town of Locke, Cayuga County, is the first of several parcels TNC plans to purchase that target the protection of source waters with funding from New York State’s Water Quality Improvement Program. [Read more…] about 200 Acres At Owasco Lake Will Expand Fillmore Glen State Park
Survey: High Peaks Hikers Seek Wildness, Solitude, Support Limits
Two conservation organizations and a state college today released the preliminary results of a two-month hiker survey in and around the High Peaks Wilderness Area showing that the 673 hikers surveyed came there seeking solitude and wildness, and would favor limits on visitation to prevent damage to the “forever wild” Forest Preserve. [Read more…] about Survey: High Peaks Hikers Seek Wildness, Solitude, Support Limits
Featured Adirondack Hike: Hurricane Mountain Firetower
The trail up Hurricane Mountain, in Keene, Essex County, ascends approximately 2,000 feet over 3.4 miles to the Fire Tower located in a designated historic area on the summit, within the Hurricane Mountain Wilderness. [Read more…] about Featured Adirondack Hike: Hurricane Mountain Firetower
Army Proposal For Air, Ground Training On Forest Preserve Problematic
In June, the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army, based at Fort Drum in Jefferson County, released a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) that outlined ambitious “air and land-based training activities” to possibly take place across nine counties in Upstate New York, including four (St. Lawrence, Lewis, Oneida, Herkimer) that are partially within the Adirondack Park, and two (Hamilton, Essex) that are entirely within the Adirondack Park Blue Line. [Read more…] about Army Proposal For Air, Ground Training On Forest Preserve Problematic
NYS Acquires 525 Acres at Clear Lake, Erie County
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the recent acquisition of 525 acres in the town of North Collins, Erie County, to create the Clear Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
The land offers hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife viewing, and other recreational opportunities and becomes the largest State-owned WMA in Erie County. [Read more…] about NYS Acquires 525 Acres at Clear Lake, Erie County
Salmon River Lower Fly-Fishing Area Opening
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that the Lower Fly-Fishing Section of the Salmon River will be open for catch-and-release fishing starting Saturday, October 31st, marking the success of actions taken by the Salmon River Flow Management Team to mitigate the impacts of low-water flows at the start of the salmon run.
Recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 remain in effect to ensure the health and safety of the public. [Read more…] about Salmon River Lower Fly-Fishing Area Opening
Rangers Respond to Lost Hunters, Injured Hikers, Wildfire
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the around 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 Respond to Lost Hunters, Injured Hikers, Wildfire
Former NY Central Adirondack Division Rails Being Removed
The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has begun tearing up the former NY Central Adirondack Division tracks connecting Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, part of a $1.9 million State project to build a rail trial suitable for use by bicyclists and snowmobilers.
The 34-mile rail corridor being removed was key to a once-thriving 119-mile railroad which operated almost continuously from 1892 until 1972, first as the Mohawk & Malone, and then by the New York Central starting in 1913. [Read more…] about Former NY Central Adirondack Division Rails Being Removed