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Entries Tagged as 'Adirondack News'

Adirondack Museum Receives Grants

April 17th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Adirondack MuseumBlue Mountain Lake, NY – David M. Kahn, Executive Director of the Adirondack Museum has announced today that the museum has received grants from the following foundations: New York State Council on the Arts, New York Council for the Humanities, Wal-Mart Foundation, International Paper Foundation, Stewart’s Holiday Match program, and Museumwise Go! Grant program. In total, the grants add up to nearly $50,000 in supporting funds for the not-for-profit institution.

The Adirondack Museum has been awarded a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts in the amount of $42,000 for general operating support for the 2012 year. The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York’s citizens. For more information, visit www.nysca.org.

The New York Council for the Humanities has awarded the museum $3,000 which supported the museum’s annual Cabin Fever Sunday winter lecture series, held throughout the Adirondack region. The New York Council for the Humanities strives to help all New Yorkers become thoughtful participants in our communities by promoting critical inquiry, cultural understanding and civic engagement. Founded in 1975, the New York Council for the Humanities is the sole statewide proponent of public access to the humanities. The Council is a private 501(c)3 that receives Federal, State, and private funding. Online at www.nycouncil.org.

The Wal-Mart Foundation’s gift of $1,000 will be used to purchase educational supplies for children’s activities for public programs and special events. The Wal-Mart Foundation strives to provide opportunities that improve the lives of individuals in our communities including their customers and associates. Through financial contributions, in-kind donations and volunteerism, the Wal-Mart Foundation supports initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities in four main focus areas: education, workforce development / economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, health and wellness. Online at http://walmartstores.com/communitygiving/203.aspx

The International Paper Foundation’s grant of $2,000 will be used to cover the costs of materials and supplies for the museum’s Exhibit Master Plan process. In 2012, working with a team of nationally prominent consultants, the Adirondack Museum will develop its first museum-wide Exhibition Master Plan. This plan will result in making the visitor experience at the museum even more compelling and exciting. Updating some existing long-term exhibits with new information and perspectives, introducing additional long-term exhibits on issues of current concern, and identifying topics for dynamic changing exhibits will position the museum to better serve both current and future visitors. For additional information about the IP Foundation, please visit www.ipgiving.com.

The Stewart’s Holiday Match program has awarded the museum with $500 for the Adirondack Museum’s educational programs. The museum serves students and teachers throughout the Adirondack region and beyond. Offerings include exhibit-based classes, field trip opportunities, outreach programs in the classroom, and online research opportunities. The museum sees more than 8,000 students per year. For additional information about the Stewart’s Holiday Match program, please visit: www.stewartsshops.com/HolidayMatch.

The Museumwise GO! Grant program has provided a grant in the amount of $750 to cover the costs for two Adirondack Museum staff members to attend the 2012 Museums in Conversation Conference in Albany, N.Y. Christine Campeau, Museum Educator/School Programs Manager and Kate Moore, Marketing Manager will attend the conference in April 2012. For more information about Museumwise, please visit www.museumwise.org.

“The Adirondack Museum is thankful for the generosity of New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Council for the Humanities, Wal-Mart Foundation, International Paper Foundation, Museumwise and Stewart’s Holiday Match Program for their support of the Adirondack Museum” said David M. Kahn, Executive Director, Adirondack Museum.

The Adirondack Museum, accredited by the American Association of Museums, shares the history and culture of the Adirondack region in 22 exhibits on a 32-acre campus in the Central Adirondacks. The museum is supported in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. For additional information, visit www.adirondackmuseum.org or call (518) 352-7311.

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Adirondack Council Commemorates First Earth Day by Reducing Price of Carbon Retirement to $19.70

April 17th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Donation Prevents Three Tons of Real Carbon Emissions from Northeast Power Plants, Helps Organization Buy & Extinguish Government-Issued Pollution Rights

Adirondack CouncilALBANY, NY  – The only environmental organization in America to compete with power companies for carbon allowances at government-run carbon auctions is asking the public to help retire those allowances in celebration of Earth Day. The Adirondack Council announced today that it has lowered the price for retiring three tons of carbon from the normal $25, dropping it to $19.70 to commemorate the first Earth Day in 1970. For a tax-deductible contribution of $19.70, donors will receive an embossed Carbon Reduction Certificate commemorating the permanent retirement of three tons’ worth of allowances.

The organization has participated in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s only government-mandated carbon emissions reduction program, since its inception in 2008. Power companies must purchase one allowance for every ton of carbon they emit from their smokestacks.

A limited number of allowances are sold each year, and each year there are fewer allowances sold, reducing the amount of carbon that may be emitted. As allowances become scarce and the price rises, the incentive to clean up emissions increases.

RGGI was created four years ago by 10 Northeast states ranging from Maine to Maryland. RGGI sells allowances at auctions. Auction proceeds go back to the 10 states to fund clean energy and energy conservation programs.

Celebrate Earth Day - Purchase a Carbon Reduction CertificateThe Adirondack Council is the only environmental organization that competes against the power companies and purchases allowances at RGGI auctions. So far, the Council has purchased 14,000 allowances and has retired more than half of those via Carbon Reduction Certificates.

“Anyone who wants to help us can retire three tons of carbon by buying a Carbon Reduction Certificate,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. “Every carbon allowance we retire causes a one-ton reduction in the total amount carbon emissions allowed by the government.

“You can keep the certificate yourself, or give it to your favorite environmentalist,” he explained. “We are happy to personalize them. It’s a great way to do something real, meaningful and personal to reduce carbon emissions and fight against catastrophic climate change.

“You could bid at the auctions yourself, but the minimum lot size is 1,000 allowances,” Houseal said. “That just isn’t affordable for most individuals. We have thousands of members, so it was easier for us to get started.”Houseal said it was time the nation got started too.

“Over the past decade, the Adirondack Park has been battered by severe storms and record-breaking floods. Winter is now two weeks shorter than it used to be up here,” Houseal said. “Americans have to get serious about curbing the effects of climate change now. We would like to see RGGI become a national program, and then an international model for reducing greenhouse gas emissions quickly and inexpensively.”

RGGI was the first carbon-reduction program in the nation. California and several Midwest states are forming similar trading programs.

“Allowance trading has worked wonders in reducing acid rain, smog and fine particle emissions from power plants across the country,” he said. “It is our best hope for reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases without causing economic harm. Allowance trading gets the job done, and has already saved the power industry – and we customers — billions of dollars.”

All revenue from the Adirondack Council’s Carbon Reduction Certificates goes back into the Adirondack Council’s advocacy, public education and carbon-reduction programs. To make a contribution and receive a Carbon Reduction Certificate, people can call toll-free (877) 873-2240 or click here.

A national leader on acid rain and climate change, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit organization founded in 1975. The Council is dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of New York’s 9,300-square-mile Adirondack Park.

The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. Adirondack Council members live in all 50 United States.

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DEC Modifies Forest Conservation Easement to Allow Leasing of 220 Camps and State Acquisition of 2,900 Acres of Forest Land

March 30th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Leasing of Former Champion Lands in Adirondacks
by Heartwood Forestland Fund to Continue

Deal Adds 2,146 Acres to the State Forest Preserve
and Creates 651-Acre State Forest

NYSDEC LogoLeasing of recreational camps on the former Champion lands in Franklin, Herkimer, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties will be allowed under an agreement reached this week with the state and Heartwood Forestland Fund III, LP, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced today. As part of the agreement, Heartwood Forestland, the owner of a conservation easement on the former Champion lands, will transfer 2,797 acres of valuable wildlife habitat in the Deer River corridor to the state.

“Today’s agreement recognizes the importance hunt clubs play in the day-to-day management of these lands and in ensuring the long-standing traditions of hunting, fishing, camping and hiking will continue,” said Commissioner Martens. “DEC and Heartwood Forestland worked cooperatively with area stakeholders to ensure these camps can continue to be an important destination for hunters and their families in this remote area of the Park. DEC continues its efforts to create and maintain important recreational opportunities on state lands and lands subject to conservation easements.”

Under the new terms of the agreement, Heartwood Forestland will retain the right to permanently lease no more than 220 camp sites located on the 110,000 acres of forest lands on which the state acquired a working forest easement in 1999. In return, the company will transfer the 2,797 acres of land to the state in two parcels adjacent to the state’s existing Deer River holdings.

A 2,146-acre parcel within the Adirondack Park will be added to the State Forest Preserve as part of the recently classified Deer River Primitive Area, and a 651-acre parcel outside the Park will become a new State Forest. These parcels will provide access to a previously-inaccessible, detached Forest Preserve property and will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other outdoor recreation.

Under the terms of the 1999 agreement with Champion, the leased camps on the easement property acquired by Heartwood Forestland were to be removed by 2014. DEC and Heartwood Forestland worked with many other stakeholders to explore options to keep the tradition of camp leasing viable in this area. The new agreement will provide Heartwood Forestland with the discretion to permit the camps to remain on one-acre parcels after 2014. The entire 139,000-acre property will be open to public hunting, except for the one-acre camp parcels.

“This is great news for the north country,” said Robert Snider, Town of Clifton Town Supervisor. “The tradition of hunting and hunting camps is an important part of our heritage.”

Charles H. Collins, Managing Director, the Forestland Group, LLC which manages Heartwood Forestland said, “We are pleased this project is now complete as it aligns the Champion easement with the other conservation easements in the Adirondack Park. This amendment will demonstrate that traditional, regional uses of this ownership can be combined with our fundamental goals of sustained natural resource management and access to these lands for the general public. This project will benefit the natural resources of the Adirondack Park, the communities and residents who live in and around the Park, and the Park’s many visitors both from within New York state and around the country. The cooperative effort involved in this project is a testament to its value to the North Country. We look forward to a continued close working relationship with all of our conservation partners.”

Brian Houseal, of the Adirondack Council, stated, “This revised Champion lands conservation easement will ensure the protection of this important working forest as an economic asset for the Adirondack region, as well as preserve over 2,100 acres as Forever Wild Forest Preserve for future generations of New Yorkers.”

New York State Conservation Council’s Access and Land Use Specialist, Walt Paul, said, “It’s a great day and I’m sure a relief for families with camps on the former Champion Lands to finally have some resolution to this situation after 12 years of hard work by many, many people. The sporting community recognizes and truly appreciates the hard work and persistence on the part of DEC staff to bring this to closure. What became evident during the discussion and seemed to be a turning point is the realization that sportsmen and women and their families have been good stewards of these lands for many years and that the contributions they make to our regional economies are significant and very important.”

The Agreement was publically noticed in the November 4, 2009 Environmental Notice Bulletin and included a 48-day public comment period. The Agreement was also approved by the Adirondack Park Agency after a public comment period, the Offices of the Attorney General and the State Comptroller. A full Environmental Impact Statement and Responsiveness Summary was also prepared for the agreement, which is available for viewing on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/59344.html.

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