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By Phil Brown
In its proposed amendment to the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest management plan, the state DEC sets forth a goal of creating two networks of mountain biking trails just north of Blue Ridge Road.
By Phil Brown
Backcountry skiers have long complained that state agencies have given them short shrift when it comes to accommodating their sport in the Forest Preserve. One major complaint is that years ago the state Department of Environmental Conservation transformed part of the Wright Peak Ski Trail into a hiking trail; the subsequent narrowing and eroding of…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has compiled 132 pages of public comments and responses regarding its proposals in the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest. The Adirondack Park Agency is expected to vote on whether to approve DEC’s proposals this Friday. About ten pages of comments and responses pertain to concerns raised by…
By Phil Brown
Protect the Adirondacks wants motorboats banned from Weller Pond and Little Weller Pond near Middle Saranac Lake. If you agree, you have until Friday to submit comments to the Adirondack Park Agency. In a draft unit management plan (UMP) for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, the state Department of Environmental Conservation did not ban motorboats from the two ponds, but it is proposing to impose a 5-mph speed limit.
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has finalized its proposed changes to the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest unit management plans, and the Adirondack Park Agency is expected vote on them next week.
By Phil Brown
The Adirondack Climbers Coalition is urging its members to submit comments to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure that the rock-climbing community’s voice is heard as DEC prepares changes to the High Peaks Wilderness management plan. The ACC is concerned about DEC’s plan to ban parking along the shoulders of Route 73, which…
By Phil Brown
If proposals for new state lands win approval, people could be driving most of the way to Boreas Ponds later this year. The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to build a six-car parking area a tenth of a mile from the ponds and a ten-car parking area about a mile away. Rob Davies, director…
By Phil Brown
The Adirondack Park Agency board voted Thursday to fast-track a number of proposals for the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderhacker Wild Forest, including tens of thousands of acres of newly acquired state lands. Some environmental groups contend the agency is moving too fast. Among other things, the proposals call for parking lots that would allow…
By Phil Brown
Several years ago we skied two High Peaks in spring with Ron Konowitz. We did a few laps in the bowl on Algonquin Peak, climbed over Wright Peak, and descended the Wright Peak Ski Trail. The Wright Peak trail is one of the few trails designed for down-mountain skiing in the Adirondacks. It was built…
By Phil Brown
Soon after the state purchased the MacIntyre East Tract, Brian Mann and I explored it by paddling the Hudson and the Opalescent rivers. We launched our canoes beneath a bridge over the Hudson and took out at a spot where the river abuts the Tahawus Road. From the bridge we paddled down the Hudson through…