New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

road salt

Don’t Be Salty, New York: Reducing Rock Salt Use Reduces Pollution

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don't be salty DEC road salt reduction program logoNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has launched, “Don’t Be Salty, New York,” an effort to encourage New Yorkers to reduce the overuse of rock salt.

It only takes one teaspoon of salt to pollute five gallons of water. Overusing rock salt on roadways, parking lots, and sidewalks can be costly for consumers, degrade infrastructure, contaminate runoff that enters streams and waterbodies, and impact drinking water. [Read more…] about Don’t Be Salty, New York: Reducing Rock Salt Use Reduces Pollution

Science & Stewardship: The Adirondack Council’s Fight for the Park’s Future

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Chapel Pond Pass Keene Adirondacks (courtesy ROOST)What happens in the Adirondacks doesn’t always start in the Adirondacks — it can flow into our air, water, communities, and climate from coal-fired power plants far, far away from New York State lakes and forests.

In this episode of the ADK Talks podcast, John Sheehan, Director of Communications for the Adirondack Council, talks about the science, policy, and passion driving environmental advocacy in the largest protected landscape east of the Mississippi. [Read more…] about Science & Stewardship: The Adirondack Council’s Fight for the Park’s Future

The Discovery of Rock Salt in New York: Some History

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Postcard showing evaporators and salt sheds using solar evaporation method around 1908 in Syracuse, NY.Before the creation of shaft salt mines, the production of salt in New York State required the evaporation of salt brine extracted from salt springs and wells – first by applying heat and later with large solar evaporators.

In the mid-19th century it had been thought by New York geologists that the Onondaga salt springs, known since the mid-1600s, must be supplied from the leaching of beds of rock-salt, and for a time efforts were made to find it in the immediate vicinity of Onondaga Lake. The various borings made on the State’s Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation [see map] in the 1820s and 1830s however showed conclusively that no rock salt was there. [Read more…] about The Discovery of Rock Salt in New York: Some History

Drilling For Salt: Salt Springs & New York’s Salt Industry Origins

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Carncross Salt Pond, a rare inland salt marsh, protected by The Nature Conservancy, located in Wayne County, NY (NY Natural Heritage Program)As the presence of salt in New York was first made manifest through saline mineral springs it is proper to begin this discussion with the history of their discovery and utilization. The most important of these are in Onondaga County at Syracuse.

About the middle of the seventeenth century several of the Jesuit missionaries during their journeys among the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), in what is now the State of New York, heard local salt springs and related these experiences in the Relations of the Jesuit fathers. [Read more…] about Drilling For Salt: Salt Springs & New York’s Salt Industry Origins

How Winter is Changing in the Tug Hill Region

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A stream on Tug Hill in winter with snow (courtesy Bridgeview Real Estate)Tug Hill receives the greatest average snowfall totals in New York State. In Harold Samson’s book Tug Hill Country; Tales from the Big Woods (1971) he wrote “Tug Hill is, and always has been, noted for its winter snows… In winter, the Tug Hill plateau becomes a vast wilderness of white; favorite playground of snowmobilers and other winter sports enthusiasts.”

An economic study in 2021 estimated that 34,254 unique snowmobile users ride Tug Hill’s trails each year, bringing in nearly $81.6 million in sales from snowmobile activity. A new study by the Tug Hill Commission hopes to better understand how our warming climate will affect the region and its winter sports industry in the years to come. [Read more…] about How Winter is Changing in the Tug Hill Region

Protecting Your Historic Masonry From Winter

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City Block snow storm (provided by New York Landmarks Conservancy)Icy stoops and sidewalks are part of the winter experience in New York’s urban communities. Historic masonry stoops are predominantly built of brownstone or limestone with mortar joints.

Over time, many of these stoops have been resurfaced with tinted cement mixtures. All of these masonry materials are porous and tend to be damaged by repeated use of deicing products. Keeping your stoop less slippery while not causing undue damage to your historic masonry means using deicing products and salts thoughtfully. [Read more…] about Protecting Your Historic Masonry From Winter

Road Salt Impacts Aquatic Life Year Round

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Road SaltRoad crews across the United States use more than 24 million tons of road salt (sodium chloride) to melt ice and snow each year – triple the volume used in 1975. Road salt is cost-effective and prevents traffic accidents.

But there is an ecological downside to this practice: rain and meltwater dissolve and wash road salt into streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds, where it severely impacts aquatic life and degrades freshwater environments. [Read more…] about Road Salt Impacts Aquatic Life Year Round

Legislative Budget Would Restore Funding for Adirondack Park Initiatives

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New York State CapitolThe New York State Senate and Assembly have proposed budgets that will restore funding for critical programs in the Adirondack Park, adds potential funding for road salt management, but leaves out funding for the carrying capacity study required for the Saranac Chain of Lakes. The proposed budgets provide significant funding for Adirondack programs that were reduced or eliminated from the Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget. [Read more…] about Legislative Budget Would Restore Funding for Adirondack Park Initiatives

State’s Road Salt Use Impedes Lake George’s Recovery

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Salt Plow Truck courtesy Adirondack CouncilA plan to use 10% less road salt as part of a pilot project notwithstanding, the New York State Department of Transportation still spreads roughly 290 tons of the stuff every winter on the highway along Lake George’s west shore.

“The DOT was actually using less salt on the trips out, which was good, but in 2019, its drivers started making two to three times more frequent trips, so ultimately, there was no reduction at all in the use of salt,” said Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky. [Read more…] about State’s Road Salt Use Impedes Lake George’s Recovery

Adirondack Road Salt Report Issued: Some Data & Recommendations

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Snowplows apply road salt on the 1-87 Northway in the Adirondack Park (Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force Final Report)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

2 Years Later, State’s Adirondack Road Salt Report Still Not Public

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Salt Plow Truck courtesy Adirondack CouncilIn December 2020, the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act was signed into law, creating the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force. The Task Force was organized in 2021, led by Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of Transportation (DOT), and completed its deliberations by late 2022.

As a new winter and road salt season approaches there has been no news or public information about the report, which has apparently been drafted for months. [Read more…] about 2 Years Later, State’s Adirondack Road Salt Report Still Not Public

AdkAction Receives $123k for Regional Road Salt Reduction Program

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Washington County Brine Workshop, 2023 (courtesy AdkAction) Road saltAdkAction’s Clean Water, Safe Roads Network for road salt reduction is expanding, and a related public outreach campaign will be launched this fall, thanks to $123,000 in recently awarded funding. [Read more…] about AdkAction Receives $123k for Regional Road Salt Reduction Program

NYS Road Salt Plan Still Stalled While DOT Plans Another Season of Polluting Adirondack Waters

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Salt Plow Truck courtesy Adirondack CouncilRoad salt pollution in Adirondacks lakes has been well documented over the last three decades and spotlighted for political action over the last decade. Contamination of residential and small business drinking water wells in lands downslope of heavily salted roads have also been documented, and in some communities is on the rise. [Read more…] about NYS Road Salt Plan Still Stalled While DOT Plans Another Season of Polluting Adirondack Waters

Adirondack Conservation: 5 Things You Need To Know

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Willie JanewayWillie Janeway details his decision to leave the Adirondack Council

Willie Janeway, who has been the Executive Director of the Adirondack Council for the past decade, will be leaving the organization this fall. Janeway is leaving the Council in excellent shape, and the dedicated staff will continue to work on behalf of the Adirondack Park on a daily basis. Raul “Rocci” Aguirre, who has served as Deputy Director, is now the Acting Executive Director, and the first person of color to lead a major Adirondack environmental group. [Read more…] about Adirondack Conservation: 5 Things You Need To Know

Home Salt Use Best Management Practices

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salt graphicDid you know that the United States uses an estimated 20 million metric tons of salt on roads every year? In places like the Lake Champlain basin the long, cold winters mean a lot of salt applied on our roads and sidewalks, but all of that salt can pollute our soils and waters and harm local ecosystems. [Read more…] about Home Salt Use Best Management Practices

ADK Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

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Adirondack Lean-toOpening Up the Adirondacks

The Adirondack Council’s Aaron Mair and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solage were recently on the Capitol Pressroom radio show out of Albany. Mair and Solage made the case for the state budget to include funding to create the Timbuctoo Summer Climate and Jobs Institute, which would provide job and environmental training to high school students who may not otherwise get much exposure to the Adirondacks. The effort would involve Medgar Evers College in New York City and the SUNY School of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. [Read more…] about ADK Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

Salt Survey Being Conducted By Ausable River Association

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Mirror Lake courtesy Ausable River AssociationThe Ausable River Association’s (AsRA) has released a salt use survey for residents, businesses, and independent contractors in Lake Placid, with emphasis on Mirror Lake. Developed in partnership with the Adirondack Watershed Institute, the survey is essential to determining the amount of salt entering Mirror Lake and the Chubb River. [Read more…] about Salt Survey Being Conducted By Ausable River Association

ADK Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

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Winter Adirondacks Scene courtesy Carl Heilman IIEnvironment Ranks High in New York’s 2023 Budget

New York Governor Kathy Hochul released her Executive Budget proposal in mid-January, and there was a lot to celebrate for the Adirondacks. She proposed an increased Environmental Protection Fund from $300 million to $400 million and a $4 billion environmental bond act. While the proposals are good, the Adirondack Council would still like to see $500,000 for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, $500,000 for visitor use management framework, and $6 million for an updated Adirondack Lakes Survey included in the final budget. The Council and many other environmental groups are also calling for $10 million for trails and education. [Read more…] about ADK Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

Salt Survey Planned For Lake Placid, Chubb River Watershed

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Mirror Lake provided by AsRAThe Ausable River Association (AsRA) will distribute a salt use survey this winter to residents, businesses, and independent contractors in Lake Placid, Essex County, NY.

Developed with the Adirondack Watershed Institute, the survey hopes to determine the amount of salt entering Mirror Lake and the Chubb River. [Read more…] about Salt Survey Planned For Lake Placid, Chubb River Watershed

Gov Cuomo Signs Landmark Road Salt Bill into Law

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Plow Truck courtesy NYS DotGov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act – a bipartisan bill that is expected to help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Gov Cuomo Signs Landmark Road Salt Bill into Law

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