News stories tagged with "park-agency"

(04/18/11) The Adirondack Park Agency voted on Friday to allow 220 traditional hunting clubs to keep their cabins on the former Champion timber lands in the northern and western Adirondacks.

That reverses a decade-old decision struck by state officials that would have evicted the clubs, some of them dating back generations.

As Brian Mann reports, the fate of the clubs has been a flashpoint in the Park for years. more

(10/01/10) A new firestorm has erupted between the Adirondack Park Agency and some local government leaders in the North Country.

The Park's Local Government Review Board issued a report last week, claiming that the APA is "under the influence and in need of detoxification."

Park Agency chairman Curt Stiles responded with a letter questioning the Review Board's honesty and its legitimacy. Brian Mann has our story. more

(05/13/10) The Open Space Institute has helped to engineer some of the most important land conservation deals in the Adirondack Park over the last decade.

OSI financed the Tahawus purchase, which protected parts of the southern High Peaks. The group also helped fund the massive Finch, Pruyn deal worth more than $110 million.

But OSI executive director Joe Martens, who also heads the Olympic Regional Development Authority board, says the fiscal crisis in Albany is changing the rules for how the Park should be managed. Martens spoke in depth with NCPR's Adirondack bureau chief, Brian Mann.

(04/15/10) The Adirondack Park Agency meets today in Ray Brook and the agenda includes a discussion of the controversial plan to remove two popular fire towers. The APA will also review a the Tall Timbers development project in North Creek. Brian Mann has details.

(03/15/10) A lot of attention this winter has focused on the bridge crisis in the Champlain Valley. But locals in the southern Adirondacks are also worried about the rapid deterioration of the span across the Great Sacandaga Reservoir. State officials say construction of a new bridge is expected to get underway this summer. At a meeting last week, the Adirondack Park Agency approved a new design for the project expected to shave roughly $11 million off its cost. Brian Mann has details.

(01/05/10) Today in Ray Brook the Adirondack Park Agency begins a series of public hearings on new regulations for boathouses in the Park. This latest round of rulemaking comes at a time when the APA has issued a series of new regulations affecting private land and development. The rules govern everything from shoreline homes to hunting camps. Supporters say the APA is doing its job, fleshing out the guidelines that protect water quality and conserve open space. But critics say state officials are steadily expanding their power over privately-owned land without authority from the legislature. Brian Mann has our story.

(03/17/08) The Adirondack Park Agency has set a new limit on snowmobile trails that will affect "wild forest" land in the Park. The 848-mile ceiling, approved on Friday, drew fierce criticism from snowmobile riders. The reaction among pro-environment groups was more mixed, with some arguing that the limit leaves too much wiggle room. Brian Mann has details.

(08/24/07) Adirondack Park Agency chairman Ross Whaley announced Thursday that he's stepping down after four years on the job. His departure continues a major shake-up of North Country environmental officials that began with the election of Governor Eliot Spitzer. As Brian Mann reports, Whaley's replacement is expected to be named soon.

(07/02/07) Governor Eliot Spitzer has withdrawn his top choice to head the Adirondack Park Agency. The governor's office confirmed on Friday that Richard Booth won't serve as chairman, a job that came with a $30,000 salary. He will instead be appointed as a rank-and-file board member. As Brian Mann reports, the shift was a victory for state Senator Betty Little and local government groups.

(05/03/07) Governor Spitzer's plan to shake-up his environmental leadership in the North Country sparked immediate opposition yesterday in the state Senate.
Six Senators have signed letters asking the governor to reconsider his plans. One letter was co-signed by four senators, including North Country Republicans Joe Griffo and Jim Wright. They described the dismissal of top DEC official Sandy LeBarron as "unwarranted". LeBarron heads Region 6 for the DEC, based in Watertown. The Senators wrote, "Her institutional experience makes her uniquely qualified to continue in her position".
A second letter - also signed by Griffo as well as Queensbury Republican Betty Little, and two others - opposed the appointment of Dick Booth to head the APA. Booth is a professor and attorney, who lives in Ithaca. By tradition, the APA chairman has always lived inside the blue line.
The senators' letter says the tradition should continue, "We believe the chairman should be a person who lives in the Adirondacks, understands the economy, and is accessible to the people of the Adirondacks".
Dick Booth has drawn strong support from environment groups in the North Country, but he'll need confirmation from the Republican-led Senate.
Brian Mann spoke with Booth yesterday about his nomination and local concerns.