Adirondack Wilderness Advocates 10/29/22 Adirondack Wilderness Advocates 10/29/22

Meet AWA at Albany Winter Sports Expo

AWA will be at the Adirondack Sports Winter Expo in Albany, NY.

Craig McGowan 10/25/22 Craig McGowan 10/25/22

The Wild West vs. the Reserved North

Let’s compare and contrast the Adirondacks with Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada.

Pete Nelson 10/19/22 Pete Nelson 10/19/22

Adapting to Jenkins Mountain

Chad Dawson knows a little bit about recreation and wilderness management. Professor Emeritus of Recreation Resources Management at SUNY ESF and a former APA Commissioner, Dawson is uniquely qualified to help shepherd the State of New York toward adaptive management, a new management paradigm for the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

Saikat Chakraborty 7/19/22 Saikat Chakraborty 7/19/22

Ode to the Adirondacks

The Adirondacks tell a story beyond words and images, historical data and climate records, provable facts and documented knowledge.

Bill Ingersoll 6/26/22 Bill Ingersoll 6/26/22

Adirondack Road Agency

Are roads in wild places a manufactured crisis? AWA co-founder Bill Ingersoll explores this topic.

Pete Nelson 6/22/22 Pete Nelson 6/22/22

Hiker Dispersal – Take the Survey!

What are your opinions on hiker dispersal? Let us know!

Ari Epstein 4/6/22 Ari Epstein 4/6/22

What to Watch in the AMR’s “Permitting Pilot”

Adirondack websites and social media are abuzz with news of a new pilot permit program that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) have agreed to. Some of the stakeholder organizations represented in the High Peaks Advisory Group (HPAG) have endorsed this pilot. AWA has not.

Adirondack Wilderness Advocates 3/5/22 Adirondack Wilderness Advocates 3/5/22

AWA to Attend Adirondack Sports Expo

Join Adirondack Wilderness Advocates at the 2022 Adirondack Sports Expo in Saratoga Springs, NY!

Bill Ingersoll 2/27/22 Bill Ingersoll 2/27/22

The Forces of Nature

No commentary. No words. Just images.

Ellen Apperson Brown 2/9/22 Ellen Apperson Brown 2/9/22

The Road to Tongue Mountain

Read some history on the Lake George region.

Bill Ingersoll 2/5/22 Bill Ingersoll 2/5/22

The Hunter of Frogs

A narrative about Lexie, the K9 companion of Bill Ingersoll.

Bill Ingersoll 1/1/22 Bill Ingersoll 1/1/22

All the Places I Have Never Been

Exploring the Adirondacks often leads to unexpected surprises and discoveries.

Bill Ingersoll 12/15/21 Bill Ingersoll 12/15/21

Paul Schaefer’s Winter Ascent

Automobiles enabled a new generation of suburbanites from the Mohawk and Hudson valley regions to begin visiting the mountains more frequently. Some of these people acquired rustic cabins built by the early homesteaders and converted them into camps. Paul Schaefer, a contractor from Schenectady, was one such person.

Ellen Apperson Brown 12/9/21 Ellen Apperson Brown 12/9/21

The Era of Referendum and Recall

Bill Ingersoll, in his blog entitled “Have a Little Faith in the Forest Preserve,” argued in favor of turning the land over to the state. He mentioned that in the past when “a river was threatened by a proposed dam,” or if some other forested area was threatened by development, the “preferred method of protection has always been to acquire it for the Forest Preserve.” There has often been a lively debate, over the years, about whether state officials were doing a good job of protecting the Forest Preserve.

Bill Ingersoll 12/2/21 Bill Ingersoll 12/2/21

Making the Call for Wilderness

This organization began as a citizen’s campaign. When other, more established groups seemed all too willing to trade concessions on wilderness for what seemed like mere tidbits of political credibility, we saw a need to step forward and demonstrate what wilderness advocacy truly is. While we didn’t get everything we wanted, it was clear we had made an impression that year, so after that original “crisis” passed we decided to formally incorporate and see what else we could do.

Pete Nelson 12/1/21 Pete Nelson 12/1/21

Examining Hiker Dispersal: What’s Next

One of the issues AWA is working on is dispersal: the strategy of redirecting hikers from busier to lesser-used trailheads. We started with an informal survey sent to our supporters, to help us gain additional perspective on hikers’ views of dispersal. We learned quite a bit from the responses, and now we are working to incorporate a more formal investigation of dispersal as a part of coming adaptive management projects in the Adirondack Park.

Pete Nelson 11/26/21 Pete Nelson 11/26/21

Leading the Way on Adaptive Management

Adaptive management, recommended by the State of New York High Peaks Advisory Group (HPAG), of which we were a part, is an iterative approach to wilderness and visitor management that uses science and data to drive a cycle of measuring, learning and adapting to changing conditions. Used with great success elsewhere, it is the world-class management approach that Adirondack wilderness needs and deserves.

Bill Ingersoll 11/23/21 Bill Ingersoll 11/23/21

The Paint Mine and the Tower

Locals regarded Crane and Huckleberry mountains as places to pick berries—specifically blackberries, raspberries, and huckleberries (blueberries)—as well as a source of paint pigment and other minerals. Outsiders, however, viewed the mountain in terms of its recreational potential. Long before young Julia Oliver began guiding parties up the mountain for a quarter, Crane was a well-known hiking and camping destination.

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.