Bearing Responsibility for the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan Former member of the Adirondack Park Agency and former chair of its State Land Committee, Dick Booth, offered this advice about the most significant, controversial legal issues facing APA during his time as one of its members (2008-16): prioritize, anticipate, prepare, be transparent, and issue…
Adirondack Wild Comments on 30 by 30 The New York State Draft Strategies and Methods for Conserving Thirty Percent of New York Lands and Waters by 2030 (hereafter “30 x 30”), introduced in early July 2024, is an outstanding first step in an effort to achieve a daunting objective in just 5 years. Adirondack Wild…
The Adirondacks – Where Wilderness Preservation Began Today is Sept. 3, 2024, the 60th anniversary since the National Wilderness Preservation Act was signed into law on Sept. 3, 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson.Today we celebrate the fact that the federal Wilderness Act protects: Did you know that the National Wilderness Act was modeled on New…
Judge dismisses defamation suit against Adirondack Explorer, Adirondack Wild Tupper Lake, NY – A ruling from Supreme Court in Franklin County on Aug. 23 has upheld State laws discouraging strategic lawsuits against public participation (known as SLAPP suits) by dismissing a lawsuit from a private commercial developer against Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve,…
Thirty Percent by 2030 New York State 30 x 30Conserving 30 Percent of Lands and Waters by 2030Draft Strategies and Methodology (July 2024) Kathy Hochul, Governor | Sean Mahar, Interim Commissioner | Randy Simons, Commissioner Pro Tempur State Legislation was passed in 2022 making New York a key player in a broad, national goal of…
Asserting the Public Trust at Lake George, 1909-1957 By Dave Gibson Before Adirondack conservation leader Paul Schaefer began to organize his coalitions and, after a titanic ten year struggle, finally defeat through public referendum proposed big dams on the South Branch of the Moose River and elsewhere (1945-1955), Paul’s mentor John S. Apperson (often known…
Article XIV places a duty of restraint on using herbicide in Lake George By Dave Gibson In a recent Times Union opinion, former Governor George Pataki appealed to current Governor Kathy Hochul to block the state’s immediate plan to apply the herbicide ProcellaCOR to kill Eurasian watermilfoil in Lake George. The stakes of using herbicide…
So Much for Interagency Coordination By Dave Gibson Adirondack Park Agency rules about project review procedures state, in part, that “The agency may enter into written agreements with other State agencies to enhance the exchange of information and to establish coordinated pre-application, application and review procedures…Any such agreements may provide that no application to the…
APA’s Bias Against Public Hearings Violates Their Mission by Dave Gibson The bias of Adirondack Park Agency executive staff against holding Agency public hearings is right out in the open, again, thanks to a recent article by Adirondack Explorer reporter Zachary Matson. There is no reason for APA staff to hide their bias against adjudicatory hearings since the APA…
Introduction by Dave Gibson, Managing Partner – Adirondack Wild In celebration of Earth Day 2024, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is pleased to make Paul Schaefer’s timeless and pioneering documentary films about the Adirondack Park digitally available here. Noted Adirondack wilderness leader, and founder of Friends of the Forest Preserve Paul Schaefer (1908-1996)…