About Gwendolyn Craig

Gwen is an award-winning journalist covering environmental policy for the Explorer since January 2020. She also takes photos and videos for the Explorer's magazine and website. She is a current member of the Legislative Correspondents Association of New York. Gwen has worked at various news outlets since 2015. Prior to moving to upstate New York, she worked for a D.C. Metro-area public relations firm, producing digital content for clients including the World Health Organization, the Low Income Investment Fund and Rights and Resources Initiative. She has a master's degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She has bachelor's degrees in English and journalism, with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology, from the University of Connecticut. Gwen is also a part-time figure skating coach. Contact her at (518) 524-2902 or gwen@adirondackexplorer.org. Sign up for Gwen’s newsletter here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Boreas says

    I don’t know if it has been considered, but perhaps a compromise would be to use various Wildlife Management Areas on a rotational basis for these military exercises. Part of the current management of these areas is to clear-cut 5-10 acre parcels out of the forest to open up the canopy for wildlife that need this early succession habitat. If some less-critical WMAs that are not too close to human population areas could be identified, they could be put into a ROTATION with perhaps private in-holdings and timber lands for these operations. But I AM opposed to ongoing military operations that would have a deleterious effect on Forest Preserve lands and critical wildlife.

  2. Richard Faulkner says

    We need to support our military. They are one of the reasons this country still exists and is free. I don’t think that a little amount of temporary jet noise is to much to endure. This country does face real threats and we need to have a well trained ,well equipped force to protect us should the need arise again.

  3. Richard says

    Thus is a bad idea all around. The negative impact on the peace and tranquility is reason enough noy to do it. How many small animals are frightened to death from just fireworks let alone a sonic boom. The avalanche issue would be another concern in winter and what of any potential crashes in the wilderness where a fire would destroy who knows how much land. The military can fly their jets over water and be safer, international waters sound about like the best place for them. The military will push any agenda without any hesitation on negative impacts as long as they get what they think they need. Fort drum’s surrounding area is a total shit hole leveled and left barren, if given more liberation the Adirondack park and surrounding areas will suffer and be destroyed.

  4. BADIDEA says

    I am extremely opposed to military anywhere in the Adirondacks.

    The Adirondacks were founded as a place for relaxation and to cure TB in cure cottages.

    Calm and peaceful. I, for one, have a severe severe anxiety disorder and I, like many others, chose to move to the Adks to avoid the noise and insaneness of the city. And now you want to give me PTSD by allowing these yahoo’s to practice in my area?

    I called and called and called every military base and representative to get them to stop the sonic booms over my town. One has not happened since my doctors since cease and desist letters.

    The army has large complexes that the general public is not allowed in for this very reason.

  5. Nomowar says

    After 20 years of “forever wars” in which the 10th Mountain Division has had a leading role, hasn’t the time come to declare victory, end the wars, demobilize the 10th, deploy it’s soldiers to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and re-wild 100,000 screws of Ft. Drum?

    Enough is enough. The constant thunder of jets and helicopters over the western Adirondacks should end. Peacefully.

  6. Captain Venn says

    So you want the young age military men and women not to have exercises and drills in a state park? But I guarantee if terrorists were in your town you’d want them to act swiftly with everything the military has to keep u safe. So let them do there thing stop your crying like a typical liberal snowflake does when
    He doesn’t get his way.

  7. Vanessa says

    It’s a really big park, and I’m glad there are environmentalists on the committee to decide training sites. I agree that troops camping and practicing survival in the woods is very low impact. Low altitude fly-bys are a LOT less so.

    I know pilots are very well trained, but aren’t lower altitude flights generally speaking less safe? I was born near an air base in PA and a pilot had a malfunction that caused a plane to crash into a local building. Crashes in a remote area are bad everyone, even the environment (fire hazard).

    If you know me you might be surprised to hear that I don’t think military training should be politicized. The wars we send these soldiers are asinine and done only for corporate profit – I’ll forever oppose those – but as long as you really can take care of the environment, of course train troops to the best extent possible.

  8. Jeff says

    “That’s the Army going out and camping,” he said. “What’s the difference between that and someone getting stuff from REI (outdoors store) and camping?”

    Well, I don’t know about you, but when I go camping, I don’t bring a 50,000 pound CH-47 Chinook helicopter that burns 350 gallons of fuel per hour and is loud enough to wake the dead.

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