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February 20, 2010
A Denton Publication
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Outdoors
Stockpiling for savings is a great tip to save some extra cash.
Library benefits from sale of local history book.
Record Walleye, turkeys on the rise, and more.
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DEC calls for removal of two fire towers
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Mosey down Main Str eet
By Jon Alexander denpubs@denpubs.com RAY BROOK — Two Adirondack fire towers located on state lands and listed on the state and federal Registers of Historic Places have been tagged for demolition. State Department of Environmental Conservation officials outlined two proposed Unit Management Plan amendments to Adirondack Park Agency commissioners Feb. 11 that, if approved, will require the removal of the fire towers atop St. Regis and Hurricane mountains. DEC officials said the towers must be removed in order to comply with the Wilderness designation in the State Land Master Plan – commonly referred to as the SLMP. According to DEC forester Steve Guglielmi, the tower atop St. Regis Mountain built in 1918 is now the primary non-conforming structure in the St. Regis Canoe Area. The SLMP states that Canoe Areas are to be managed in the same way as Wilderness Areas and that fire towers are simply not compliant with the designation. “The tower is widely visible throughout the area,” Guglielmi told commissioners. “It has a direct impact on the wilderness character.” DEC officials said the only alternative to tearing down the towers that top St. Regis and Hurricane mountains is amending the SLMP – a move that APA Chairman Curt Stiles has staunchly opposed. But for APA Commissioner Bill Thomas, amending the SLMP is better than removing two historically relevant structures. “When I see a picture of the mountaintop with a tower on it, that’s part of the wilderness experience,” Thomas said. “I don’t think there are a lot of people who would say they shouldn’t be there. It’s part of our heritage; it’s part of our history.” Like the St. Regis tower, the 91-year-old Hurricane Mountain tower must be removed to conform to the current requirements of primitive area management as outlined in the SLMP. Adirondack Local Government Review Board Executive Director Fred Monroe ripped the proposal to remove the towers, calling it nothing short of brash disregard for local history. “We’ve only found three sites, all in Essex County, to save as something of historic importance,” Monroe said. “Residents like these things. There’s ways to maintain them that won’t cost the state any money and I think we should consider that.” Using private money, local citizen action groups have restored several of the remaining towers, including the now potentially doomed St. Regis structure. According to a DEC study released this month, of the 57 towers originally located in the park, 34 remain and 24 are located on public land or lands under state easements. DEC has removed six towers from Adirondack mountaintops over the last decade. Guglielmi said that although the two towers slated for demolition are considered historic, they can still be removed as long as the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is consulted first. A public hearing regarding the proposed Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area UMP will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Keene Central School. A similar hearing concerning the proposed amendments to the St. Regis UMP will be at the Paul Smith’s College Freer Science building, also on Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. Following the hearings, the proposed UMP amendments will return to the APA board for consideration.
The Adirondack Lawnchair Ladies promenade past the Harrietstown Town Hall during the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Gala Parade Feb. 13. The parade, which featured more than 60 entries, drew crowds numbering in the thousands to the downtown area. Visit www.trilakestoday.com for a gallery of more than 70 photos from the Gala Parade. Photo by Matt Bosley
By Matt Bosley matt@denpubs.com SARANAC LAKE — Like the hero from an old western, the 2010 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival rode off into the sunset, but not before turning this Adirondack village into a boomtown. With the festivities finally coming to a close, Carnival Committee chair Jeff Dickson said this year ’s carnival was a definite
success. “My impression is that we had very large crowds,” said Dickson, “and everything went off without a hitch, which is always a good thing.” The 10-day celebration came to a climax Feb. 13 with its annual Gala Parade. There were 65 entries for this year ’s parade, which again drew thousands of people to the village. “It’s always a big shot in the arm for us
this time of year,” said Sylvie Nelson, director of the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Evidence of the carnival’s economic impact will become clearer in the next few months as occupancy tax revenues are assessed, but Nelson said the crowds made for a “full house” for local businesses and hotels.
See CARNIVAL, page 2
Reports of killed mountain lion just a hoax By Chris Morris denpubs@denpubs.com RAY BROOK — The North Country was abuzz with rumors Feb. 10 that a motorist in Black Brook had struck and killed a large mountain lion. Turns out, those rumors were circulating in the Buffalo area, too – not to mention northern Ohio and rural Pennsylvania. As early as 6 a.m. Wednesday, WNBZ began receiving reports that a 190 pound mountain lion was killed in the Clinton County town of Black Brook by a passing motorist. The proof? A cell phone picture message that showed a large cat in the bed of a pickup truck. Recipients of the message said officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed the incident. Those same reports were called into Buffalo’s News Channel 4 late last year. Reporters there spoke with DEC Region 9 Captain David Bennett. “It’s always a friend of a friend saw it or a cousin of mine got this from a buddy of his and so on,” he said. “But there was no lion. There’s no proof at all, other than those in captivity.” Despite the DEC’s insistence that there’s no proof of mountain lions in New York, residents counter that they’ve seen them. Regional Wildlife Manager Mark Kandel says there’s no conspiracy theory on the DEC’s part. “Everybody would know if we did,” he said. “We can’t keep that a secret. A lot of people think we can keep it a secret, but that would be impossible.” Dave Winchell is public affairs director for DEC Region 5. He says this latest hoax is just another in a series of inaccurate reports about mountain lions in New York. “We’ve received a number of phone calls on reports of a mountain lion killed in Black Brook,” Winchell said. “But these reports are completely false. This hoax started in Region 9, in Buffalo,
This photo of a mountain lion has been used to circulate rumors of mountain lion sightings throughout the northeast, but DEC officials say the rumors are just a hoax. last December and has moved across the state and has finally arrived here.” Winchell says each hoax presents the same set of inconsistencies. “If you look at the message, one of the things that’s really interesting, no matter what locale they claim the accident occurred in, they say it was on Savage Road,” he said. “And most of these locales don’t even have a Savage Road.” According to Winchell, the eastern cougar disappeared from New York in the late 1800s and purported sightings generally lack any hard evidence.