The Lake George Land Conservancy (LGLC) hosted its 3rd annual Amy’s Adventure Race for the Lake at Amy’s Park in Bolton on Saturday, September 28th. This year’s race included 52 competitors ranging in ages between 23-72, and another 20 Next Generation (NextGen) Committee members and volunteers who helped organize and run the successful event. The overall winner, Volker Burkowski, was also the defending 2018 champion, who shaved one minute off of his time and finished the rugged 4.5-mile-race in 36 minutes and 8 seconds. The female winner this year was Kaley Bell, a third-time Amy’s racer, who » Continue Reading. >>More
Archive for the ‘Outdoor Recreation’ Category
Time To Reconsider An Old Idea, A High Peaks Permit System
Credit goes to the Department of Environmental Conservation and its Region 5 facilitators for including a “break-out” session on Permits at its late July High Peaks-Route 73 stakeholder meeting at the Keene Central School. After all, the very word “permit” has been an electrified “third rail” (hazardous, indeed) topic for years. That was not always the case, however. In 1978, the first draft of a High Peaks Unit Management Plan included a section on “individual user controls” with eight alternatives along a spectrum ranging from mandatory registration and reservation permit systems, to no controls at all. Alternative C, reservation » >>More
Chainsaw Safety Course Offered For Landowners
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County is set to hold a chainsaw safety workshop on Monday, October 21st. Mike Burns will present an instructional program for the occasional chainsaw user on safe operation and risk mitigation. The workshop will cover the anatomy of a chainsaw, maintenance of a chainsaw, what safety gear to wear, proper cutting of standing and laying trees, and more. This program is geared toward the person who needs to operate a saw occasionally but not as a vocation. This workshop is not suitable for NYLT or DEC certification. The » Continue Reading. View original post.
Guide Ticketed For Hunting Without A License, Improper Firearm
Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Jennifer Okonuk reported that on September 21, she encountered several migratory bird hunters in Northern Franklin County during the early goose and youth waterfowl hunting seasons. ECO Okonuk said one group of hunters from Maine was guided by a licensed guide outfitter, but three of the hunters failed to have their required New York Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. The licensed guide also failed to possess a valid hunting license, she said. None of the hunters had their guns plugged as required, and the guns were all capable of holding » Continue >>More
BETA Bike and Ski Trail Volunteer Days Secheduled
Barkeater Trails Alliance has announced fall volunteer trail days, the first set for Sunday, October 6th, from noon to 4 pm. This is a half day project where will clean up a new trail corridor on the new Cobble Hill Trail System, above the golf course in Elizabethtown. Work will mostly involve pulling stumps and cleaning up the cleared corridor for winter use . Meet at the Elizabethtown water tank parking area on Cobble Hill. From the Keene/Lake Placid area, take 9N toward Etown. Immediately after the intersection with Lord Rd (on your left), turn right (see red pin » >>More
ADK’s High Peaks Volunteer Program
Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) has partnered with Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company, to fund the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) volunteer host program. Located at one of the most popular trailheads in the Adirondack High Peaks, the HPIC is a major thoroughfare for hikers to get on the trail and begin their trek. In 2017, from the beginning of July through the end of August, there were 27, 251 registered hikers at the Heart Lake Property trailheads located at the HPIC and Adirondack Loj. ADK reports that each year around 35% of » Continue Reading. View original post.
Adirondack Rangers: Woman, Dog Rescued; Lower Saranac Body Recovery
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry. What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks. Essex County Town of North Elba Wilderness Rescue: On September 28 at 8:28 pm, Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch from a man reporting a woman with an upper >>More
Battles Over Boreas Ponds Brought Access to Wild Lands
Just after Labor Day weekend this year, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completed its work to fully open up public access to the Boreas Ponds, in the southern High Peaks Wilderness Area. These beautiful ponds are now easily accessible for people to either canoe or to hike. New state facilities were constructed over the past two years to rehabilitate the six-mile-long Gulf Brook Road, build parking lots, public education kiosks, a canoe carry and canoe launches to make this extraordinary natural wonder fully accessible to the public. The reconstructed road and new access points opens a new southern gateway >>More
2019 State of the Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Council’s 2019-20 State of the Park report is subtitled “Challenged by Success,” noting that the success of state tourism campaigns is straining the park’s lands and waters, as record numbers of hikers climb the state’s tallest mountains and as recreational boating and off-road vehicles gain popularity. The challenge is especially noticeable in the High Peaks Wilderness Area, but can be seen in popular locations throughout the park, the report notes. State of the Park is the organization’s annual comprehensive assessment of the actions of local, state and federal government officials. This 38th edition rates 106 separate » Continue >>More
Featured Trail: Village Trail, Boquet River Nature Preserve
The Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has opened a half-mile trail connecting Willsboro’s Main Street with the Boquet River Nature Preserve’s existing trail network. The trail provides convenient access to the Conservancy’s 120-acre preserve, and gives a further boost to the village’s ongoing downtown revitalization. The natural dirt and stone trail, which features 60 stone steps, is the latest improvement the Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter has made to the preserve. In 2017, the Conservancy opened Tim’s Trail, a mile-long, wheelchair-accessible loop that is the second-longest such trail in the Adirondacks. A year before, crews upgraded the River Trail » Continue >>More
