New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s website reveals that 777,206 acres of private land in the Adirondack Park are protected by a state-owned conservation easement. During the Adirondack Park Centennial year of 1992 there were 93,000 acres of private lands under state-owned easement in the Park. That number jumped to 250,000 acres early in…
For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 24, 2021Contact: David Gibson, 518-469-4081 Chad Dawson Joins Adirondack Wild’s Board Dr. Chad P. Dawson, formerly a member of the NYS Adirondack Park Agency from 2016 until December 2020, has been elected to Adirondack Wild’s Board of Directors. Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is a not-for-profit membership organization which acts…
Previously, the Almanack has asked “which side are you on” when it comes to a court case involving Article 14, the “forever wild” provision of our state constitution. Recently, dueling press releases from plaintiff Protect the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Mountain Club, Open Space Institute, Adirondack Council, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve,…
Chad Dawson recently resigned from the NYS Adirondack Park Agency after four plus years of service because, despite much effort, he eventually felt he was a voice in the wilderness asking for higher standards in analysis of how best to manage our Adirondack Wilderness, Wild Forest, Primitive and Canoe areas to avoid compromising their…
February 8, 2021Steven GuglielmiNYS Dept of Environmental ConservationBox 296, Rt. 86Ray Brook, NY 12977Matthew McNamaraNYS Adirondack Park AgencyP.O. Box 99Ray Brook, NY 12977 Re. Debar Complex and Debar Lodge Comments Gentlemen:Adirondack Wild is pleased to comment on the proposed Debar Mountain Complex Unit Management Plan and proposed Debar Lodge Intensive Use Area.I. Proposed Debar Lodge…
As the decade of the 1990’s began, noted Adirondack conservationist and wilderness coalition leader Paul Schaefer’s eyesight was failing. He had macular degeneration. We had noticed that this skilled carpenter, home and cabin builder and historic restorationist was no longer hitting the nail squarely on its head. We worried about him continuing to drive.…
January 13, 2021Ariel LynchAdirondack Park AgencyP.O. Box 99Ray Brook, NY 12977RE: APA Project 2018-0123, Woodward Lake Dear Ms. Lynch: Adirondack Wild strongly believes that this subdivision of 1,169 acres of land classified as Resource Management and Rural Use into 34 lots surrounding Woodward Lake, for the reasons set forth herein and in our previous comments…
Historic and forest preservationists are at odds about the future of Debar Lodge, but formerly they joined hands. In 1983 their collaboration saved historic buildings at Camp Sagamore while expanding adjacent Forest Preserve by amendment of Article XIV of the NYS Constitution and saved the structures at Camp Santanoni by legislation. Both are designated National…
A second-home developer of undeveloped private lakes and forests in Fulton County has worn down the Adirondack Park Agency over the past two years. Thus far, the applicant is succeeding in placing his real estate sales and marketing goals far ahead of the APA’s responsibilities for natural resource protection and solid site design of human…
The stress of our sheer numbers on wild lands, other hikers, summit stewards, forest and assistant rangers and local communities and volunteers bordering Rtes. 73 and 86 this hiking season – and many before this – easily disconnects and untethers us from the historical and philosophical roots of wilderness preservation and management. None of what…