The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
New York State has added 156 acres on southern Lake Champlain to the forever-wild Forest Preserve, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced today. Known as Chubbs Dock property, the tract includes 2,140 feet of shoreline and seventy acres of wetlands in the town of Dresden. It is in a wildlife travel corridor connecting the…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation hopes to reconstruct this fall the popular boat launch at Second Pond, which gives boaters access to the Saranac Lakes State Campground. DEC plans to replace the existing boat ramp, build a separate facility for canoes and kayaks, and provide additional parking. It also wants to change the boundaries…
By Phil Brown
The logging road to Madawaska Flow and Quebec Brook, waterways acquired by the state in 1998, is closed to the public, the Adirondack Explorer has learned. I intended to drive to Madawaska on Sunday to take photos for a paddling guidebook and was surprised to find the gate locked. A sign indicated that the road…
By Phil Brown
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has come out in favor of reopening the rail line between North Creek and Tahawus, which some environmentalists argue would violate the forever-wild clause of the state constitution. In a letter to the Federal Surface Transportation Board, Schumer said the line would provide “much needed economic development and jobs in…
By Phil Brown
After years of negotiation and some controversy, the state has finalized an agreement that will allow more than two hundred hunting camps to remain on timberlands formerly owned by Champion International. In 1998, the state entered an agreement with Champion to purchase 29,000 acres in the Adirondacks and preserve another 110,000 with conservation easements…
By Phil Brown
He had a watch but was afraid to look at it. Instead he tried to gauge time by the slow movement of the stars across the sky. Alas, he forgot that he set his watch alarm for 4 a.m. “When it went off, I was disappointed,” he said. “I knew I had to wait some more.”…
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to allow more hunting and/or trapping of bobcats in many parts of the state, including the Adirondacks. In a draft five-year management plan, DEC reports that the state’s bobcat population—now estimated to be five thousand—has been growing, especially in the Southern Tier. Roughly twice the size of housecats,…
By Phil Brown
A longtime conservationist has been named assistant commissioner for natural resources at the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Kathleen Moser was picked to replace Christopher Amato, who left the post earlier this month after four and a half years on the job. Moser’s new responsibilities include oversight of the Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and…
By Phil Brown
A former International Paper official has been named director of the Region 5 office of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. In his new post, Robert Stegemann will oversee an office that, among other things, manages the eastern two-thirds of the Adirondack Park. He begins on Monday, replacing Betsy Lowe, who resigned last month. “Bob’s…
By Phil Brown
The Adirondack Council wants the state to purchase or otherwise protect a 2,257-acre parcel near Poke-o-Moonshine Mountain that is on the market for $2,275,000. Dubbed Burnt Pond Forest, the tract lies just southwest of Poke-o-Moonshine, bordering state Forest Preserve. It is being marketed by LandVest, a real-estate company that deals in timberlands the Northeast. In…