New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Forest Preserve

Adirondack Wild: Rail-Trail Plan Fails to Assess Impacts

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adirondack wildA DEC plan for the 119-mile Travel Corridor that runs through the heart of the Adirondack Park does not adequately assess actual and projected impacts on the Park’s public wilderness and natural resources according to the group Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve.

At issue is whether the plan complies with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. Adirondack Wild does not believe it does comply. The group filed comments on the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan amendment with the Adirondack Park Agency this week. [Read more…] about Adirondack Wild: Rail-Trail Plan Fails to Assess Impacts

An Adirondack Council Review of the State Budget

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Adirondack CouncilThe Adirondack Council thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Legislative leaders on April 1st for much-needed environmental capital projects that were slated to be approved in the NYS Budget agreement. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Council Review of the State Budget

The Origin and Impact of the Adirondack Northway

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i87When my parents came to the Adirondacks in 1956, they believed they were moving to a place far removed – culturally and politically as well as geographically – from the cities in which they had worked as left-wing journalists.

Beyond the Adirondacks lay “the big world,” as our neighbor Peggy Hamilton called it. (It was a world she was familiar with, having been the companion of Vida Mulholland and, like Vida and her more famous sister Inez, an early advocate of women’s rights.) [Read more…] about The Origin and Impact of the Adirondack Northway

Discussions Of Adirondacks Overuse Are Not New

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A1985 AdkCouncilFavorsPermitsAn excellent pair of articles published here recently by Mike Lynch (Beyond Peak Capacity and Group of 67 People Ticketed on Algonquin) resurrected some memories from the 1970s and ’80s, when avid (or zealous, rabid, insatiable … just pick one) hikers like me lived in constant fear that access to the mountains would soon be restricted. That anxiety was based on frequent newspaper headlines touting plans to alleviate trail damage attributed to hordes of newcomers to the Adirondacks.

Like now, the problems back then were intensified by successful efforts aimed at raising public awareness about the wonders within the mountains, and thus boost the region’s tourism-based economy. The result: more people, more spending, and greater profits, but also more boots on the ground, more worn trails, and more poop in the woods. The problems intensified so quickly that organizations and politicians offered all sorts of solutions, most of which left hikers fearful that the freedom to roam would be restricted. [Read more…] about Discussions Of Adirondacks Overuse Are Not New

Karl Frederick, Adirondack and National Conservationist

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1KTFred1922St2In addition to a remarkable shooting career that included winning three Olympic gold medals, New York attorney Karl T. Frederick was deeply involved in conservation issues. In the early 1900s, through membership in groups like the Camp Fire Club of America, he became involved in national issues as well as regional ones. Foremost among them was the battle to protect the Adirondacks. He supported the club’s stance, recommending the purchase of private land inside the Blue Line for addition to the state Forest Preserve, and advocating for expansion of the Adirondack Park, which at that time consisted of approximately three million acres— half of what it encompasses in 2016.

His law practice was briefly derailed when the company disbanded, but in 1925, the new legal firm of Kobbe, Thatcher, Frederick & Hoar, with offices on Broadway, began handling cases ranging from high-profile divorces to corporate litigation. Besides further enhancing Karl’s profile as a capable lawyer, it expanded his connections among like-minded business leaders who favored protecting the natural world. In time, his respected abilities as an attorney and his deep interest in preserving the nation’s outdoor resources led to an unusual blending of leadership positions on the state and national levels. [Read more…] about Karl Frederick, Adirondack and National Conservationist

Camp Santanoni Management Comments Sought

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Great Camp Gate House SantanoniThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released an updated draft unit management plan (UMP) for the Camp Santanoni Historic Area, located on the NYS Forest Preserve in Newcomb, NY, in the heart of the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Camp Santanoni Management Comments Sought