Paul Smiths, NY, Jan 27, 2011 — Martha Foley talks with Dr. Curt Stager about his ongoing quest for a pristine Adirondack Lake -- one not affected by stocking programs, liming, logging, mining, etc. He thinks he has found one.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jan 14, 2011 — Susan Morse is a lifelong "tracker." She has more than 35 years experience monitoring wildlife and interpreting wildlife habitat use. Her research has focused on cougar, bobcat, black bear, and Canada lynx.

She's done extensive research nationally, and decades of conservation work in the Champlain basin. Sixteen years ago, Morse founded Keeping Track, an organization devoted to training professional biologists and citizen scientists alike in wildlife monitoring skills.

On Jan. 21 and 22, she'll bring her expertise to the Adirondack Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Friday night, she'll give a talk and slideshow. On Saturday, she'll take Wild Center staff and others interested in joining her cadre of citizen scientists out into the field for a hands-on tracking workshop.
She spoke with Martha Foley.  Go to full article

Dec 31, 2010 — Environmental groups are praising the state of New York for its decision to buy conservation and recreation easements on nearly 90,000 acres of timberland and wilderness scattered among 27 towns in the Adirondacks.

The deal involving lands once owned by the Finch Pruyn paper company was brokered by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy.

According to a statement issued yesterday, New York State will pay 30 million dollars to protect the land and buy access for public recreation. The money will come from the state's Environmental Protection Fund.  Go to full article

Ray Brook, NY, Jun 14, 2010 — The Adirondack Park Agency has imposed new restrictions on the size and height of new boathouses in the Park. The APA board voted last week to revise the definition of boathouse in its regulations to include a 1,200-square-foot size limit and a 15-foot height limit. The new limits will take effect after Labor Day. As Chris Knight reports, the decision came after months of debate among agency commissioners.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Dec 01, 2009 — Clarence Petty, a tireless and iconic advocate for the Adirondack wilderness, died last evening in the family home he built outside Canton. He was 104. Ed Petty said his father died of old age after about a month of declining health.

Clarence Petty grew up at Corey's, near Upper Saranac Lake, and had returned there to live in his later years. He was a state forest ranger, and was part of the team that did seminal surveys leading to the protection of large wilderness areas in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, as well as its wild and scenic rivers.

He was also a Navy pilot in World War II, and was well known as a flight instructor in St. Lawrence County, teaching until he was 94.

Phil Brown is the editor of Adirondack Explorer magazine. Readers, and Brown himself, got to know Clarence Petty through a regular column in the magazine, "Questions for Clarence." He spoke with Martha Foley during the 8 O'clock Hour this morning.  Go to full article

Jul 30, 2009 — This week North Country Public Radio has been looking at the changing battle over land conservation. In northern New York and Vermont the amount of private and taxpayer dollars available for protecting open space has been cut dramatically by the sour economy.

This morning, we'll hear from one of the people on the front lines of the debate. Kim Elliman heads the Open Space Institute, an organization that helps to finance land conservation projects from Georgia to Maine.

OSI - as its known - has helped fund some of the biggest land deals in the Adirondacks: the Finch, Pruyn land deal, and the purchase of the Tahawus tract in the southern High Peaks in 2003. Elliman tells Martha Foley the economic model for protecting forests and farms has changed dramatically.

(Tomorrow, we'll hear from state Senator Betty Little, who opposes expanding the Adirondack forest preserve. She says the changing economy means that land conservation groups should shift their agenda.)  Go to full article

Hartford, CT, Jul 28, 2009 — This morning we begin a series about how the down economy is changing the dynamics of land preservation.

States are facing tough decisions about where to invest their shrinking budgets. In most cases protecting open space is not at the top of the list. It's also putting pressure on developers and landowners facing budget problems of their own. The consequence, in some places, is a drop in land prices.

As part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, Nancy Cohen of WNPR in Hartford, Connecticut reports there are new opportunities to preserve land and curb development. (Tomorrow, Brian Mann reports tight state budgets are putting the squeeze on land conservation by green groups.)  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, May 15, 2009 — The Adirondack Park Agency is moving forward with a plan to establish more than twelve thousand new acres of wilderness just south of Tupper Lake. Most of the land would be added to the Five Ponds Wilderness. The APA will hold public hearings on the proposal, which would protect one of the longest backcountry canoe routes in the Northeast. But as Brian Mann reports, critics say environmentalists are pushing a double standard.  Go to full article

Nov 07, 2008 — The vast forests and river valleys around Indian Lake in Hamilton County offer some of the wildest and most beautiful country in the Adirondacks. But that sparsely-settled region can also be dangerous. Since 2006, three men have disappeared near Indian Lake. The most recent vanished this fall. Some officials have taken to calling the area the "Indian Lake Triangle." As Jacob Resneck reports, forest rangers charged with patrolling the area downplay the idea of any mystery. They say some visitors simply aren't prepared for the rugged, remote terrain.  Go to full article

Sep 19, 2008 — A deal for the Follensby Pond acquisition has been sought by environmental groups, paddlers and hikers for a long time. Martha Foley talked with Phil Brown, editor of the Adirondack Explorer magazine, about the significance of the purchase, and local reaction. He said local concerns focus on property tax revenue (which could increase) and public access.  Go to full article