Adirondack News

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Hurricane Sandy – Backcountry Notice

October 26th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

The National Weather Service is predicting that Hurricane Sandy will impact the Adirondacks with strong winds & heavy rains early next week.

All hunters, hikers and campers should be
out of the woods by dark on Sunday, October 28.

The DEC Fish Creek Campground will close Sunday night. All reservations for next week have been canceled.

Those planning hunt, hike, camp, boat or paddle on the lands and waters of the Adirondacks next week should pay close attention to weather reports.

Nobody should be in the backcountry
or on the waters when the storm hits.

Outdoor recreationists should stay out of the backcountry and off the waters until after the storm has passed and DEC has determined the resulting damages.

DEC will provide information regarding blowdown and flooding that may make the backcountry unsafe to access on the DEC web site.

See the DEC website for current information on preparation, damage and response to the aftermath related to Hurricane Sandy at http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/76659.html.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Tags: camp·dec·hike·weather

State Police & DEC Forest Rangers Ask Hunters Assistance in Locating Colin Gillis

October 24th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Hunters and others bushwhacking in the woods in the town of Piercefield in St. Lawrence County and the town of Tupper Lake in Franklin County are asked to look for and report signs of Colin Gillis, New York State Police and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Rangers requested today.

Colin Gillis, 18, of Tupper Lake, NY was last seen on March 10, 2012, walking on State Route 3 between the communities of Tupper Lake and Piercefield. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 170 pounds.

Mr. Gillis was last seen wearing a white American Eagle v-neck shirt with black stripes and short sleeves, blue Levi boot cut jeans, and red Nike Air high top sneakers. He may also have been wearing a reversible black or red L.L. Bean coat and carrying and orange and black day pack.

Hunters have been helpful in the past locating and reporting signs of lost or missing persons in the woods. Leaves are off the trees and shrubs at this time of year, hunters seek game in areas that most people do not enter and hunters are keen observers as they hunt.

Hunters or anyone else that find any items that Mr. Gillis may have been wearing or carrying are asked to contact State Police at 518-897-2000 or the DEC Dispatch at 518-897-1300.

In March, DEC Forest Rangers, State Police, local emergency response agencies and the area search and rescue teams, assisted by hundreds of volunteers from the community spent seven days searching more than 2000 acres of lands, miles of the Raquette River and both Raquette Pond and Piercefield Flow. Volunteers alone expended more than 1000 person days or approximately 10,000 hours actively searching for Mr. Gillis.

State Police still have an open missing person investigation seeking Gillis. The DEC Forest Rangers search for him is in a limited continuous status. Under the limited continuous search local Forest Rangers, search and rescue teams and others continue to conduct spot searches and training exercises in the area, and periodic over-flights of helicopters will search the lands and waters in the area.

Tags: dec·franklin county·st lawrence county·tupper lake

DEC Completes Trail to Ridge of Jay Mountain

October 23rd, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Trail Provides Easier and Safer Access to the Mountain’s Summit

NYSDEC Logo The newly constructed 2.5-mile trail to the western end of the Jay Mountain Ridge is complete and available for public use, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Robert Stegemann announced today. The trail bypasses the steep and eroded sections of an existing “herd path” that had been the primary access to mountain’s summit.

“DEC is pleased to provide another high-quality recreational opportunity in the Adirondacks for hikers,” said Director Stegemann. “The new Jay Mountain trail is safer and easier to hike and will allow more people to hike to the summit and enjoy the views. It should also serve to attract more visitors to the nearby communities of Jay, Elizabethtown, Keene and Keene Valley.”

The Jay Mountain Trail starts at a new trailhead at the intersection of Jay Mountain Road and Upland Meadows Road in the town of Jay. The new trailhead is located on Forest Preserve lands approximately 300 feet downhill from where the old herd path entered the woods and offers parking for up to five cars.

At the end of the new trail, a short spur trail to the north leads to an overlook that provides a spectacular 360 degree scenic view. The High Peaks, Whiteface Mountain, Ausable River Valley, Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains of Vermont can all be seen. There are some rough sections of trail that DEC will be working to improve in the future.

Hikers can continue along the ridgeline, following rock cairns, for approximately 1.5 miles to the summit of Jay Mountain. The ridgeline is largely open and provides numerous opportunities to enjoy the surrounding scenery.

DEC contracted with the Student Conservation Association’s Adirondack Program and the Adirondack Mountain Club’s (ADK) Professional Trail Crew to build the trail with DEC staff. The trail work was funded by the Environmental Protection Fund and a generous donation from ADK’s Hurricane Mountain Chapter.

The new trailhead was constructed by the Town of Jay Highway Department, with additional work by inmate crews from the Department of Correctional Services Moriah Shock Camp and DEC staff.