Ray Brook, NY, Feb 15, 2013 — A plan by the Adirondack Park Agency to streamline permit applications for large-scale clearcut logging sparked fierce debate yesterday.

Supporters of the plan say it will encourage loggers and landowners to adopt better harvesting practices. At the APA's monthly meeting in Ray Brook, some commissioners spoke passionately in favor of the change.

But others expressed deep skepticism about the plan.  Go to full article

Ray Brook, NY, Feb 14, 2013 — The Adirondack Park Agency is delaying action on a controversial plan to revise clearcut logging rules in the park.

The change would have affected about 700,000 acres of private timberland owned by large companies and property owners.

The logging industry strongly supported the measure, as did many academic foresters, but a coalition of green groups rallied to oppose it.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jan 09, 2013 — We continue our series, the Adirondack Attic, with Andy Flynn. You may know Andy from his series of Adirondack Attic books on local history. He uses the objects people make, use and leave behind to tell stories about the life and times of the region. NCPR is collaborating with Andy and his sources at the Adirondack Museum and other historical associations and museums in the region to bring these stories to air.

Today, we'll listen to a 1969 interview with Tupper Lake business pioneer Mose Ginsberg, who immigrated to the Adirondacks in the 1890's as a teenager.  Go to full article

Indian Lake, NY, Sep 18, 2012 — State officials say they plan to buy the first big chunk of the former Finch timberlands by the end of the year.

Roughly 19,000 acres will be added to the "forever wild" forest preserve in the first phase of the project. State officials say they plan to buy the first big chunk of the former Finch timberlands by the end of the year. Roughly 19,000 acres will be added to the "forever wild" forest preserve in the first phase of the project. Supporters say these lands will open popular new areas for hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing.

The process is now underway to determine the kind of rules and guidelines that will shape public access, and state officials say they hope to avoid the kind of clashes that have marked past land classification efforts.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Aug 09, 2012 — A long-time Adirondack summer resident is finishing up the third book in a series of novels about the history of the region. Tony Holtzman will talk about his Adirondack Trilogy at the Northwoods Inn in Lake Placid on Thursday night at 7 pm. Holtzman first visited the Adirondacks in the early 1950's, and after retiring from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2002, he bought a cottage at the Bartlett Carry Club on Upper Saranac Lake.

Holtzman's first novel in the trilogy, Axton Landing, was published last year. His second book in the series, The Railroad, was released earlier this summer. The trilogy portrays life in the Adirondacks in the late 19th century and tackles topics such as the environment, land use, logging, railroads and tourism--topics that are still important today.

Todd Moe spoke with Holtzman about his novels and his love of the Adirondack Park.  Go to full article

May 24, 2012 — The Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb will try a new twist on the "rubber duck race" on Saturday, using rubber loons instead. The event is part of the center's celebration of its first anniversary under the leadership of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Proceeds will support educational programs at the center.

The event will focus on the two most iconic symbols of human and natural history in the Adirondacks: logs and loons. Some 500 black-and-white rubber loons will be dropped into the Rich Lake outlet for a 425-yard floating race. Prizes will be awarded for those who sponsored the winners. Visitor's center program coordinator Paul Hai told Todd Moe that a California company, CelebriDucks, manufactured the rubber loons for the race.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Aug 23, 2011 — The Adirondack woodsman is a North Country archetype - brawny, independent, deeply versed in the ways of the North Woods. There are still loggers working in the forests of the Adirondacks and Tug Hill Plateau, though most are aided by chain saws and huge machinery today.

At Paul Smiths College, a summer school program is keeping the skills and ethos of the Adirondack woodsman alive. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Schroon Lake, NY, Mar 22, 2011 — The Adirondack Nature Conservancy has emerged in recent years as one of the largest owners of timberland in the North Country.

The green group uses certified logging methods designed to protect rivers and other sensitive ecosystems.

But a landowner in Essex County is accusing the Conservancy's tree-cutters of damaging a certified trout stream.

As Brian Mann reports, state officials have opened an investigation.  Go to full article

Newtown, CT, Mar 01, 2011 — Record-setting snowfall and sub-zero temperatures in the Northeast have led to increased demand for firewood this heating season. There's also been an uptick in complaints by consumers who say they're getting less firewood than they pay for. As part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, WNPR's Diane Orson reports.

Northeast environmental reporting is made possible, in part, by a grant from United Technologies.  Go to full article

Brockville, ON, Dec 31, 2010 — Brockville storyteller Deborah Dunleavy shares a midwinter tale about a young logger and a flying canoe at a lumber camp in northern Quebec.  Go to full article