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The Department of Environmental Conservation shot a bull moose that was acting strangely near Lake Placid last fall to analyze it. Nothing was found wrong [“DEC defends moose killing,” May/June 2013]. DEC should have tranquilized it, then taken it to a wildlife-rescue facility to study it. What would you think if you took your dog…
Congratulations to Editor Phil Brown for his court victory on behalf of paddlers, which affirms the public’s right to travel over a waterway including Mud Pond, Mud Pond Outlet, and Shingle Shanty Brook in spite of private landowners’ claim they could bar access to the waters [“A victory for paddlers,” May/June 2013]. I assume the…
With regard to the question of whether or not to turn Adirondack railroad tracks into a bike path, I would like to add my views based on recent experience. My wife and I just spent a week bicycling rail trails in Pennsylvania. We went to Pennsylvania because that’s where we found the bike trails we…
A May/June letter to the editor [“Different route for rail trail”] suggested looking at other abandoned rail right-of-ways that do not have working tracks on them like the old D&H line. I was at White Pine Camp last week and looked at where that right-of-way runs though Gabriels, and it is now a large power-line…
The Adirondack Powder Skier Association strongly believes that human-powered, back-country skiing is a healthy activity that fits squarely within the beneficial recreational uses for the Forest Preserve. We are working with the state agencies to recognize that maintenance of back-country ski glades can be permitted under the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan. Essentially, we…
Don’t overlook the dangers of acid snow In your March/April 2013 issue there was an article by Paul Post titled “Undoing acid-rain damage.” Most everyone who writes about this issue does not address the total problem of acid precipitation and deposition. From my experience, acid snow has a major effect on the waters of the…
I have to agree with Russ Nelson of Potsdam [Letter to editor, March/April 2013] that to dismantle a functioning railroad in this day and age is a mistake. Just because it’s only used by an excursion train now does not exclude its possible use for scheduled passenger service and freight in the future. I know…
The article “Touring the Chateaugays” [January/February 2013] brought back many fond memories of the sixteen years I spent working at Camp Chateaugay—the children’s camp mentioned in the article. The boathouse of the camp was shown in the view up the narrows from the boat launch. I have paddled many times to Moffit Island—some trips in…
I keep coming back to your article “Skiing the quiet groves” [March/April 2013] (good trail, good experience, good writing) and feel it deserves a comment. The Peavine is good in all seasons, and can be as short or long as time allows. It would make a nice overnighter to the shelter from the Route 3…
Your recent article about the railroad vs. a rail trail, “Towns skeptical of train,” [January/February 2012} was interesting, fair, and unbiased. Unfortunately the comments from Kate Fish of the Adirondack North Country Association and Garry Douglas of the state-sponsored North Country Regional Economic Development Council were not. The North Country Association’s mission is building local…