Land and Property

(05/23/12) Host intro: The Vermont Air National Guard is considering whether to make Burlington International Airport home to a fleet of new F-35 fighter jets. Communities around the airport debated the jets' presence at a public hearing last week. The Environmental Impact statement put out by the Air Force says that the new jets will bring higher noise levels to neighborhoods surrounding the airport.

On Monday night, South Burlington's City Council voted 4 - 1 to oppose the plan. Sarah Harris has more. more

(05/09/12) The Adirondacks' largest environmental advocacy group is pushing for an overhaul of the rules that have guided development in the Park for 40 years. The Adirondack Council is calling for policy reform that would rehone the mission of the Adirondack Park Agency, and strengthen and clarify key portions of the law the agency works under.

John Sheehan is communications director of the Council, which has offices in Elizabethtown and Albany. He sat down with Martha Foley recently to talk in-depth about the effort and about the evolution of the environmental movement in the park.

(05/08/12) One of the North Country's most outspoken environmental leaders is returning to the Park-wide debate in the Adirondacks.

Peter Bauer, who led the Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, has spent the last five years working on conservation issues in the Lake George area. In that role, he's been far less visible and far less controversial.

But Bauer announced yesterday that he'll take over as executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, a group that formed in 2009. He spoke about the move with Brian Mann.

(05/02/12) Missisquoi Bay is in the northeast corner of Lake Champlain, along the Vermont-Quebec border. The bay has some of the highest phosphorus concentrations in the lake and is frequently plagued by blue/green algae. In 2008, the US government asked the International Joint Commission, a bi-national body that helps manage US and Canadian boundary waters, to assist in reducing phosphorus levels in the bay.

They've now completed a study that identifies where the phosphorus is coming from and how it gets to the lake. Two public hearings are underway to discuss the results. Sarah Harris was at last night's meeting in Saint Armand, Quebec and has more. more

(03/20/12) The Adirondack Club and Resort decision over the winter continues to send shock waves through the Park's environmental community.

APA commissioners voted 10-to-1 to allow the massive development to go forward, winning praise from local government leaders.

But green groups in the Park remain deeply divided over the decision. They've fallen into a public war of words over what the decision means and what the environmental movement should do next. Brian Mann has our story.

(03/14/12) This winter, the Department of Environmental Conservation brought in new leadership for Region 5, which includes the eastern Adirondacks, the Champlain Valley and the Lake George Region.

Bob Stegemann joined the DEC after a long career as a forester and a planner. He takes over at a time when the DEC faces some big projects and challenges, ranging from the clean-up effort sparked by tropical storm Irene to the controversial Finch-Pruyn land deal.

Brian Mann caught up with Stegemann during a recent ski trip to Santanoni Great camp near Newcomb. Stegemann says he had a head-start on the Park's complex issues after working for years with International Paper.

(02/15/12) One city's relationship with trees is explored in a new museum exhibit in Ottawa.

Six moments in the history of an urban forest is the brainchild of Carleton University history professor Joanna Dean and graduate student Will Knight.

Present-day Ottawa began as rough riverside lumber shanties in the early 1800s. It grew to become the nation's capital, with various trends in tree clearing and tree planting along the way. More recently, the area has faced damage from natural disaster and invasive pests, like the emerald ash borer, which threatens perhaps 30% of Ottawa's existing tree population.

Although the display considers urban forestry from an Ottawa perspective, the challenge of combining trees with cities is universal. Lucy Martin spoke with co-curators, Joanna Dean and Will Knight on opening day at the Bytown Museum, beside the treed slopes of Parliament Hill. more

(02/01/12) The Town of Newcomb in the central Adirondacks has purchased 348 acres from The Nature Conservancy for development projects along Route 28N.

The deal is part of a series of transactions involving former Finch, Pruyn paper company lands bought by the conservancy five years ago. more

(01/17/12) Tomorrow in Ray Brook, Adirondack Park Agency commissioners begin their final three days of deliberations over the resort project planned for Tupper Lake. Developers hope to build hundreds of homes and condos on more than six thousand acres of land near the Big Tupper ski area. A final vote from the APA is planned for Friday.

Village Mayor Paul Maroun said he's hopeful a permit will be granted. "It's a big issue on the streets in Tupper Lake. Everybody's talking about it, both sides of the issue," Maroun noted.

Brian Mann has been following this project for seven years and he spoke with Martha Foley.

(12/26/11) A green group in the Adirondacks is trying to block the reopening of an industrial railroad line that stretches into the High Peaks region of the Park.

Protect the Adirondacks says the move would violate an easement that allows the railroad to operate in an area designated as part of the "forever wild" forest preserve. As Brian Mann reports, state officials have also raised questions about the project. more