Chestertown, NY, Mar 08, 2013 — John Warren of the Adirondack Almanack checks in each Friday morning with a look at outdoor recreation conditions around the Adirondacks for the weekend.  Go to full article

Elizabethtown, NY, Mar 04, 2013 — More than two dozen property owners may sell their homes to Essex County as part of a federal buyout program nearly 19 months after Tropical Storm Irene tore through the Adirondacks.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has informed Essex County that 26 properties deemed "substantially damaged" by Irene have received final approval for the buyout program. The project is expected to cost more than $3.5 million, and FEMA has agreed to pay about 75 percent of the cost.  Go to full article

De Kalb Junction, NY, Mar 01, 2013 — It may not feel like spring outside yet, but it's coming. The days are getting longer, the sun is higher in the sky, and the sap buckets are out.

Jeffrey Jenness of Orebad Sugar Shack in DeKalb Junction says February was a slow month for sugaring. When he spoke with Julie Grant earlier this week, Jenness had only collected a couple hundred gallons of sap. For an operation like his, that's not enough to get the equipment dirty and start making syrup. He's hoping for better days ahead.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Feb 28, 2013 — Solar weather does more than create light shows at polar latitudes. When the sun acts up, the effects can range from communications interference on earth to lethal doses of radiation for unprotected astronauts. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about heavenly weather.  Go to full article

Malone, NY, Feb 27, 2013 — Lower Park Street in Malone has been reopened to traffic again. It's been closed numerous times this winter, because flooding has left the road impassable. It's also destroyed a handful of houses. Town leaders have been looking at getting the river dredged, to prevent future floods. But federal officials say it might make sense just to buy out the homeowners.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Feb 21, 2013 — A 30-year state Department of Transportation employee said he was forced to retire for speaking to a newspaper reporter without approval from his agency's communications office.

Mike Fayette, DOT's top official in Essex County, said he was threatened with termination for talking to The Adirondack Daily Enterprise for a story in which he praised the DOT's response to Tropical Storm Irene. A version of the same story, also from reporter Chris Knight, ran on NCPR.

DOT officials are refusing to comment on Fayette's case. Some observers say it's just another sign of how Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration has worked to limit and control public information. Chris Knight is still following the story.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Feb 21, 2013 — Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about the timberline, the usually abrupt termination of forest growth above a certain altitude. While it results from a combination of unfavorable factors, the final straw seems to be the length of time free of hard frost. When the growing season is too short to overcome damage from the harsh climate, the trees die out.  Go to full article

Malone, NY, Feb 20, 2013 — Leaders with town of Malone hope to meet with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the next week, to talk about the flooding along Lower Park Street. The on-again, off-again cold weather this winter has meant a series of emergency declarations in Malone.

When the mercury has dipped below zero, the Salmon River jams with ice. That means the water jumps its banks, flooding homes. Public officials are figuring out why the river jams have gotten so bad, and what to do next.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Feb 18, 2013 — Winter wind takes a toll on a household. It fills a driveway up with blowing snow. The windy side of a house can be colder on the inside, as well as the outside.

Wind makes life hard for shrubs and trees, too, even some native species that are truly winter hardy when they're planted in a protected location. But as Cooperative extension's horticulturist Amy Ivy tells Martha Foley, wind-tolerant plantings can help block and redirect the worst of the wind. In their weekly conversation, she's got suggestions for what to plant and where, for short term and long term windbreaks.  Go to full article

Chestertown, NY, Feb 15, 2013 — John Warren of the Adirondack Almanack checks in each Friday morning with a look at outdoor recreation conditions around the Adirondacks for the weekend. Temperatures are starting their springtime rise.  Go to full article