New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Ausable River

Campers Rescued from Violent Storm; Injured Cliff Jumper; Many More Rescues

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Hunter Mountain Rescue, July 2026 (DEC Photo)New York State Forest Rangers spent a busy week rescuing numerous people from backcountry dangers, including: a 77-year-old rescued by helicopter in the Adirondack High Peaks; Lows Lake campers stranded by a violent storm; a teen medical emergency near Cranberry Lake; a capsized boat; an injured cliff jumper on the West Branch Ausable River which included a technical rope rescue; and dehydrated hikers and hikers with lower leg injuries in the Adirondacks and Catskills.

Be sure to eat before hiking and bring plenty of water and extra food that’s high in protein and calories. Read the Ten Hiking Essentials. [Read more…] about Campers Rescued from Violent Storm; Injured Cliff Jumper; Many More Rescues

Glacial Lakes in the Ausable River Valley

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Glacial Lakes in the Valley of the East Branch Ausable RiverAt the close of the last Ice Age about 13,200 years ago glacial ice formed a dam across the valley of the East Branch Ausable River creating a series of lakes that overflowed into adjacent watersheds through mountain passes.

This was during the late Wisconsinan glaciation in the final stages of the great continental Laurentide Ice Sheet’s retreat north from the Adirondack Mountains. [Read more…] about Glacial Lakes in the Ausable River Valley

Get ‘Stream Wise’: The Lake Champlain Watershed Initiative

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A riparian buffer at a stream in Keeseville in the Lake Champlain watershed (provided by AFC)Healthy streams are home to diverse fish and wildlife, provide vital drinking water, and create recreation and relaxation opportunities.

Historically, they’ve often been impacted by various land uses that disturb native shoreline vegetation, put water quality at risk and increase flood potential. [Read more…] about Get ‘Stream Wise’: The Lake Champlain Watershed Initiative

Angler Rescued from Ausable River; Missing Toddler, Two Men 70+ Found

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Ausable River angler rescue in May 2025 (DEC)New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.

This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Angler Rescued from Ausable River; Missing Toddler, Two Men 70+ Found

New Keeseville Waterfront Park Opens June 4th

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Keeseville Riverfront Park Overlook with Seating and Interpretive Signage (AARCH)Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) and the Town of Ausable, New York will hold a ribbon cutting and opening of the new Keeseville Waterfront Park on Ausable Street at 10 am on June 4th.

Following years of planning, preparation, fundraising, and construction, AARCH is gifting the Keeseville Waterfront Park to the Town of Ausable for public use. The Park sits on the Ausable River site of the former Prescott Rolling and Slitting Mill (also known as the Red Mill), once a centerpiece of the community’s iron industry. It had been vacant for years prior to AARCH’s acquisition of the site in 2018. [Read more…] about New Keeseville Waterfront Park Opens June 4th

Project Rearing Atlantic Salmon for the Saranac River Enters Final Year

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Experimental Pen-Rearing of Atlantic Salmon in Lake Champlain 2021-2025 (DEC)A five-year project experimenting with raising Atlantic Salmon in Lake Champlain on the Saranac River estuary is entering it final year. The project team is studying how to increase returns of the popular fish to the Saranac River to spawn each year on their own. [Read more…] about Project Rearing Atlantic Salmon for the Saranac River Enters Final Year

Summit to Shore: The Lake Champlain Basin

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Lake Champlain Basin Summit to ShoreA new video series launched by the Lake Champlain Basin Program in partnership with Peregrine Productions and NEIWPCC celebrates the beauty of the Lake Champlain basin and efforts in several communities to protect and restore their shared waters.

With the web-based Summit to Shore StoryMap as a guide, viewers can digitally explore the landscape around Lake Champlain, from distant mountain peaks in the headwaters to wetlands on the lake’s shoreline. The videos include breathtaking drone imagery, intimate portraits of streams and rivers, and panoramic 360-degree video. [Read more…] about Summit to Shore: The Lake Champlain Basin

Watchable Wildlife: Ausable Marsh

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Ausable Marsh (courtesy Lakes to Locks)The Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Peru, Clinton County, NY, offers 660 acres of wildlife habitats, ranging from marsh and sandy dunes to floodplain forest. Located adjacent to Lake Champlain, the Ausable River delta was formed over thousands of years and boasts streams and marshes teeming with wildlife, and is breeding ground for several species of fish, turtles, and frogs. [Read more…] about Watchable Wildlife: Ausable Marsh

Clinton County Historical Association’s North Country Notes

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North Country NotesDiving into Clinton County Historical Association’s North Country Notes is history buff’s paradise. The Historical Association (CCHA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1945 and funded and staffed by members of the community. We can speculate as to why the date of CCHA’s founding may be significant. [Read more…] about Clinton County Historical Association’s North Country Notes

Recreation Spotlight: The Flume Trails in Essex, and Clinton Counties

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Scenic Outlook at the Wilmington Flume Trails (DEC Photo)The Wilmington Flume Trail Network is located in the Wilmington Wild Forest and provides 11.5 miles of trails for snowshoeing and hiking. Those accessing these hiking trails from the Flume Trailhead West will pass a wildlife viewing area overlooking a beaver dam and pond and enjoy scenic views of the West Branch Ausable River. [Read more…] about Recreation Spotlight: The Flume Trails in Essex, and Clinton Counties

Lorraine Duvall Turns To Her Adirondack Home In Her Latest Book

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styles brook book lorraine duvallFrom its wilderness source to its meeting with the Ausable River, Styles Brook is scarcely five miles long, yet within its scenic, rugged watershed, award-winning author Lorraine Duvall has discovered a lifetime of stories that characterize the Adirondack condition. [Read more…] about Lorraine Duvall Turns To Her Adirondack Home In Her Latest Book

Police Update Case Of Murdered Man Found in Ausable Chasm

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New York State PoliceOn March 20, 2023, around 2:12 am, New York State Police responded to the AuSable Chasm Bridge on State Route 9 in the town of Chesterfield, Essex County, NY, for a suspicious death. When Troopers arrived on the scene, they located Kenneth C. Darrah, age 37 of Keeseville, NY, deceased on the riverbank on the north bank of the AuSable River. [Read more…] about Police Update Case Of Murdered Man Found in Ausable Chasm

The Geology of Clinton County and History

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Map of Clinton CountyThe geology of Clinton County has shaped the county’s history in complex ways. There are five major geologic rock types in the county, each mined for its beauty and strength. You can see them in the buildings. [Read more…] about The Geology of Clinton County and History

137 Acres Adjacent to Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness Conserved

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view of the High Peaks Wilderness taken from above the 137-acre parcel in St. HubertsThe Adirondack Land Trust on May 11, 2023 purchased 137 acres in St. Huberts to maintain public recreational access and conserve natural forests, including 1,844 feet of floodplain on the East Branch of the Ausable River. The land trust will hold this parcel for transfer to New York State for addition to the constitutionally protected Forest Preserve, along with 25 adjoining acres. [Read more…] about 137 Acres Adjacent to Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness Conserved

Ausable River East Branch Rehabilitation Update

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excavators placing stone and moving material in the Ausable River courtesy AsRAThis summer, the Ausable River Association (AsRA) will undertake the second phase of construction in its Ausable River East Branch Restoration Program with Project Area 2 in Upper Jay, in the Adirondack Park in Essex County. This comprehensive program, developed in 2019 with funding from the Governor’s Office for Storm Recovery (now the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities), identifies 13 sites in the Town of Jay in need of restoration. Completing these river restoration projects will improve flood resilience, protect communities and infrastructure, and restore habitat for the food web that supports our native brook trout. [Read more…] about Ausable River East Branch Rehabilitation Update

Forest Rangers Recover Body From Ausable Chasm, Search for Homicide Evidence

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Ausable Chasm evidence search 2On Monday, March 20 at about 9:45 am New York State Police (NYSP) requested Forest Ranger assistance in an evidence search connected to a homicide investigation at Ausable Chasm in the town of Chesterfield, Essex County. When Rangers arrived, they were asked to recover the body of a homicide victim thrown more than 100 feet down the chasm. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Recover Body From Ausable Chasm, Search for Homicide Evidence

Search Continues For Man Missing After Fall Into Ausable River

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DEC Forest Ranger Swift Water Team searches the Ausable River for a missing man who fell into the river in September 2022New York State DEC Forest Rangers and other search and rescue organizations are continuing to search for a man who fell into the Adirondack Park’s Ausable River near the Flume Trail System in Wilmington, Essex County, NY. [Read more…] about Search Continues For Man Missing After Fall Into Ausable River

Another Adirondack Resort Subdivision Proposed Without Conservation Design

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Large Subdivision and Resort Development proposed, Oct 2021I just skimmed through Eric Stackman’s recent replies to the Adirondack Park Agency (available on the APA website). Stackman, a Miami, Florida developer, wants to construct a 120-lot resort subdivision in Jay, Essex County, above the East Branch of the Ausable River, apparently within sightlines near Whiteface Mountain, Askaard Farm and many other viewing locations. [Read more…] about Another Adirondack Resort Subdivision Proposed Without Conservation Design

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