ADK Today
Vol. 3, No. 2: February 26, 2010

Park Closings
Governor Paterson has proposed closing 57 state parks and historic sites and reducing services at many more. And that’s just the beginning. Paterson has also threatened to close even more parks if lawmakers do not support his $5 million raid on the Environmental Protection Fund. Here's a list of targeted parks. Members of ADK’s Public Affairs Office have been meeting with state legislators to urge them to restore park funding and proposed cuts to the EPF. Here are our Action Alerts on the park closure plan and the EPF.

Help the Trails
ADK's volunteer trail projects offer hikers a unique opportunity to “give something back” to the trails they use and love. If you want to participate, here’s a schedule for 2010 trail projects. Read the latest Trails Program newsletter here.

Loj Parking
ADK has raised the parking fees at its Heart Lake property. The new rate is $10 a day for the general public and $5 a day for ADK members. The parking fees help support ADK’s conservation advocacy, trail maintenance and education programs.

Chapter Web Site
The Binghamton Chapter’s Web site is up and running.

Winter Adventure
Winter is wrapping up, but there are still opportunities for winter adventure at ADK’s Heart Lake Program Center. Working on your Winter 46? Join us for a winter climb to the top of a trailless peak. Or take part in a classic Adirondack ski tour. More information here.

Scary Hike
We thought you might enjoy this YouTube video, dubbed "Scariest hiking trail in world." We found it on the Facebook page of the Glens Falls-Saratoga Chapter’s Younger Members Group.

Lean-to Needs TLC
The Blueberry Lean-to in Franklin County is available for adoption. Adopters visit their lean-tos at least twice a season to perform basic maintenance and clean-up duties, maintain registers and note major repairs needed. A list of lean-tos up for adoption is available here. More information about the Adopt a Lean-to Program, and other backcountry stewardship programs, is available here.

Stealth Towers
“Stealth Towers” is industry parlance for cell-phone towers disguised to blend in to natural landscapes. It’s also the title of Peter Seward’s art exhibit at the ADK Bookstore, 814 Goggins Road, Lake George, which opens Tuesday (March 2) and runs through April 30.This series of landscape paintings depicts real and imagined “stealth towers.” More here.

Fire Towers
Speaking of towers, DEC has released its Adirondack Fire Tower Study and management plans for the Hurricane Mountain and Jay Mountain areas. The public meetings originally scheduled for Feb. 25 have been postponed until March 10 (Paul Smiths College) and March 11 (Keene Valley). ADK has long advocated for preservation and restoration of Adirondack fire towers where appropriate, but the Board of Directors passed a resolution in 2005 opposing any changes to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan that would allow fire towers to remain in Wilderness, Primitive or Canoe areas.

ADK in the News

• Green groups support removal of two fire towers, others should remain
• Legislators say park cuts could cost money, hurt region
• View bleak for state parks
• Will 'our Statue of Liberty' vanish?
• Snuggle up to a place called Heart Lake
• Lawsuit aims to force wilderness classification for Lows Lake
• His Hike: Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge

More Parks News

• Four area parks on closure list 
• A federal ally for threatened parks
• ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
• Jefferson County lawmakers oppose park closures
• Chittenango Falls, McNitt parks face closure
• Public rallies to save the fort
• CNY State Parks among those recommended for closure
• Area State Parks on the closure list
• Thacher Park, Schuyler Mansion on list of state park closures
• Four area parks on closure list
• Parks hit hard by cuts
• Olana's hours cut by state budget ax
• List of recommended park closures
• State Budget Problems Could Affect Area Parks
• John Brown Farm on closure list
• Clark Reservation, Fort Ontario and Selkirk Shores on proposed list for park closures
• State Plans to Close Fort Ontario Historic Site
• State considers closing 100 parks, including Clark Reservation, Verona Beach
• State budget impact on area parks unknown 

Other News

• DEC: No decision yet on campground closures
• Sayward's new decor
• A base for war training, and species preservation
• Donated easement protects 1400 acres
• DEC officials say state waterways are cleaner
• Extreme Adirondack cross-country skiing

ADK Today is an occasional compendium of news and views of interest to members of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). It is  produced and distributed by the ADK Communications Department, 301 Hamilton Street, Albany, NY 12210. Comments, questions or concerns about the content of this newsletter? Send us an e-mail.

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