The Adirondack Almanack

Are New State Land Classifications A Done Deal?

Peter Bauer — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:00:38 +0000

It sure seems like a done deal.

The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) has promulgated seven “alternatives” for public hearing for the official classification of new and existing Forest Preserve lands on the Hudson River and around the Essex Chain Lakes. But these public hearings seem like pure theater because one of the alternatives is the preferred option of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and it sure seems like a sure thing that the APA will end up approving the DEC’s plan.

The DEC’s preferred option is alternative 4b [pdf] in the APA classification package, centered on a “Wild Forest Special Management Area” around the Essex Chain Lakes. The other six alternatives, which » Continue Reading.

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Adirondack Wildlife: Be Careful of Roadside Moose

Diane Chase — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:30:13 +0000

I don’t usually count the first time I saw a moose because I didn’t know what it was. My previous experience with antlered animals was completely defined by Saturday morning cartoons.

The strange animal that crossed the highway in front of my car, looked nothing like the moose I knew, with its easily identifiable antlers. That first experience was cut short due to an impatient driver who chose to pull around me into oncoming traffic, narrowly missing the female moose.

At that time I was so concerned with the possibility of a three-car pile-up that I didn’t notice the large creature quietly disappear into the woods. I went home » Continue Reading.

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Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration Next Weekend

Editorial Staff — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:45 +0000

The 11th annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration is scheduled for next weekend, 31 May – 2 June 2013, at the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths, New York.

The event features field trips to boreal birding hot spots, informative lectures, and workshops. Field trips include: an all-day Birding Across the Adirondacks trip on Friday, plus a selection of half-day field trips on Saturday and Sunday (Birding by Ear at the VIC, Beginner Birder Workshop at the VIC, Bloomingdale Bog, Intervale Lowlands, Little Clear Pond for loons, Madawaska Flow, Spring Pond Bog, and Whiteface Mountain).

The keynote speaker on Friday night is Sara R. Morris, professor of Biology and the Program Coordinator » Continue Reading.

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Rails AND Trails:10 Trails We Should Build Before Tearing-Up Rails

Jack Drury — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:06 +0000

A few years ago, I was talking with Adirondack Explorer publisher Dick Beamish when he asked me, “What do you think about the railroad? Should we have a train or a trail?” I thought for a second and responded, “I think we deserve both.” His response was simple. “We can’t have both. I think we should remove the rails and build a recreation trail.”

I didn’t think much about it for a year or so until I started reading about Adirondack Recreation Trail Advocates’ (ARTA) efforts to create “a contiguous recreation trail from Lake Placid to Old Forge.” I recalled my original perspective on the issue, and it had not changed. We deserve both a railroad » Continue Reading.

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10 Trails We Should Build Before Tearing-Up Rails appeared first on The Adirondack Almanack.

Judge: Hudson River Rafting Company Can Resume Business

Phil Brown — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:06:47 +0000

A state Supreme Court judge has ruled that Hudson River Rafting Company must post a $50,000 performance bond to stay in business and pay $12,000 in fines for violations of the law.

However, Justice Richard Giardino refused the state’s request to shut down the rafting company for good. He also dismissed the state’s claim that the company had engaged in false advertising by billing its rafting trips as safe.

In a May 15 decision, Giardino noted that Patrick Cunningham, the owner, “was a pioneer in the industry and … has provided guided river excursions with rafts, kayaks and canoes for over thirty years.” During that time, the court added, Cunningham and his employees “have » Continue Reading.

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Bug Season: Some Tips For Avoiding Black Flies

Tom Kalinowski — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:47 +0000

Late May and early June is the peak of black fly season in the Adirondacks, and the intensity and aggressiveness of the swarms of these small, dark-colored biting bugs varies greatly from one location to another and from one year to the next. From all indications, this year seems to be one in which there is a definite abundance of black flies in our forests, much to the delight of numerous species of insect eating birds that migrate north to feast on the seasonal abundance of bugs, but much to the dismay of hikers, campers and canoeists that want a wilderness experience free of flying insect vermin. Black flies, also known as the buffalo gnats, form » Continue Reading.

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Clayton History: Joseph Lonsway and the Civil War

Lawrence P. Gooley — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:47:22 +0000

In “The Road Not Taken,” poet Robert Frost wrote of encountering two roads diverging in a wood: “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” That’s life in a nutshell: it’s all about decisions. When confronted with options, we make a choice. Sometimes even the first few moments that follow can change our lives forever. Such was the case with a North Country soldier, Private Joseph Lonsway of Clayton, New York (in Jefferson County, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River).

Lonsway was a member of the Union Army’s 20th NY Cavalry which, in October 1864, was on a mission to assess the enemy’s » Continue Reading.

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Options For New State Lands: Wilderness

Phil Brown — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:58 +0000

The state’s acquisition of 22,500 acres of former Finch, Pruyn lands from the Adirondack Nature Conservancy raises important questions about how these lands will be used and managed. The Adirondack Park Agency has submitted seven management proposals that will be discussed at public hearings this summer. The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) board could vote on a final proposal as early as August.

Adirondack Almanack has prepared a series of four articles to explain these proposals. In each article, we look at one proposal or two related proposals. The text will be accompanied by the APA map or maps showing the classification of the lands under the proposal in question. The maps will be the » Continue Reading.

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Photo: Northern Lights Across Brant Lake on Saturday

Carl Heilman II — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:00:31 +0000

A large sunspot has been active on the sun lately, and I happened to be up to see the glow of the aurora across Brant Lake in the wee hours of the Saturday morning. The moon was just setting on the horizon about 1 AM and I knew the skies would soon be nice and dark for capturing the gentle glow of the northern lights. This was a 50 sec. exposure with an f /2.8 11 mm wide angle lens on my Nikon D300S using an ISO of 800.

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Cabin Life: A Rock in the Garden

Justin A Levine — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:00:44 +0000

Despite the half inch of snow we got earlier this week, spring is rolling along. I jerry-rigged a rain barrel, and I like not having to rely on small supply of drinking water to take care of the garden. The thirty-five gallon barrel has a spigot on it and I set it up right next to the garden. Unfortunately, I do not yet have the barrel set up properly. I have a gutter that runs along the front porch, and a five gallon bucket that sits under the end of the gutter. When we get rain and the bucket fills, I take the bucket a few feet to the barrel and dump » Continue Reading.

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