Join me for a climate talk

I hope you’ll join me for a virtual conversation about green energy and climate initiatives happening here in the Adirondacks.

It is free and open to the public. Mark your calendars for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. I’ll talk to some familiar folks featured in our last issue, and we’ll have a new voice or two added in the mix. You can ask questions, too. Click here to register.

The Adirondack Park Agency had an eventful four-hour meeting last week. Some technical difficulties made it a challenge, but we might see a new meeting format next month.

The board approved a National Grid upgrade project replacing a number of transmission lines. It also approved updates to a general permit treating invasive species. There was much discussion about the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid discovered this summer on the eastern shores of Lake George. I’ve got a few stories in the hopper about this, so keep checking our website.

I live close to Lake George, and was fortunate enough to get out for some hikes there this weekend. I’m supposed to be impartial as a journalist, but I can now spot hemlock trees more than ever before. Knowing there is a pest here that kills them and seeing the number of trees at risk is frankly heartbreaking. I’ll address what’s being done about it more in our November/December issue. 

We keep reporting about the popularity of the High Peaks, but Lake George is also seeing its fair share of traffic. Click here to see my short video of cars along the trailhead to Thomas and Cat Mountains in Bolton. And here is a video from the summit.

Our mid-morning Saturday hike was bustling with other hikers, but our sunset hike on Sunday was complete solitude. Both were stunning views. I’m glad others are getting outside and appreciating this beautiful place. When more appreciate it, more want to protect it.