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Back in 2012, when Saratoga & North Creek Railway applied for an exemption to operate the rail line, they received an overwhelming voice of support from state lawmakers, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and other local and public officials. Although I was not directly involved with local government at the time, I have read the…
By Mike Lynch
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued guidance on how to prevent negative encounters with black bears. Nearly all negative bear encounters in New York are the result of hungry bears being attracted to human food sources. The simplest way to avoid a nuisance encounter is to remove potential food sources, which…
By Mike Lynch
Here is the statewide Forest Ranger report for April 9-16. Town of Fort Ann Washington County Search: On April 10 at 5:03 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a transferred call from Warren County 911. The caller had poor cell phone service, but stated she was lost near a campsite on Lake George. The call…
Forest rangers found the body of a missing hiker Friday on the OK Slip Falls Trail, which is located off from State Route 28 in Indian Lake, according to state police. The hiker was identified as 67-year-old Thomas J. Ullman of New Haven Connecticut. A state police investigation revealed that Ullman left his seasonal residence…
By Mike Lynch
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the release of the final Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan for New York. “Lake Sturgeon have been listed as a threatened species in New York since 1983, and this plan will provide DEC and our partners with a clear blueprint to achieve recovery…
Alongside the photographs accompanying John Thaxton’s otherwise unobjectionable article about crossbills in the January/February edition of Adirondack Explorer, I found this appalling claim: “Crossbills have bills that are designed to pry apart spruce cone scales to get at the seeds inside.” Now even some biologists will occasionally make the mistake of referring to evolutionary outcomes…
By Mike Lynch
The 13th Annual Paddling Film Festival will make an appearance at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts on Friday. The Paddling Film Festival is an international adventure film tour presenting the world’s best paddling films of the year – whitewater, sea kayaking, canoeing, action and lifestyle – in more than 120 cities and towns…
By Mike Lynch
Ice out appears to be at least a couple of weeks away on many of lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks. However, Long Lake has lost some of its ice cover north of the Route 30 bridge. Long Lake is part of the Raquette River, which flows north through the High Peaks Wilderness toward Coreys…
The long-awaited Boreas Ponds land classification decision by the Adirondack Park Agency in early February is worth celebrating. The classification will split the 20,543-acre tract into 11,412 acres of Wilderness, 9,118 acres of Wild Forest, which allows some motorized access, and a small Primitive Area. Another aspect that deserves notice: the vast public participation in…
By Phil Brown
I try to ski Mount Marcy every year around my birthday (March 30), and so I did the trip Thursday with Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio. It was the first time I skied the summit in a whiteout. The weather was mild and overcast when we started up the Van Hoevenberg Trail from…