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Article 14

DEC Releases New Forest Preserve Work Policy

September 8, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Class II Community Connector Snowmobile Trail courtesy ProtectNew 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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, camping, Catskills, DEC, development, Forest Preserve, hiking, Legal History, Protect the Adirondacks, snowmobiling, trails

Adirondack Bills Advance in Legislative Session

June 16, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State CapitolAdirondack Park advocates are celebrating passage of three bills that would protect birds and bees from pesticides, protect native aquatic plants from invasive species, and deal with a violation of the New York State Constitution’s “forever wild” clause. [Read more…] about Adirondack Bills Advance in Legislative Session

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Council, Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, ATVs, bees, birds, Invasive Species, Kathy Hochul, pesticides, politics

Logging, Forestry, Wildfires & Forest Rangers: William Fox’s Legacy

May 23, 2023 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Col William F Fox Memorial Tree Nursery (courtesy DEC)Driving by the Saratoga Tree Nursery, just south of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), most barely notice the state tree nursery’s rustic entrance sign – and you need to squint to see that its full name is “Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery.” The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which owns the nursery, considers William Fox the “father” of today’s DEC forest ranger program, as well at the guy who believed the state should raise young trees for later replanting.

Yet the story of the 19th century Ballston Spa native, who also served with valor in the Civil War, is little-known to the general public. [Read more…] about Logging, Forestry, Wildfires & Forest Rangers: William Fox’s Legacy

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, Article 14, Ballston Spa, Catskills, Civil War, Forest Preserve, Forest Rangers, Forestry, Logging, Political History, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Tree Nursery, trees, wildfires, William Fox

State Rebuilding of High Peaks Wilderness Roads Challenged in Court

January 30, 2023 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

equipment in the MacIntyre East High Peaks Wilderness Area to rebuild roadsOn January 20, 2023, Protect the Adirondacks filed a lawsuit challenging the reconstruction by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) of a previously closed and reclaimed road in the High Peaks Wilderness Complex. Protect argues that DEC’s road construction activity in the High Peaks violates the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (Master Plan) which prohibits roads in Wilderness Areas. [Read more…] about State Rebuilding of High Peaks Wilderness Roads Challenged in Court

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, Boreas Ponds, DEC, development, Environmental History, Finch Pruyn Lands, Forest Preserve, High Peaks, Legal History, MacIntyre East Tract, State Land Master Plan, wilderness

Along The Mohawk & Malone: Forest Fires & Logging South of Big Moose (1900-1920)

December 27, 2022 by Noel Sherry 2 Comments

Picture of Rev. John Fitzgerald, Born in England, John Gerald Fitzgerald (1850-1925) attended seminary in Troy, NY, accepting his first assignment as a priest in the Diocese of Ogdensburg. Following pastorates in upstate New York, Father Fitz – as he was affectionately called – was given the daunting challenge of establishing a parish in Old Forge, in the Adirondacks.

In 1896, Northern Herkimer County was a heavily forested region dotted by tiny hamlets, scattered lumber camps, and remote railroad stations along the Mohawk & Malone Railroad. For the next twenty-nine years, he got off the Mohawk & Malone at stations like McKeever, Carter, Big Moose, Beaver River, Brandreth, Keepewa, Nehasane, and Horseshoe Lake, carrying his bible and sacraments from these stops to remote lumber camps on snowshoes, wearing his trademark coonskin cap and woolen mittens. His parish stretched over a 200 square-mile area. [Read more…] about Along The Mohawk & Malone: Forest Fires & Logging South of Big Moose (1900-1920)

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Article 14, Beaver River, Big Moose, conservation, Fires, Forest Preserve, Forestry, Fulton Chain, Gifford Pinchot, Herkimer COunty, Industrial History, Logging, Logging the Adirondacks, McKeever, Mohawk & Malone Railroad, Moose River, New York Central RR, railroads, Raquette Lake

Adirondack History: New York State to the Rescue

November 15, 2022 by Noel Sherry 2 Comments

Entering Adirondack Park sign photo credit, Eric Meier;In the late nineteenth century, Adirondack VIP tours were arranged to assess water damage from state-sponsored dams that kept lumber mills powered and barges floating up and down the Erie Canal. Judges like Truman Fuller exhorted the New York State Forest Commission to get an accurate upstate map completed, to head off all the lawsuits. [Read more…] about Adirondack History: New York State to the Rescue

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Article 14, Big Moose, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Forestry, Gifford Pinchot, Herkimer COunty, Legal History, Logging, Political History, Town of Webb, Twitchell Lake, William Seward Webb

Peter Bauer: Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms

October 6, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

NYSDEC Trail Work2022 may end up as the year some of the most important reforms in New York State Forest Preserve management were started, both in practice and in theory.

Forest Preserve management reform has been a long time coming as the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is responsible for the care and custody of the Forest Preserve, has struggled for years with how to improve its overall management program.

Small changes have been attempted at various points, but no major reforms have been successfully brought to the DEC’s Forest Preserve management. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, Catskills, DEC, development, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Legal History, nature, Protect the Adirondacks, snowmobiling, wilderness

Forest Preserve Decision Has Far-Reaching Implications Beyond Tree Cutting

June 19, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

Canopy by Peter BauerRecent pieces in the Adirondack Explorer (see here and here) have attempted to assess the implications of the decision by New York State’s highest court in Protect the Adirondacks v Department of Environmental Conservation and Adirondack Park Agency.

The Court of Appeals found that these state agencies violated the state constitution in their efforts to build a network of new extra-wide snowmobile trails in the Adirondack Forest Preserve. These commenters have derided the decision because they say it’s focused on tree cutting, which they argue is a poor standard to evaluate the constitutionality of management actions by state agencies under Article 14, Section 1, the Forever Wild Clause. [Read more…] about Forest Preserve Decision Has Far-Reaching Implications Beyond Tree Cutting

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, Article 14, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Legal History, Logging, nature, Protect the Adirondacks, trees

A Constitutional Amendment Proposed for Mt. Van Hoevenberg

May 26, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports ComplexAn Article 14 Constitutional Amendment is being proposed for the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex in the Adirondack Park outside Lake Placid.

At the Mt. Van Hoevenberg complex, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) currently manages around 1,220 acres of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of land owned by the Town of North Elba.

Together this complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities, with most of the intensive buildings and facilities located on the town lands. These facilities have seen massive upgrades and state spending in preparation for hosting the World University Games in 2023. [Read more…] about A Constitutional Amendment Proposed for Mt. Van Hoevenberg

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, Article 14, development, Environmental History, Essex County, Forest Preserve, High Peaks, Mt Van Hoevenberg, North Elba, NYS Constitution, Olympic History, ORDA, Political History, Protect the Adirondacks, Sports History, wilderness

Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg

March 29, 2022 by Peter Bauer 1 Comment

Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports ComplexProtect the Adirondacks supports a proposed Article 14 Constitutional Amendment for the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex outside Lake Placid.

At the Mt. Van Hoevenberg complex, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) currently manages around 1,220 acres of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of land owned by the Town of North Elba. Together this complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities, with most of the intensive buildings and facilities located on the town lands. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, APA, Article 14, Cross-Country Skiing, development, Essex County, Forest Preserve, Lake Placid, Mt Van Hoevenberg, nature, North Elba, NYS Constitution, ORDA, Protect the Adirondacks, skiing, winter sports

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