wilderness

Adirondack Voices: Residents Speaking Out For Environmental Protection

September 12, 2023 by Lorraine Duvall Leave a Comment

I recently came across copies of Adirondack Voices from the 1990s, published by the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA). This organization was founded in 1990 by full-time residents of the Adirondack Park intent on trying to keep some peace in the Adirondacks.

RCPA believed that the integrity and economic viability of the Adirondack communities they lived and worked in could be enhanced while preserving their unique wilderness and wild forest landscape. [Read more…] about Adirondack Voices: Residents Speaking Out For Environmental Protection

Number of Adirondack High Peaks Hikers Continue to Surge

August 16, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The most popular hiking destination in the Adirondack Park, the High Peaks Wilderness Area, is continuing to see record numbers of High Peaks hikers, with this May seeing nearly three times more hikers on Cascade Mountain, as were seen just last year.

Liam Ebner, the summit steward coordinator for the ADK Mountain Club, told North Country Radio’s Emil Russell, said it was the busiest May since 2018 for many Adirondack High Peak Wilderness Area summits. [Read more…] about Number of Adirondack High Peaks Hikers Continue to Surge

The ‘Tree’ of Us: Richford Boys Who Changed The World

July 28, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Charles Yaple’s latest book, The ‘Tree’ of Us: Richford Boys Who Changed The World And What They Left Behind (2023) is a deeply personal narrative mixing biography, history, and memoir to encourage the furtherance of a land ethic as envisioned by famed ecologist Aldo Leopold. The story follows the lives of three men, from the steeply forested hills of Richford, in Tioga County, NY, who changed the world. [Read more…] about The ‘Tree’ of Us: Richford Boys Who Changed The World

Before There Were Motor-Free Lakes in the Adirondacks

July 25, 2023 by David Gibson 2 Comments

Although by 1973 Wilderness areas had been officially designated on about one million acres within the Adirondack Forest Preserve, the question of whether waterbodies within those million acres would be similarly free of use by motors was still highly uncertain. [Read more…] about Before There Were Motor-Free Lakes in the Adirondacks

Adirondack Park Advocates: APA Plans Curtail Public Input; Fast Track Decisions

April 13, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A staff proposal at the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) this month could eliminate two-thirds of oral public comment opportunities, restrict general written comments, and fast track APA policy decisions, according to Adirondack Park advocates. “These proposals should be rejected by the APA members in favor of greater transparency and respect for the public’s access and inputs to the APA,” a statement from Adirondack Wild said Wednesday. [Read more…] about Adirondack Park Advocates: APA Plans Curtail Public Input; Fast Track Decisions

APA Plans For More Roads, Snowmobile Trails In Adirondack Park

March 24, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The Adirondack Park Agency Board, at its March 16th, 2023 meeting, authorized a 30-day public comment period to solicit input to help inform the Board’s interpretation of the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan’s Wild Forest Basic Guideline No. 4.

The guideline sets the standard for how many miles of roads and snowmobile trails are allowed in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about APA Plans For More Roads, Snowmobile Trails In Adirondack Park

Adirondack Conservation: 5 Things You Need To Know

March 12, 2023 by Justin Levine Leave a Comment

Willie 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

The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

February 7, 2023 by David Gibson 6 Comments

Well, it’s happened again. Another state budget is proposed by the Executive, wherein the Adirondack Park Agency’s legislated job is mischaracterized by this Governor’s (and former governors’) budget divisions as working “to achieve a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development opportunities for the residents of the Adirondack Park” (2023 Executive Budget Briefing Book).

Balance is an important goal to strive for in our individual lives. However, nothing in the Adirondack Park Agency law, now reaching 50 years old in May, calls for “a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development.” [Read more…] about The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

State Rebuilding of High Peaks Wilderness Roads Challenged in Court

January 30, 2023 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

On January 20, 2023, Protect the Adirondacks filed a lawsuit challenging the reconstruction by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) of a previously closed and reclaimed road in the High Peaks Wilderness Complex. Protect argues that DEC’s road construction activity in the High Peaks violates the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (Master Plan) which prohibits roads in Wilderness Areas. [Read more…] about State Rebuilding of High Peaks Wilderness Roads Challenged in Court

Gibson: DEC & APA Should Reform Managing Adirondack Lakes and Ponds

November 5, 2022 by David Gibson 1 Comment

At Adirondack Wild’s October meeting at the Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center, lakes and ponds came under the spotlight in a panel discussion about Cooperative Stewardship of Adirondack Lakes. Of particular interest was a given lake’s classification and subsequent comprehensive study, planning and management.

If Adirondack waterbodies are considered part of the Forest Preserve, and for the last fifty years the State Land Master Plan talks about land and water, then the law requires that lakes and ponds be classified, just as forests are. That raises important questions. [Read more…] about Gibson: DEC & APA Should Reform Managing Adirondack Lakes and Ponds