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By Phil Brown
Hikers will be able to drive to within a tenth of a mile of Boreas Ponds, but most probably will have to park farther away, under a draft management plan written by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The Boreas Ponds parking area is just one of numerous proposals for other parking areas, trails, canoe…
By Phil Brown
Even before New York State bought the Boreas Ponds Tract in 2016, people started arguing about how close to the ponds the public should be allowed to drive. That question was still on people’s minds at a public meeting in Newcomb this April.
By Phil Brown
The state will hold a public meeting in Newcomb on Tuesday, April 3, on its management of the recently expanded High Peaks Wilderness. Other meetings will be held but have not yet been scheduled. Click here to read about the Adirondack Park Agency’s decision that led to the expansion of the Wilderness Area. Following is…
By Phil Brown
Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed off on the Adirondack Park Agency’s classification of the Boreas Ponds Tract and numerous other Forest Preserve parcels. The APA voted 8-1 in February to split the tract between two classifications: motor-free Wilderness and the less-restrictive Wild Forest. There also is a small Primitive Area near the foot of Boreas…
By Phil Brown
After years of public debate, the Adirondack Park Agency voted 8-1 on Friday morning to approve a classification for the Boreas Ponds Tract that splits it into two main categories, Wilderness and Wild Forest. Most environmental groups applauded the decision, characterizing it as a compromise that will protect the ponds, streams, wetlands, and mountain slopes…
By Phil Brown
The state plans to combine the High Peaks Wilderness and Dix Mountain Wilderness after the Adirondack Park Agency classifies the Boreas Ponds Tract and other nearby lands. Kathy Regan, the APA’s deputy director, told the agency’s board Thursday that the expanded High Peaks Wilderness would encompass 274,000 acres, making it by far the largest Wilderness…
By Phil Brown
Several environmental groups are applauding a recommendation by the Adirondack Park Agency staff to classify most of the 20,543-acre Boreas Ponds Tract as motor-free Wilderness. The APA board is expected to begin discussing the recommendation at its meeting next Thursday and vote on it the next day. The agency’s staff considered five classification schemes. The…
What were the biggest storylines of the year for the Adirondack Park in 2017? Our staff has compiled a top 10 list. The news ranged from issues related to High Peaks Overuse, a problem that has surfaced in recent years and continued last year, to tanker cars moving into the southern High Peaks region.
By Phil Brown
Is the controversial idea of establishing huts at the ponds dead?
By Phil Brown
On July 15, 1932, two giants of conservation met on top of Mount Marcy: Bob Marshall and Paul Schaefer. Marshall was partway through a marathon hike that would take him to the summits of thirteen High Peaks. Schaefer was taking photos to be used in a campaign against a proposal to allow cabins in the…