It’s not every day that one gets to see a well-worn aphorism ring true. The philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  In the Adirondacks this is now playing out at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Recreation Area. The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) manages this area for a variety of winter Olympic sports – cross-country skiing, biathlon, bobsled, and luge, among others. It’s also a popular cross-country ski area for the public, and starting in 2018 it became the staging area for a new trail to Cascade Mountain, where the public » >>More

The Adirondack Park Agency will hold its March meeting on Thursday and Friday, March 14 and 15 at its headquarters in Ray Brook.  Here are some of the items on the agenda and the Adirondack Council’s reaction to them:  Presentation on Delegation Authority: Overall the Council recognizes the authority of the APA Board to delegate approval authority in accordance with section 809 of the APA Act and as specified within the APA’s Rules and Regulations. To date the authority vested in the Deputy Director of Regulatory Programs has been appropriate to accommodate various items that are deemed routine, non-controversial, and >>More

Saranac Lake based Northern Power & Light, Inc. has gained approval to operate under a new program created by New York State that allows electric customers to purchase a share of the electricity from a small renewable generator. The company operates a a 700 kW hydroelectric plant, Azure Mountain Power, in St Regis Falls. As generators under the program produce power, it creates a credit on the customer’s utility bill, similar to rooftop solar. Small renewable energy generators like NP&L then collect for the value of the credits on behalf of the generator. The total cost to the customer stays >>More

Jack Drury’s recent essay promoting the use of E-bikes opens with the challenge facing an older but reasonably well conditioned body attempting to keep up with younger bicycle riders. Jack articulates well what many of us baby boomers are feeling as we take up a ski, paddle, hike, or bike with younger friends and colleagues. We think we are reasonably fit, but how to keep up? Especially, as Jack wondered, on the uphill sections? For the peddling portion of this “keep up with our younger friends” challenge, Jack promotes the » Continue Reading. View original post.

“It’s Debatable” appears in each issue of the Adirondack Explorer. This essay by Adirondack North Country Association’s Sean Connin is a companion piece to “Debatable: Should Renewable Energy Be An APA Priority? No” by John Droz Jr., physicist and environmental advocate at Brantingham Lakes. Locally sourced renewable energy — whether from wood, water, wind, sun, geothermal, or plant and animal waste — is important to the park’s future. It provides a multiplier for local economies, builds on traditions of self-reliance, and can provide environmental and social benefits. The trick is to design these renewable projects and practices to fit the local >>More