Nov 07, 2007 — Incumbents won races for supervisor and town council in Cape Vincent. The bitterly fought campaign centered around two proposed industrial wind farms. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Nov 05, 2007 — In Jefferson County, all county legislators are up for re-election, but only 4 of 15 districts have two candidates. In District 1, Michael Docteur, the incumbent Republican, faces a challenge from Democrat Michael Geiss. Democrat Dean Morrow is challenging Republican Phillip Reed in District 3. Republican Sarah Corey is trying to unseat Democrat Addie Jenne in District 4. And Republican Robert Boice faces a challenge from Democrat Doris McLallen in District 11. In the town of Cape Vincent, two proposed wind farms are generating hot races. The campaigns have centered on whether signing contracts to lease land for the wind turbines is a conflict of interest. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Oct 24, 2007 — More than a dozen towns along the rooftop of New York State, from Jefferson County to Clinton County, are caught up in a "wind rush". Big corporations from Spain, Portugal, England, and the United States are scrambling to take advantage of federal "green" energy tax credits before they expire. The wind farms offer several million dollars in land contracts and property taxes to struggling rural communities. But in doing so, they stir up deep resentment between people who stand to gain from them, and people who don't, but still have to look at and listen to giant windmills spinning 24 hours a day. The task of regulating this new industry falls to each local town council. In part two of a series on the latest wind power developments in the North Country, David Sommerstein reports local lawmakers can end up over their heads in politics, science, and money.  Go to full article

Nov 17, 2006 — More than 100 people with questions about wind power attended a forum in Clayton last night. Three different developers have proposed industrial-scale wind farm projects in northern Jefferson County. All are in preliminary stages. The forum was one of several held statewide by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. The group supports wind power that includes a complete environmental review. Jefferson County's Agricultural Development Authority co-sponsored the event. Citizen Campaign's Derreth Glance moderated the forum. She told David Sommerstein people wanted to know about access roads for turbines, payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements, and turbine bird mortality. She says they were especially interested in the words of two Lewis County supervisors on the forum panel, who live by the Maple Ridge wind farm on the Tug Hill Plateau.  Go to full article

Nov 13, 2006 — A developer submitted an application for a wind farm in Cape Vincent last week. According to the Watertown Daily Times, AES Acciona Wind Power NY wants to erect 65 wind turbines south of the village along Route 12E. The company will set up an escrow account to pay expenses as the town conducts an environmental review. Cape Vincent planning board chairman Richard Edsall told the Times, "we have the right to outside professional expertise, and we intend to use it." Two wind farm proposals in Cape Vincent have sparked controversy over how far turbines should be allow to be built from homes, roads, and the St. Lawrence River.

A boom in the wind power industry nationwide is helping the St. Lawrence Seaway. Freighters are carrying loads of turbine blades and tower pieces from Denmark and other countries in Europe to ports in the Great Lakes. In fact, wind energy developers are ordering so many windmills, they're running into a supply problem. Now there are plans to build factories to produce windmills in the U.S. It's all happening in spite of inconsistent federal support. The Environment Report's Stephanie Hemphill reports.  Go to full article

Jul 13, 2006 — Thousands more dead fish are washing up on the shore of eastern Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River. Biologists and local businesses are concerned because many different species are being killed. As David Sommerstein reports, a new virus may be causing the die-off.  Go to full article

Jun 16, 2006 — Biologists are concerned a new fish virus may become an ongoing threat in the St. Lawrence River. DEC officials have confirmed Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, or VHS, killed hundreds of round gobies, an invasive species, last month near Cape Vincent. The virus also killed 18 muskies, a prized native fish in the St. Lawrence. The DEC says it hasn't affected river trout or salmon populations so far. David Sommerstein spoke with John Farrell. Farrell directs SUNY ESF's Thousand Islands Biological Station near Clayton. He says the virus is common in Europe and Japan, and in saltwater in the Pacific Northwest. It first showed up in the Great Lakes watershed last year, in the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario.  Go to full article

May 26, 2006 — Environmental officials say a disease might be killing an invasive species of fish in eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Tests have ruled out botulism. Scientists say the disease may be a virus. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Sep 06, 2005 — Two Clarkson University professors are trying to determine what causes a potentially fatal disease in birds and fish. Earlier this month, two dead seagulls in Cape Vincent tested positive for Type E Botulism. It was the first time the disease was identified on the St. Lawrence River. Botulism can harm humans who eat birds or fish poisoned with the toxin. David Sommerstein spoke with Tom Langen, a biology professor at Clarkson. He and colleague Michael Twiss are testing dead birds and fish on the St. Lawrence. Type E Botulism first showed up in the Great Lakes in 1998. Langen's hypothesis is that it's tied to invasive species like the round goby and zebra and quagga mussels.  Go to full article

Jul 14, 2005 — In the early 1600s, French Jesuit priests paddled hundreds of miles up the St. Lawrence River. They settled on the fertile land by the river's source at the eastern end of Lake Ontario. It's estimated a third of today's population in northern Jefferson County is descended from those French settlers. Last weekend, Cape Vincent held its 37th annual French Festival to celebrate that heritage. North Country Public Radio was also celebrating there. It was the grand opening of our new translator in Cape Vincent, reaching listeners at 93.9 FM. David Sommerstein was on hand and sends this audio postcard.  Go to full article