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Entries from August 22nd, 2011

Wilmington Celebrates 8th Annual Festival of Colors on September 10

August 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · Adirondack News

WILMINGTON, NEW YORK – The Whiteface Region Business and Tourism Center (WFRBTC), Town of Wilmington and local sponsors are pleased to host the 8th Annual Festival of the Colors on Saturday, September 10, from 10:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. on Springfield Road in Wilmington.

Festival of the ColorsThe Festival will feature live entertainment by Organized Chaos, Pipsqueak the Clown and Santa’s Workshop, and will include horse rides, free kids activities and the famous Pie Baking Contest! In addition, numerous vendors will display a variety of products, from arts and crafts, to fresh produce and baked goods, to unique treasures.

“There are few more spectacular places to be than the Whiteface Region of the Adirondacks in fall,” said Susan Hockert, WFRBTC president. “The mountains become an evergreen canvas painted with bursts of vibrant yellow, red and orange – well worth celebrating!”

This popular annual event is free and open to the public, and will be held at the tee-ball field on Springfield Road in Wilmington, with a beautiful backdrop of Whiteface Mountain.

Vendors interested in participating in the event and all those seeking more information should contact Michelle at 518.946.2255 or info@whitefaceregion.com, and visit www.whitefaceregion.com for comprehensive area resources.

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State Court Rules Lows Lake is Wilderness

August 17th, 2011 · No Comments · Adirondack News

ALBANY, NY – A state court ruled this week that the bed and waters of Lows Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks are Wilderness.

Supreme Court Justice Michael C. Lynch of Albany County, in a lawsuit brought by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and Protect the Adirondacks! (PROTECT), ruled Monday (Aug. 15) that the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) erred when it approved a resolution in November 2009 that left the popular canoe route unclassified. Justice Lynch also noted that Lows Lake was included in a 1987 Wilderness classification of about 9,100 acres, a classification that was signed by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo.


“Justice Lynch not only confirmed that Lows Lake is Wilderness, he confirmed that it has been legally defined as Wilderness for nearly a quarter century,” ADK Executive Director Neil Woodworth said. “He also upheld the principle that the APA has a legal obligation to classify water bodies that are part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. That part of the decision has important implications for the future management of the waters of the Forest Preserve under the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.”

“This decision underscores the fact that the lakes and water bodies of the Adirondacks need protection as much as the land and forests do,” PROTECT Director Dale Jeffers said. “In fact, the need to protect Adirondack waters was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Forest Preserve in 1885.”

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (pdf), which is part of state Executive Law, requires APA to classify all lands and waters in the Adirondack Forest Preserve according to “their characteristics and ability to withstand use.” In the past, the agency has left some water bodies unclassified. In September 2009, the APA voted 6-4 to classify a portion of Lows Lake as Wilderness and a portion as Primitive. Both classifications prohibit motorized public uses. But then-Gov. David Paterson’s representatives on the APA board changed their position and supported a November 2009 resolution that left the lake unclassified.

Opponents of the Wilderness classification argued that the APA did not have the authority to classify the lake as Wilderness because New York State does not own the entire shoreline of Lows Lake. But Justice Lynch found that “the APA Act and the APSLMP require the APA to classify State owned bodies of water even if the water is contiguous to a private land holding.” The decision affirmed that state-owned lakes and other water bodies in the Adirondack Park are part of the constitutionally protected Forest Preserve and must be managed in accordance with the APSLMP.

Justice Lynch also annulled the November 2009 APA resolution and affirmed the 1987 Wilderness classification. The attorney for ADK and PROTECT, John Caffry of Caffry & Flower in Glens Falls, noted that the court reaffirmed a 1977 court ruling that the APSLMP has the force of law. The court then found that APA’s failure to follow the APSLMP was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Following an earlier lawsuit brought by PROTECT and ADK, the APA approved a resolution in April 2009 banning floatplanes from Lows Lake after the end of 2011. Even with the Lows Lake decision, only about 5 percent of the lake and pond surface area in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park is classified as Wilderness. Public use of motorized vehicles and vessels is prohibited in Wilderness areas.

Protect the Adirondacks!Protect the Adirondacks! is a nonprofit, grassroots membership organization dedicated to the protection and stewardship of the public and private lands of the Adirondack Park. PROTECT is a consolidation of the Residents’ Committee to Protect the Adirondacks and the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks.

Adirondack Mountain Club LogoThe Adirondack Mountain Club, founded in 1922, is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.

Read: Justice Lynch’s decision (pdf)

Read: the ADK/PROTECT petition (pdf)

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Reopening Celebration for Lake Champlain Bridge Postponed

August 17th, 2011 · No Comments · Adirondack News

New date is set for May 19-20, 2012

Lake Champlain Bridge CommunityCrown Point, NY/Addison, VT – The Lake Champlain Bridge Community (LCBC) has made the difficult decision to postpone the celebration activities recognizing the re-opening of the Lake Champlain Bridge. Originally scheduled for October 15-16, 2011, a new date has been set for May 19-20, 2012.

The original target opening date for the bridge of October 9, 2011 has been removed from New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) website and current press updates. Attempts by LCBC to press NYSDOT for a revised opening date have been unsuccessful. “It is difficult to plan and execute a celebration of this magnitude when the opening date of the new bridge is an unknown,” said Karen Hennessy, LCBC Co-Chair.


Lake Champlain BridgeWith all of the detailed event plans so far along, the co-chairs of the LCBC felt it was their responsibility to make a go/no-go decision. “To continue planning, committing resources and booking vendors and performers without a confirmed opening date—or for that matter, a functioning bridge—we felt it was unfair to ask our tireless volunteers to continue planning a celebration that might not happen this fall,” said Lorraine Franklin, LCBC Co-Chair. “Although the dates of the celebration have changed, the momentum will continue to build through the fall and winter and we look forward to working with everyone to produce a great event,” Franklin added.

While disappointed with the date change, Franklin and Hennessy see the opportunity to “turn lemons into lemonade.” “We now have more time to dedicate to fundraising and planning for a truly Grand Celebration,” Hennessy said. During the next eight months, the LCBC will continue to accept donations, sign-up vendors and performers and recruit volunteers. They also encourage the communities along the Lake Champlain corridor to become involved as communities did for the opening of the first Lake Champlain Bridge in 1929. Community involvement could be in the forms of building a float for the parade, encouraging schools and organizations to participate and welcoming guests and visitors back to the region.

For more information regarding the Grand Celebration, visit LCBC’s website, contact info@champlainbridgecommunity.org or call (802) 759-2000. For information regarding construction updates, visit www.nysdot.gov/lakechamplainbridge/ or contact NYSDOT Regional Public Information Officer Carol Breen at (518) 388-0342.

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