wilderness

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

Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms, Part 2

October 17, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for development of a “Visitor Use Management” Plan for the Central High Peaks Wilderness Area in the Adirondack Park and the Kaaterskill Clove/Route 23A corridor of the Catskill Park.

The RFP marks a major step forward in DEC’s efforts to evaluate and address a series of impacts to the natural resources, the visitor experience, and public safety due to high recreational use in these two popular destinations on the New York State Forest Preserve. [Read more…] about Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms, Part 2

Key Tract Connecting Adirondacks to Canada’s Algonquin Park Protected

October 13, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Northeast Wilderness Trust, a regional land trust based in Montpelier, Vermont, purchased 1,400 acres in Russell, St. Lawrence County, NY to establish the Grasse River Wilderness Preserve.

The purchase is the most recent conservation success within the Algonquin-to-Adirondack (A2A) wildlife corridor, and New York’s newest forever-wild Adirondack Forest Preserve. The land will be open to the public for on-foot, backcountry exploration. [Read more…] about Key Tract Connecting Adirondacks to Canada’s Algonquin Park Protected

Peter Bauer: Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms

October 6, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

2022 may end up as the year some of the most important reforms in New York State Forest Preserve management were started, both in practice and in theory.

Forest Preserve management reform has been a long time coming as the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is responsible for the care and custody of the Forest Preserve, has struggled for years with how to improve its overall management program.

Small changes have been attempted at various points, but no major reforms have been successfully brought to the DEC’s Forest Preserve management. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: Important NYS Forest Preserve Management Reforms

Schenectady and the Adirondacks: A Legacy of Conservation

July 29, 2022 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

Schenectady has a long history of its residents being active in conservation and outdoor recreation – in Schenectady County and in the wilderness of the North Country, alike.

Schenectadians’ interest in protecting and exploring wilderness has its roots in the mid 1800s with industrialization and westward expansion. The wilderness was at risk of disappearing, and influential nature lovers used their writings to convince Americans that preserving land and wildlife was vital. Many Americans, including people in Schenectady, could easily see the case for this. [Read more…] about Schenectady and the Adirondacks: A Legacy of Conservation

A Constitutional Amendment Proposed for Mt. Van Hoevenberg

May 26, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

An Article 14 Constitutional Amendment is being proposed for the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex in the Adirondack Park outside Lake Placid.

At the Mt. Van Hoevenberg complex, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) currently manages around 1,220 acres of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of land owned by the Town of North Elba.

Together this complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities, with most of the intensive buildings and facilities located on the town lands. These facilities have seen massive upgrades and state spending in preparation for hosting the World University Games in 2023. [Read more…] about A Constitutional Amendment Proposed for Mt. Van Hoevenberg

Peter Bauer: It’s Time For A Cathead Mountain Amendment

April 7, 2022 by Peter Bauer 2 Comments

Hamilton County has been trying to expand its emergency communications network for years. The county has dead spots for not only cell service but for its emergency communications system too, especially in the southern part of the county.

The only viable option for the county, given the widely and most commonly used emergency communications equipment in New York State, is to expand its network of line-of-sight towers powered through utility lines, with emergency backups, and are accessible by motor vehicle for servicing. The south end of Hamilton County has limited police and EMT communications service. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: It’s Time For A Cathead Mountain Amendment

Ed Zahniser On Wilderness & New York State

January 9, 2022 by Edward Zahniser 4 Comments

New York State’s Forest Preserve lands of the Adirondacks and Catskills are living fossils of the broad 19th-century movement to protect wild forests of the federal public lands in the West as forest reserves and not as national forest sources of fiber, forage, and minerals.

New York State’s Forest Preserve lands therefore are living proof that the wilderness preservation movement is not an upstart 20th-century offshoot of the mainstream American conservation movement. [Read more…] about Ed Zahniser On Wilderness & New York State

New Adirondack Coalition Launches Campaign

December 14, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new coalition is launching a campaign for to protect the Adirondacks.

The Forever Adirondacks Campaign Director Aaron Mair released a 15-point agenda for protecting clean water, creating new jobs and preserving wilderness in the Adirondack Park.

State officials are about to set their budget priorities for the 2022-23 fiscal year. [Read more…] about New Adirondack Coalition Launches Campaign

Adirondack Mountains National Park? In 1967 There Was A Plan

November 18, 2021 by David Gibson Leave a Comment

On a fall Saturday afternoon in the early 1990s some friends and I met up with wilderness coalition leader Paul Schaefer (1908-1996) at his cabin in Bakers Mills, northern Warren County, NY. Deciding to spend the night, we drove Paul into nearby North Creek for something to eat.

We tried the area’s hotel. One of the hotel staff took a look at Paul’s red plaid hunting jacket and asked him if could change into something more formal. At that, we turned heel and, walking across the street, entered Smith’s Restaurant.

Paul was immediately comfortable, having eaten here many times. Someone greeted him, a fellow deer hunter who remembered him. We took a booth and Paul ordered a steak. [Read more…] about Adirondack Mountains National Park? In 1967 There Was A Plan