New York State’s Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force, established by the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act in 2020, has been released. The Task Force was charged with conducting a comprehensive review of road salt contamination and roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk management best practices within the Adirondack Park, and making recommendations for enhancements. [Read more…] about Adirondack Road Salt Report Issued: Some Data & Recommendations
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1973 Clinton County Missing Child Case Still Under Investigation
On February 13, 1973, around 6:20 pm, New York State Police responded to Lake Edge Motel located on State Route 9, in the town of Peru, Clinton County, NY, for a missing child. State Police are still investigating this missing person, who was at the time a 12-year-old Linda Lee St. Germaine, born June 10, 1960. [Read more…] about 1973 Clinton County Missing Child Case Still Under Investigation
After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure
The new edition of After Icebergs with a Painter A Summer Voyage to Labrador and around Newfoundland (Black Dome Press, 2022), by Louis Legrand Noble with an introduction by William L. Coleman, looks at an internationally renowned American artist of fame and fortune at the very peak of his powers.
A pastor and lauded writer with a sharp eye for revealing and humorous detail, Noble describes a journey fraught with danger and drama aboard the schooner Integrity to the latitudes where icebergs dwell with Hudson River School painter Frederic Church. [Read more…] about After Icebergs: A NY Artist’s 1859 Arctic Adventure
Icicles, Snow Doughnuts, and Hair Ice
A few winters ago, I snowshoed along a trail that led below a series of cliffs with rows of huge, hanging icicles. These icicles were up to 40 feet long, with colors ranging from blue-green to yellowish-brown. In some spots, the icicles extended from clifftop to base, forming thick columns of ice. This spectacular display was created by water from melting snow and underground seeps dripping off the cliffs, refreezing, and building up over time. Minerals leached out of rock and soil can contribute to the colors of icicles. [Read more…] about Icicles, Snow Doughnuts, and Hair Ice
Three Ice Fishermen Die After Falling Through Champlain Ice
The 43rd Annual Islands Ice Fishing Derby on Lake Champlain was cancelled Saturday morning, February 11th, following warm weather that led to dangerously thin ice resulting in the deaths of three anglers.
Just as the derby was kicking off, the Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department issued a request that it be cancelled immediately due to poor ice conditions. “All ice anglers are asked to get off the ice,” event organizers posted to Facebook at 8 am. [Read more…] about Three Ice Fishermen Die After Falling Through Champlain Ice
Water Boatmen During Winter
If you get a chance this winter, take a peek through the icy window of a pond surface. You may see water boatmen (order Hemiptera: Family Corixidae) clinging to the pond floor.
Long oar-like hind legs propel these insects, inspiring their common name. Shorter, scoop-like front legs are used for feeding and singing. [Read more…] about Water Boatmen During Winter
Hair Ice and Frost Flowers
If you are out walking on a winter morning, you might be lucky enough to see some of nature’s most beautiful and ephemeral sights: hair ice and frost flowers, both snow-white and delicate against the dull forest floor. [Read more…] about Hair Ice and Frost Flowers
Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks
In winter, when temperatures dip well below zero Fahrenheit, especially if they fall precipitously, things go bump in the night. Frozen lakes and ponds emit ominous groans, snaps and booms that reverberate through the ice. Wood siding and old knee joints might creak. And if soil moisture is high and snow cover sparse, the soil can freeze deeply, causing the earth to shift in a harmless, localized cryoseism, or “frost quake” that produces a nerve-rattling bang. [Read more…] about Trees, Knees, and Other Deep-Freeze Creaks
Diapause & Insect Winter Inactivity
The unseasonably mild conditions we have been experiencing this winter has been unusual, but is not unprecedented. In the past, there have been numerous bouts of warm weather and limited snowfalls that have produced similar periods when the ground became bare and the temperatures frequently rose above freezing. [Read more…] about Diapause & Insect Winter Inactivity
Ice Fishing Safety Tips
Much of New York is experiencing a milder than usual winter leading to unsafe ice conditions on most waters, please be extra cautious when heading out for a day of ice fishing. [Read more…] about Ice Fishing Safety Tips