History, Natural History & the Arts
The NYS Canal System is scheduled to open on Friday, May 20th at 7 am for the 2022 navigation season.
Standard hours of operation will be 7 am to 5 pm until October 12th, but busier locks and lift bridges will be open on demand until 10 pm. If adjustments to the schedule are necessary, the public will be notified accordingly. There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal system this year. [Read more…] about New York State Canal System Opens May 20th
New York State Department of Transportation has announced that work is underway on a $8.3 million project to replace concrete barriers and portions of guide-rail along three segments of State Route 73 in the towns of Keene and North Elba, Essex County.
The project includes a stretch of Route 73 along Upper and Lower Cascade Lakes through the Adirondack High Peaks that is part of the annual Lake Placid Ironman course. Work will be completed by late fall, ahead of the Lake Placid 2023 International University Sports Federation World University Games coming this January. [Read more…] about DOT Replacing Route 73 Barriers In Adirondack High Peaks
Throughout the Hudson Valley, community volunteers are getting out their flashlights, reflective vests, and rain gear in anticipation of annual amphibian breeding migrations, which typically begin in mid-March. Volunteers will document the migration and help salamanders and frogs as part of DEC’s Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project. [Read more…] about Volunteers Preparing for Annual Salamander, Frog Migration
The 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
The William G. Pomeroy Foundation has announced the newest grant round of its Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grant Program is now open. This program commemorates the historical significance of transportation canals in the United States with roadside markers. [Read more…] about Historic Transportation Canals Marker Grants Available
A new pilot Route 73 shuttle service will be begin Saturday, August 21st, along the busy Route 73 corridor in the Adirondack High Peaks region, according to announcement issued Thursday by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Essex County, and town of Keene. [Read more…] about New Adirondack High Peaks Shuttle Starting Aug 21st
The New York State Thruway Authority has announced construction will begin this month on a $450 million project to redevelop the 27 service areas located on the New York State Thruway. The service areas were originally built in the 1950s, with the last significant redevelopment taking place in the 1990s. On July 29th, ten service areas will close for work to begin on the first phase of the project. Fuel services will remain available at all locations during construction. [Read more…] about 27 Thruway Service Areas Being Modernized
There’s a myth environmental educators like to tell, and it goes something like this: after every long northern winter, spring returns. Days lengthen, temperatures rise, the snowpack slowly disappears, and one afternoon, it begins to rain – a soaking, 45-degree rain that continues well into the night. [Read more…] about Critter Crossings: Amphibians In Spring
This week on The Historians Podcast, highlights from seven podcasts from 2021 – Jim Richmond on Saratoga County history, Mike Hauser on Fulton County sports, Sarah Patten on women spies, Thruway questions from Robert Burns, John Warren on motorization of the Adirondack Park, Jim Kaplan on New York City’s South Street Seaport and Roland Vinyard on West Virginia caver Pete Hauer. [Read more…] about Highlights From The Historians Podcast
This week on The Historians Podcast New York State Thruway user and Historians Podcast listener Robert Burns makes frequent trips between Rochester and Albany. He has questions on the history of the Thruway, built in the 1950s. For example, why was the Thruway built so far away from Rochester?
We get background on Thruway history from a 2015 interview with Bruce Dearstyne, author of the book Spirit of New York. [Read more…] about NYS Thruway History Subject of Historians Podcast