The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
The state plans to combine the High Peaks Wilderness and Dix Mountain Wilderness after the Adirondack Park Agency classifies the Boreas Ponds Tract and other nearby lands. Kathy Regan, the APA’s deputy director, told the agency’s board Thursday that the expanded High Peaks Wilderness would encompass 274,000 acres, making it by far the largest Wilderness…
By Phil Brown
In separate incidents, state forest rangers recently rescued three hikers hurt on icy trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Here is the latest Rangers Report from the Department of Environmental Conservation. Town of Roxbury Delaware County Search: On Jan. 21 at around 8:20 a.m., the New York State Police contacted DEC’s Central Dispatch requesting Forest…
By Phil Brown
Several environmental groups are applauding a recommendation by the Adirondack Park Agency staff to classify most of the 20,543-acre Boreas Ponds Tract as motor-free Wilderness. The APA board is expected to begin discussing the recommendation at its meeting next Thursday and vote on it the next day. The agency’s staff considered five classification schemes. The…
By Phil Brown
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has written a letter to a federal agency condemning the storage of empty tanker cars on a rail line in the central Adirondacks. “The Adirondack Park is a uniquely valuable and vulnerable natural resource, and is protected by the New York State Constitution as ‘forever wild,’ and is just about the…
By Phil Brown
Old Mountain Road in the Sentinel Range Wilderness has been the subject of legal battles for more than a decade. The state says it was long ago abandoned, but Jim McCulley, president of the Lake Placid Snowmobile Club, contends it remains a town road and should be open to motor vehicles. The “road” is part…
By Phil Brown
A snowboarder was rescued by helicopter after injuring himself on Mount Marcy. The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the man punctured his mouth on a stick, presumably in a fall. It is one of four incidents described in DEC’s latest Ranger Report, which follows. Town of Brasher St. Lawrence County Rescue: On Jan. 8…
By Phil Brown
As mentioned in an earlier post, I recently toured Andalusia in southern Spain with my girlfriend and daughter. On my last two days, I went rock climbing, the first day in El Chorro, one of Spain’s premier climbing destinations, the second day at two nearby locales. I hired a guide, Victoria Foxwell of the Rock…
By Phil Brown
The Open Space Institute has acquired a 1,285-acre property that will facilitate access to Huckleberry Mountain, a crag in the southeastern Adirondacks with great views and dozens of rock-climbing routes. Katharine Petronis, OSI’s northern program manager, said the non-profit organization will sell the property to the state for inclusion in the public Forest Preserve. That…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is advising recreationists to be prepared for winter conditions in the Adirondacks. With this week’s storm, snow depths in the region range from two to eighteen inches. Following is DEC’s news release. The recent snowstorm is providing good conditions for winter outdoor recreation in the Adirondack backcountry, New York…
By Phil Brown
State forest rangers and law-enforcement personnel searching for a missing hunter found him “in an unresponsive state,” evidently under the influence of drugs, in central New York over the weekend. The search for the hunter is one of four incidents in DEC’s latest Ranger Report. The full report follows: Town of Colonie Albany County Prescribed…