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)…
The nonprofit advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve has written to Governor Kathy Hochul asking her to strengthen the make-up of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) this spring. The organization asks the Governor to nominate individuals who will add urgently required legal, planning, and environmental perspectives, expertise, independence, and competence to APA decisions…
By David Gibson Earlier this century, a group from the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) were asked by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, to begin to tackle the problem of determining the carrying capacity of Adirondack lakes and ponds. It had been four decades since the 1972…
by David Gibson Transparency is defined as the quality of allowing light to pass through so that objects can be distinctly seen. When considering the transparency of public agencies, take the Adirondack Park Agency for instance, it is not just about the APA making information publicly available, but making that publicly available information understandable, intelligible,…
by David Gibson Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve welcomes the announcement this month of new conservation easements at the historic Follensby Pond, providing public recreational access off the Raquette River, long-term ecological research, guided and managed visitation to the historic Pond, and stewardship of the Pond which includes applied indigenous knowledge guided by…
by David Gibson When it comes to the Adirondacks and the “forever wild” provision of our state constitution, a number of us just lost a great, very determined, and very influential teacher in that field of green. Charles C. “Charlie” Morrison died this week in his mid-90s. After a long career as a natural resource…