Pete Nelson 11/29/24 Pete Nelson 11/29/24

People with Disabilities have a Right to Accommodations – So Does Wilderness

It has long been a characteristic of human societies that oppressed classes end up pitted against each other, as though one is the cause of the other’s oppression. When it comes to the matter of improved access to the Forest Preserve for those with disabilities, let’s not let it happen here in the Adirondacks.

Bill Ingersoll 4/7/23 Bill Ingersoll 4/7/23

Nighttime in the Afternoon: Planning for the Great Adirondack Eclipse

Get ready for a total solar eclipse in the Adirondacks.

Bill Ingersoll 11/17/21 Bill Ingersoll 11/17/21

The Lady of Crane Mountain

Although its summit elevation of 3254 feet falls well short of the Adirondacks’ highest peaks, few mountains present a profile as stunning as Crane Mountain. It rises over 1900 feet above the nearby hamlet of Thurman, with steep, rocky slopes on its southeastern and southwestern faces. Except for Huckleberry Mountain, which huddles nearby like a child following close behind its mother, this peak stands apart from all of its closest neighbors.

Kayla White 11/2/21 Kayla White 11/2/21

Stewardship Within the Adirondack Park

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has long depended on — and partnered with — organizations to deploy stewards. From summits to trailheads to water access points, these stewards help educate the public on responsible recreation and enlist their help in protecting the Forest Preserve.

Pete Nelson 9/27/21 Pete Nelson 9/27/21

VUM Topic of Next Wilderness Webinar

Visitor Use Management (VUM) is getting a lot of attention in discussions about how best to manage and protect the Forest Preserve. But what is it and how can it benefit the Adirondack Park? How does it relate to the recently-released advisory reports for managing the High Peaks Wilderness?

Barbara McMartin 9/7/21 Barbara McMartin 9/7/21

So Much Work to be Done

McMartin was an outspoken advocate for trails….This “Short History” attempts to defend that position by arguing New York State has never developed a master plan for hiking trails, and that the hiking trail network as it existed during her lifetime happened more or less by historical accident….we are debating many of the same topics that occupied much of her career. Thus there is a timeliness in posthumously publishing one of her final essays now.

Barbara McMartin 8/22/21 Barbara McMartin 8/22/21

Trails in the Mountain Pleasure Grounds

….So, how did all these routes get to be state trails? The Laws of 1895 authorized the state to lay out paths in the newly created Adirondack Park. There is little evidence that anything was done at that time. In 1909 Governor Hughes advocated trails and roads to give greater access to the “mountain pleasure grounds.” As it turned out, recreational trail building by the state began a few years later, not because of Hughes’ plans, but in a rather circuitous way.