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
Town of Webb
Rangers Kept Busy With Wildfire & Adirondack, Catskills Rescues
New York State Forest Rangers and local emergency crews responded to ten incidents involving a wildland fire and backcountry wilderness rescues over the past week. The wildfire occurred in the Town of Webb, where crews used an inflatable boat to transport supplies and extinguish an unattended campfire that spread to 100 square feet. [Read more…] about Rangers Kept Busy With Wildfire & Adirondack, Catskills Rescues
A Utica Church’s 50 Years of Adirondack Pilgrimages
On November 14, 1902, the Trustees of the Church of the Holy Cross in Utica, New York, purchased four lots on the northwest shore of Twitchell Lake in Big Moose in the Adirondacks. The grantor on the deed was William Thistlethwaite, an Old Forge real estate mogul.
This gave the church 24 acres of woodland which ran a full half mile back to the State’s Forest Preserve and 400 feet of pristine lakeshore lined with ancient red spruce and towering white pine. [Read more…] about A Utica Church’s 50 Years of Adirondack Pilgrimages
Dog Rescued After Fall Over Falls; Ill and Injured Hikers Rescued
New York State Forest Rangers had another busy week with dangerous rescue operations in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and elsewhere. Including a dog that went over the edge at Fawn’s Leap Falls; an unconscious hiker at Kaaterskill Falls; several hikers with lower leg injuries; and more. [Read more…] about Dog Rescued After Fall Over Falls; Ill and Injured Hikers Rescued
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
Forest Rangers Recover Body, Make Several Rescues of Lost, Injured, Unprepared
More hikers in the woods and nicer weather led to several NYS Forest Ranger missions to rescue injured, lost, or unprepared people in the backcountry of the Adirondacks, Catskills, and elsewhere around New York. They also recovered a man’s body in the Croghan Tract Conservation Easement in Lewis County. [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Recover Body, Make Several Rescues of Lost, Injured, Unprepared
Rangers Battle Wildfires; Rescue Numerous Hikers; High Tor Fall Victim; Recover Teen at Kaaterskill Creek
Wildfires remain a concern across New York State. Checking the weather before hiking. The temperature and conditions at the top of a mountain are often very different from those at the trailhead.
It’s Mud Season, wildland stewards advise that recreationists should stick to drier lower elevation areas to avoid damaging trails and fragile higher elevation ecosystems.
The following are recent missions carried out by New York State Forest Rangers: [Read more…] about Rangers Battle Wildfires; Rescue Numerous Hikers; High Tor Fall Victim; Recover Teen at Kaaterskill Creek
An Adirondack Social History of Twitchell Lake
The Adirondack Park is a unique balance of public preserves and private land, a birthplace of the American wilderness vacation, and a large-scale experiment in humans and nature thriving together (and showing a remarkable ecological recovery).
Reflecting on my own small Adirondack lake community at Twitchell Lake in Herkimer County, social life seems to have passed through at least three phases – among the rugged early sportsmen and women, through the wild “Gilded Age” settlement era, and into our turbulent 20th and 21st centuries. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Social History of Twitchell Lake
New Website Showcases Adirondack Twitchell Lake History
Twitchell Lake is one of highest inhabited lakes in the Adirondacks, surrounded on three sides by the Forest Preserve, and located in Big Moose, New York. New York Almanack has published over 40 articles on its history, but now there is a new website to showcase that history. [Read more…] about New Website Showcases Adirondack Twitchell Lake History
Forest Rangers Kept Busy With Searches and Rescues
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Forest Rangers Kept Busy With Searches and Rescues
Program Helps Adk Property Owners Convert Short-Term Rentals to Long-Term Housing
A pair of property owners in Old Forge and Essex, NY have agreed to turn their short-term rentals (STRs) into long-term housing, becoming the first participants in a pilot project meant to help alleviate the region’s persistent housing shortage.
As part of the program, three non-profit groups — Adirondack Roots, AdkAction and LivingADK — provide property owners up to $5,000 to help defray the costs of making the switch, such as legal fees and furniture storage. [Read more…] about Program Helps Adk Property Owners Convert Short-Term Rentals to Long-Term Housing
Twitchell’s Troubled Waters: Adirondack Water Quality History
As heir to a log cabin in the Adirondacks, I have caught myself imagining the mile-high glacier that carved out its lake and melted to fill it with crystal pure water. The scrape marks on outcrops of stone here and there in the forest remain as testimony to that primeval event.
Big Moose’s Twitchell Lake became host to a native population of brook trout that sportsmen in the 1860s and following decades measured by the pound rather than the inch. But my summers in the 1950s bring up a very different image, water unfit to drink or even swim in, laced with dangerous e. Coli bacteria and a dumping ground for used-up appliances. This essay will tell the story of “troubled waters” and one lake community’s painstaking quest for good water quality. [Read more…] about Twitchell’s Troubled Waters: Adirondack Water Quality History
Hikers Rescued From Whiteface Mountain, Santanoni Range, Catskills
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Hikers Rescued From Whiteface Mountain, Santanoni Range, Catskills
An Adirondack Lake’s ‘Mayoral Couple,’ Fred & Myra Ellmers
Fred Ellmers’ first visit to Twitchell Lake came in the summer of 1914, or a year or two earlier. His marathon train trip began in Brooklyn and ended in Big Moose, where a buckboard transported him to Twitchell’s public landing, a two-mile boat ride taking him to the dock of Lone Pine Camp on the north end of the Adirondack lake in northern Herkimer County, NY.
His first words exiting the boat, were: “This is where I could spend the rest of my life!” [Read more…] about An Adirondack Lake’s ‘Mayoral Couple,’ Fred & Myra Ellmers
Adirondack Winter Sports Projects Combat Warming Climate
Two projects to enhance winter sports in the Adirondacks in the face of climate change are currently in progress, including a three-season ice skating rink in Ticonderoga, and upgrades to snowmaking in the Town of Webb.
Funded by grants from Round 7 of DEC’s Community Smart Growth Grant Program, which is funded by the Environmental Protection Fund and were awarded in April 2024. [Read more…] about Adirondack Winter Sports Projects Combat Warming Climate
Rangers Respond to Fourth Lake Snowmobile Accident, Lost & Injured Hikers
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State locating and extracting lost, injured or distressed people and policing state lands.
This report of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers was prepared by DEC: [Read more…] about Rangers Respond to Fourth Lake Snowmobile Accident, Lost & Injured Hikers
One Dead After Five Snowmobilers Crash on Adirondack Lake
The New York State Police are investigating a fatal snowmobile accident that occurred early Sunday morning on Fourth Lake in the town of Webb in the Adirondacks involving five snowmobiles. [Read more…] about One Dead After Five Snowmobilers Crash on Adirondack Lake
Twitchell Lake: Wilderness, Survey and Settlement
Twitchell Lake is an Adirondack gem that has been protected over time by its remote location. Originally carved out by the last glacier, it drains northwestward into Beaver River, which exits the Adirondacks into Lewis County’s Black River, finally meandering its way into Lake Ontario. Twitchell’s location is starred on this unique watershed map. [Read more…] about Twitchell Lake: Wilderness, Survey and Settlement
Rangers Make Numerous Rescues Over Holiday Weekend
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people and engage in policing on New York State Lands.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Rangers Make Numerous Rescues Over Holiday Weekend
Rangers Rescue Six Hikers, Four Paddlers & Four UTV Riders
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people and engage in policing on New York State Lands.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about Rangers Rescue Six Hikers, Four Paddlers & Four UTV Riders