New York State Forest Rangers responded to several incidents in the Adirondacks over Labor Day Weekend, including a campground disturbance, and several overdue, lost, injured and unprepared hikers. [Read more…] about Overdue, Lost, Ill, Injured and Unprepared Hikers on Labor Day Weekend
Hamilton County
Rose Knox’s Gelatine, Leadership, Mixed Kitchen & Boardroom
In 1914, after secretly running Knox Gelatine for six years, Rose Knox revealed that she’d assumed her deceased husband’s position as the company’s president.
As President of company from 1908 to 1947, she drew on traditional ideals of domesticity and womanhood to turn the company into an iconic American brand and herself into a business celebrity. [Read more…] about Rose Knox’s Gelatine, Leadership, Mixed Kitchen & Boardroom
With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Federal authorities arrested 2,197 people across New York last month during what they have derisively named “Operation Rotten Apple,” the highest monthly immigration arrest total since the Trump administration’s round-ups began in New York State. [Read more…] about With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Rangers Report Multiple Rescues of Lost, Injured Hikers
The most recent New York State Forest Rangers Report includes efforts to rescue more than a half dozen hikers lost or with knee or lower leg injuries in the Adirondacks and Catskills. [Read more…] about Rangers Report Multiple Rescues of Lost, Injured Hikers
Search Continues For Moose River Plains Missing Man
Craig K. Streeter, a 73-year-old resident of Mahopac, NY, is currently the subject of an active multi-agency search after going missing while camping in the Moose River Plains in Hamilton County in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Search Continues For Moose River Plains Missing Man
Forest Rangers Respond to Lost, Injured Outdoor Recreationists
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers responded to multiple backcountry incidents from August 18th through August 22nd. These included lost and injured hikers, stranded and injured boaters, an injured cliff jumper and more. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Respond to Lost, Injured Outdoor Recreationists
A Common Adirondack Public and Private Stewardship
Keith McKeever, retiring Public Information Director at the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), accepted much-deserved recognition at their recent meeting for his many years of admirable public service. In his short acceptance remarks, Keith implored all listening “to hold the line” for the Adirondack Park’s open space.
Keith’s message, as I recall it, was that the goal of protecting private open space is connected quite directly to the goal of more community development including necessary infrastructure directed to the Park’s settled areas in Hamlet and Moderate Intensity Use areas. [Read more…] about A Common Adirondack Public and Private Stewardship
Alvah Dunning: The Guide Behind the Adirondack Hermit
In March 1902, eighty-five-year-old Alvah Dunning traveled from the Adirondacks to New York City for a sportsmen’s exhibition. By then, photographs and newspaper profiles had made his white beard and weathered face familiar. Visitors were not meeting an unknown woodsman.
They were being introduced to “Uncle Alvah,” a man presented as one of the last survivors of the Adirondacks before railroads, hotels and private preserves changed the region. [Read more…] about Alvah Dunning: The Guide Behind the Adirondack Hermit
Rangers Recover Body, Make Multiple Backcountry Rescues
New York State Forest Rangers recently participated in at least seven wilderness rescue missions across New York State, including on the Appalachian Trail and near Kaaterskill Falls; two hikers within an hour near Hurricane Mountain; and several in West Canada Lake Wilderness. [Read more…] about Rangers Recover Body, Make Multiple Backcountry Rescues
Campers Rescued from Violent Storm; Injured Cliff Jumper; Many More Rescues
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
Environmentalists Have Big Stake in Finch Pulp Mill Closure
The purely economic decision by Finch Paper in Glens Falls, now part of a global company, to stop purchasing Adirondack regional trees for its pulp to paper operation and to instead acquire its pulp from far beyond New York’s borders is serious – and deserves the attention it’s getting at New York Almanack, and the worries from forest product industries, harvesters, truckers, suppliers, and landowners elsewhere. [Read more…] about Environmentalists Have Big Stake in Finch Pulp Mill Closure
Finch Paper Closing Glens Falls Pulp Mill; Logging Affected
The Finch Paper mill in Glens Falls, NY, a facility which has been buying pulp wood from the region’s loggers since 1865, has announced they will stop making their own pulp from local logs and will transition to buying it from suppliers outside the area.
Finch has been blending its own pulp with about 20% outside purchases. Going forward Finch is likely to source all its pulp from Canada, or buy market pulp, eliminating the work associated with the 45-50 log trucks who arrived at the mill daily. [Read more…] about Finch Paper Closing Glens Falls Pulp Mill; Logging Affected
Rangers Recover Paddler’s Body, Make Multiple Rescues July 4th Weekend
NYS Forest Rangers had a busy July 4th weekend in which they recovered the body of a paddler; rescued two people on an inflatable kayak from rapids they didn’t know existed on the Saranac River; assisted with an overturned sailboat on Lake Champlain; rescued someone from the rapids in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness; and two teens hiding from a black bear near Lake George. [Read more…] about Rangers Recover Paddler’s Body, Make Multiple Rescues July 4th Weekend
Adirondack Project To Reconnect 43 Miles of Brook Trout Waters
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Trout Unlimited (TU) have announced a multi-phase aquatic re-connection project is underway in the Moose River Plains Complex, in the Adirondack Park in Herkimer and Hamilton counties.
The project, which began in June, is expected to replace more than 50 culverts in the next three to five years and reconnect 43 miles of brook trout waters. [Read more…] about Adirondack Project To Reconnect 43 Miles of Brook Trout Waters
Forest Rangers Respond to Ill, Injured Adirondack, Catskills Hikers
NYS Forest Rangers recently responded to several search and rescue missions for injured and ill hikers in the Catskills and the Adirondacks. These included at least one hiker who was seriously dehydrated.
There is currently an extreme heat wave in New York State. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Respond to Ill, Injured Adirondack, Catskills Hikers
Rangers Fight Wildfires, Respond to Ill, Injured, Lost Hikers, Paddler
New York State Forest Rangers have seen a dramatic increase in missions with the advent of the summer hiking season. They recently responded to more than a half-dozen distressed recreationists in the Adirondacks, several of whom were poorly prepared, along with others in scattered other parts of the state. They also fought two wild land fires, one at a logging header. [Read more…] about Rangers Fight Wildfires, Respond to Ill, Injured, Lost Hikers, Paddler
Verplanck Colvin’s State Land Surveying Legacy
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) latest episode of the bi-weekly podcast “DEC Does What?!” spotlights the work of the department’s forestry staff who manage the boundaries of state lands.
They discuss the history of land surveying and the man who started the process in the 1800s, Verplanck Colvin (1847–1920). [Read more…] about Verplanck Colvin’s State Land Surveying Legacy
Measuring and Protecting Adirondack Park Remote Places
A canoeist paddling toward the center of Middle Saranac Lake can still hear the dull, monotonous roar of car and truck traffic. Are there any places left in the Adirondacks that could still be considered remote, far removed from the sounds and sights of urbanized America? And if so, how many?
That is what a group of environmental protection organizations – the Adirondack Council, Adirondack Wild, Adirondack Wilderness Advocates and the Rewilding Institute – hope the Adirondack Park Agency and the Department of Environmental Conservation can determine. [Read more…] about Measuring and Protecting Adirondack Park Remote Places
Adirondack Author Sees Magic & Mystery Outside Her Door
Donna (D.M.) Green never intended to publish a book for the general public. “My first idea was just to write a book for my kids and grandkids,” the Hope Falls writer recalls. “But after my husband, Jeff, proofread In the Moment, In the Forest, he encouraged me to consider getting it published.”
And we’re so glad she took his advice! Readers of In The Moment, In The Forest (Troy Bookmakers, 2024), a beautifully written book of day-by-day journal entries, accompany Green for one full year as she observes and records the natural wonders of her beloved North Country. [Read more…] about Adirondack Author Sees Magic & Mystery Outside Her Door
Rare and Fragile Floating Bogs and Fens
New York State is home to several rare and fragile floating bogs and fens. These unique ecosystems feature mats of sphagnum moss and vegetation that actually float over water.
Bogs and fens are both peatlands (wetlands that build up deposits of dead plant matter called peat). The primary difference is their water source: bogs are largely by nutrient-poor rainwater, making them highly acidic. Fens are fed by mineral-rich groundwater, making them alkaline or neutral. [Read more…] about Rare and Fragile Floating Bogs and Fens