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Environmental History

State Rebuilding of High Peaks Wilderness Roads Challenged in Court

January 30, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

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

Fireplace Neck Tidal Wetland Area Restoration Begins

January 28, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

fireplace neck tidal wetlands mapConstruction has begun on a marsh restoration project at Fireplace Neck Tidal Wetlands in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County on Long Island. In coordination with New York State Office of General Services (OGS), DEC will complete the nearly $1.7-million restoration project to help stabilize the marsh system, improve ecological functions, and create a more resilient marsh prepared for the effects of climate change and global sea level rise. [Read more…] about Fireplace Neck Tidal Wetland Area Restoration Begins

Filed Under: Nature, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Brookhaven, conservation, Environmental History, Fireplace Neck Tidal Wetlands, Great South Bay, Long Island, Suffolk County, Tidal Marshes

How Does A Land Trust Protect A Watershed? One Parcel At A Time

January 27, 2023 by Anthony F. Hall 1 Comment

Saddlebrook Stream Species start to vanish from streams during the first stages of suburban development, according to the United States Geological Service. By the time impervious surfaces had absorbed 20 percent of the terrain of some New England watersheds, for example, those streams’ aquatic invertebrate communities had shrunk by roughly 25 percent. [Read more…] about How Does A Land Trust Protect A Watershed? One Parcel At A Time

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: Bolton, conservation, development, Dresden, Easements, Environmental History, Essex County, Fort Ann, Hague, Horicon, Lake George, Lake George Land Conservancy, nature, Putnam, Ticonderoga, USGS, Warren County, water quality, Wildlife

New York State’s Foam Ban: A Primer

January 21, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fast Food Packaging Floating In a RiverOn January 1st, 2023, NY State celebrated the one year anniversary of the start of the Expanded Polystyrene Foam Container and Polystyrene Loose Fill Packaging Ban.

Polystyrene foam is a concern for people and the environment. It is a top contributor of environmental litter and is not accepted in most recycling programs in New York State because the foam is difficult to recycle and has a low value. [Read more…] about New York State’s Foam Ban: A Primer

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Environmental History, plastics, pollution

The Old Trail: A Lyon Mountain History

November 19, 2022 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

Lyon Mountain Tower, 2008Many years ago, a new trail replaced the old trail on Lyon Mountain in the town of Dannemora in Clinton County, NY, which had degraded with sections ranging from grassy to rocky to bouldery to muddy to extremely steep, muddy, and slippery.

It was a mess compared to paths built by modern trail crews. In 2006, ADK’s Algonquin Chapter completed the plans for a new trail, which was built in the summer of 2008. [Read more…] about The Old Trail: A Lyon Mountain History

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, camping, Chazy Lake, Clinton County, Dannemora, Environmental History, Fire Towers, hiking, Lyon Mountain, surveying, Verplanck Colvin

Air Pollution Spotlight: PFAS, Forever Chemicals

November 19, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

PFAS fire suppressionWhat do non-stick pans, firefighting foam, microwave popcorn bags, cleaning products, fast food containers and wrappers, cosmetics, and stain-resistant carpets have in common? They all may contain forever chemicals called PFAS. [Read more…] about Air Pollution Spotlight: PFAS, Forever Chemicals

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Environmental History, Industrial History, PFAS, pollution, Public Health

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

Logging The Adirondacks: A Legal Logjam (1880-1900)

November 14, 2022 by Noel Sherry 4 Comments

Aaron Lloyd v. Moose River Lumber Co;An early 20th century Adirondack lawsuit pitted a small Big Moose Lake sportsman and landowner Aaron Lloyd against a team of powerful opponents, John Adams Dix and his Moose River Lumber Company with Dr. William Seward Webb and his Nehasane Park Association.

A second suit reversed the plaintiff and defendant, Webb vs. Lloyd, and appeared to be linked to the first complaint. Clearly this was a classic David versus Goliath clash. These cases would have been the fodder for conversations around the campfire in the Big Moose area for almost a decade.

On the surface, the complaints concerned the harvest of millions of board feet of virgin timber and flooding Big Moose Lake to get these logs to market, with Webb behind both actions. [Read more…] about Logging The Adirondacks: A Legal Logjam (1880-1900)

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Big Moose, Big Moose Lake, Big Moose Tract, Environmental History, Forest Preserve, Hamilton County, Herkimer COunty, Industrial History, John A. Dix, Legal History, Logging, Mohawk & Malone Railroad, railroads, surveying, Totten Crossfield Tract, Town of Webb, Twitchell Lake, Verplanck Colvin, William Seward Webb

Robert Moses: The Man New Yorkers Love to Hate

November 14, 2022 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

long island history project logoRobert Moses is the man many New Yorkers love to hate. This is in no small part due to his own hubris and the impact he had on the people living in the path of his massive construction projects. Add to that Robert Caro’s hard hitting 1974 biography The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Vintage Book, 1975) and you’ve got a reputation that is hard to live down. [Read more…] about Robert Moses: The Man New Yorkers Love to Hate

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Engineering History, Environmental History, Long Island, Nassau County, New York City, Podcasts, Political History, Robert Moses, Suffolk County, Transportation History, Urban History

Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

November 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Adirondack Mountains from the top of Whiteface Mountain courtesy Wikimedia R khotResidents of the Adirondack Park’s 130 rural communities voted overwhelmingly to approve the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act on Election Day.

The measure won approval by more than a two-to-one margin statewide. [Read more…] about Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Council, Adirondacks, clean air, clean water, Clinton County, Environmental History, Essex County, Forest Preserve, Franklin County, Fulton County, Hamilton County, Lewis County, nature, Oneida County, Overuse, politics, Saratoga County, St Lawrence County, Warren County, Washington County, Whitney Park

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