Central & Western NY Outdoors
 July 2007 

     

 ~~~ IN THIS ISSUE ~~~      

 

Third trail map for Canalway Trail Now Available

Ecologist Shares Intriguing Findings about Owasco Flats Area

Final Days of the Adirondack Park?

Honor Your Loved One

Such A Cute Baby

Zoar Valley - Loved to Death and Protected

Get Out! Sea Kayaking, Adventures for Youth

Presentation & Booksigning by Mt. Everest Climber Kevin Flynn

 

Albany to Schenectady Section (download as a PDF)

Lockport to Palmyra Section (download as a PDF)

E. Syracuse to Little Falls Section (download as a PDF)

Mark Whitmore, project manager and stewardship ecologist for the Finger Lakes Land Trust, recently completed a year-long project involving a comprehensive inventory of natural resources, which included a survey of landowners and other stakeholders associated with the Owasco Flats area to determine their attitudes about conservation and development of the site.

The flats consist of about 1,500 acres of wetlands, forest and fields located on the southern end of Owasco Lake, including 11 ecological communities, from marshland and floodland to cropland, Whitmore described. He noted that one area of the flats, the streamside oak-hickory area, is one of the most diverse natural places in the Finger Lakes area. “This area is really unique, with over 360 types of plants in this small area,” Whitmore said.

Local survey responses show that flats landowners hope to preserve the area's uniqueness by preventing development. Residents noted in surveys that they continue to use the area to hunt, fish and boat. “I was very impressed. They love where they live,” Whitmore said. “They love the area for its peace and quiet,” he said. A majority of people surveyed had no desire to change the current usage and some expressed interest in restoring wildlife habitats.

Go explore the natural beauty of Owasco Flats by hiking the 1.6-mile-loop Owasco Flats Trail (Take A Hike - Family Walks in New York's Finger Lakes Region) or by paddling 5.3 miles from Moravia to Owasco Lake on Owasco Outlet (Take A Paddle - Finger Lakes New York Quiet Waters for Canoes & Kayaks).

 

 
The Raven, a riveting, thought-provoking new novel from Mark W. Holdren, imagines a post-apocalyptic Adirondacks at the dawn of the twenty-second century. 

In exchange for billions in defaulted bonds, a bankrupted State of New York is about to transfer four million acres of Adirondack Park land to a development consortium of Chinese and Saudi banks. 

Catastrophic climate change and collapse of the debt-driven U.S. economy have devastated the dream that was America. But when a time-traveling adventurer discovers he is lost in the Adirondacks - and it is 1832 - there is hope that America has one last chance to get it right, before everything goes terribly wrong. 

Legendary Adirondack historical figures – Nat Foster, Alvah Dunning, “Adirondack” Murray, Mitchell Sabattis, John Cheney and more - come alive as as The Raven journeys across three centuries of Adirondack history.

“The Raven is about all we could lose –our wild, unspoiled places, our rich and diverse environment, our American quality of life –if we don’t act now,” says Holdren.  His previous Adirondack novel, Spirit Wolf, explored what the author believes is an undeniable connection between the call of the wild and the power of faith. His newspaper feature writing has been honored by the Associated Press and New York State Newspaper Publishers Association.

“Our government institutions are so polarized, so corrupted that they cannot deal with the critical issues that threaten our democracy,” Holdren continues. “I hope, by experiencing an Adirondacks untainted by development and pollution, Raven readers will sense the urgency with which we must come together as a nation, before it is too late.”  

The Raven is published by Powell Hill Press (www.powellhillpress.com) ISBN 978-0-9760648-1-7. Retail price $14.95. Author signed copies via web site - free shipping and handling.

 

Send your loved one to the highest point in Africa by having their name on this batik. It will be taken to the top of Kilimanjaro by a Cancer Survivor and mailed back to you with the teams signatures. Address it to your loved one or in memory of. 
For more information www.journeysofinspiration.com

 

 

With claws the size of a human hand and a beak that could do damage as well, this 32-day-old Bald Eagle chick is thriving near the offices of Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut.
His mom keeps him well fed with fish from the Connecticut River. The people in the pictures are Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection folks or veterinarians, all sworn to secrecy as to the nest's whereabouts to protect the chicks. 

(Click the pictures below to enlarge.)

                  

        Zoar Valley - Loved to Death and Protected

 

We've heard an outcry lately from various groups with a stake in the Zoar Valley ecosystem, claiming that Zoar Valley is being loved to death by too many visitors. And that too many visitors ae causing it harm, not treading lightly and leaving no signs of their passage as they should. We're having to pull pages from our "200 Waterfalls" guidebook to eliminate some of the routes in Zoar Valley to minimize this impact.

But, among all the bad news, we recently heard some good news from Julie Broyles, Director of Zoar Valley Nature Society (www.zoarvalley.org). According to Julie, June 7, 2007 was a monumentally important day for Zoar Valley and its old growth forests and gorge ecosystems. The New York State Assembly and Senate both passed a bill authorizing the dedication of Zoar Valley's Protection Area (gorges and old growth forests - 1,492 acres of the total 2,927 acres of public land) as a "Unique Area" under New York's Environmental Conservation Law to be made part of New York's State Nature and Historical Preserve Trust (the state forest preserve). This means the protected land in Zoar Valley, the Zoar Valley Unique Area, will receive New York's highest level of public land protection and will remain forever wild. The bill awaits Governor Spitzer's signature to become a part of New York's Environmental Conservation Law. Unique Areas are defined as "lands of special natural beauty, wilderness character, geological, ecological or historical significance."

According to Julie, this result comes after years of work by so many groups and individuals - citizens, scientists, activists, lawyers, professors, students, and more. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Neil Woodworth and Marisa Tedesco of the Adirondack Mountain Club for their efforts in getting this legislation submitted and passed, efforts which began years ago and laid the groundwork for this current success.  Professor Tom Diggins of Youngstown State University and the Eastern Native Tree Society is the undisputed authority on Zoar's old growth forests and riverine ecosystems, and has done more than anyone over the years to educate us all on why Zoar is ecologically important and should be protected.  Also contributing - The Nature Conservancy, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and its New York Natural Heritage Program, New York Old Growth Forest Association and its Western NY Old Growth Forest Survey Team, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Niagara Group of the Sierra Club, Buffalo Audubon Society, Buffalo Ornithological Society, Zoar Valley Paddling Club, Zoar Valley Nature Society, and more -- and each and every person who participated in the public input process that led to this great result. Thanks to everyone who participated.

       Get Out! Sea Kayaking, Adventures for Youth

Young people: irresponsible, inactive and what about their music?

  On June 8^th, the 7^th Grade Class from Honeoye, NY explored their unique environment only a few hundred yards from the school.  Many students lived on the lake yet had never been in a kayak.  Sea kayaks just look like adventure. They say to you “I want to go somewhere cool”.  Spearheaded by the Biology teacher, Jeff Orman, and organized by Pack Paddle Ski, the students made great use of the day.  In short one hour blocks some of the youth decided to wait in line and come back for up to three sessions.

  The intent of the day was to inspire young people to “get out”  Given the data from the smiles and the return performance, this group is on the road to staying out.

 

Climbing Mt Everest and Mt Kilimanjaro of the 7 Summits

 

• When:  July 17, 7:30 PM

• Where: MedVed running store in Pittford on Route 31

• Sponsored by: Pack Paddle Ski, MedVed, Journeys Of Inspiration

• Donation: $10 to support Kilimanjaro Cancer Climb

Book signing by author and sales, all proceeds to go climbers.
Give a shoe up to the climbers-Shoe sale, a portion of sales goes to climbers
Merrell Rep will be attending with a whole line of  Merrell boots

                       

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