Shingle Shanty update

Charles Morrison, a former DEC official, wrote a letter to the Times Union in response to my op-ed piece on the navigability of Shingle Shanty Brook. He agrees that it should be open to the public. Morrison is the former director of natural resources planning at DEC. In that capacity, he once commissioned a lawyer to study the legal history of the common-law right of navigation. A few years ago, he co-authored a booklet on navigation rights that can be found on the Web site of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks.

Testing the legal waters

Phil Brown paddles through private land toward Lake Lila. Photo by Susan Bibeau.

In an earlier blog, I mentioned that I did a two-day canoe trip from Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila in May. A story about the trip will appear in the July-August issue of the Explorer. It’s more than just another account of Adirondack adventure, for I took a route that has been posted for years.

 Essentially, I avoided a mile-long portage by paddling from Mud Pond down the outlet to Shingle Shanty Brook, which flows into Lake Lila. Despite no-trespassing signs and a cable across the brook, I believe what I did was legal. I explain my rationale in an op-ed piece published by the Albany Times Union. A fuller airing of the legal issues will appear in the next Explorer.

Incidentally, Susan Bibeau’s photo will grace our next cover.