Rewilding the Adirondacks with Megafauna

A good article by Steve Hall, who co-runs the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center in Wilmington... he spoke with us on our field trip!

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/12/the-economic-potential-of-rewilding-the-adirondacks.html?utm_source=Adirondack+Explorer+%26+Adirondack+Almanack&utm_campaign=5d449011db-Adirondack_Almanack_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b49eb0d11b-5d449011db-47298733

ps  this should resonate with the "proposed amendment group" of Hallie, Rich, John, and Nick!

Wilderness as a Resource

Today in class we discussed Elizabeth Thorndike's essay "the Great Experiment in Conservation" and we all seemed to struggle with her concept of wilderness as a place in which almost, if not all, human presence should be removed. The truth is: even if all humans magically agreed not to set foot in the Adirondacks, human influence would still creep over the blue line. There is no existing land on earth that humans can completely protect from our own destruction. Sadly, the benefits and values of "protection of ecological functions and services, plant and wildlife habitat, genetic pools, freshwater supplies, flood control, soil erosion, air quality, and renewable resources" all are effected by what goes on outside the park too. Although Thorndike's defense of the Adirondacks as a resource of environmental knowledge and resources is well founded, I struggle with her argument for the application of her goals. Human influence in the park seems all but inevitable, the question is: how do we best coexist?

We should know about Martin Litton

This article popped up on my Instagram (Yay, social media!!), written by Kenneth Bower of National Geographic. It eulogizes Martin Litton, who Bower writes "launched the environmental movement as we know it."

Up until this morning, I'd never heard of the guy--but he seems legit. The article cites him as (at least partially) responsible for the following:
-the Wilderness Act
-the Endangered Species Act
-the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
-the Environmental Protection Act


Also, what caught my attention was that while the Adirondack Park is not mentioned in the article, he seems to embody some of the traits we've identified as characteristic of an Adirondacker--the type of person who does a little bit of everything, somewhat of the Bill McKibben variety: his work has been an amalgam of guiding, journalism, and radical environmentalism. 

But seriously, doesn't he look like he belongs in the 'Dacks? (See below).

"Litton boats down the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam, in Arizona. He holds the record as the oldest man ever to row the Grand Canyon, which he did at age 87."

So, anyway, I advise that you give the article a read. And a question: Do you think his work with the aforementioned legislation has had much of an affect on the Adirondack Park? 

From ADK to FLA... forest clearing

I thought this article might be of interest:

http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2014/11/13/clearing-of-rare-south-florida-forest-begins-for-development-of-biotech-city/

The first two paragraphs read:

After ten years of opposition to state- and county-backed efforts to construct a biotech hub in Palm Beach County, Florida—where the rare Briger Forest currently stands—developers are now clearing land under suspicious circumstances. Since 2010, opponents of the “Scripps Phase II” project have cited the presence of gopher tortoises, rare native ferns, and other threatened and endangered species as reasons to stop the proposed development of the Briger Forest.

Despite these concerns, The Scripps Research Institute—a California-based biomedical company with a campus across the road from the threatened forest—are moving forward on their plans of expansion. Last week, members of the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) and Everglades Earth First! (EEF!) discovered that Ranger Construction Industries had begun clearing a large segment of the southeastern portion of the Briger Forest.

Suggested Reading

While doing research for my final project on Seneca Ray Stoddard, I came across a few very interesting pages in the beginning of Jeffrey Horrell's book Seneca Ray Stoddard: Transforming the Adirondack Wilderness in Text and Image regarding the evolution of the concept of wilderness. From page 11 to 16, Horrell talks about the change in the concept of wilderness specifically in the context of its use in religious texts. He mentions how, in classical mythology, wilderness implies the supernatural in an uncivilized, passionate state. Horrell then talks about how Christianity gives contradictory ideas of wilderness, referring to it as cursed and scary in the Adam and Eve story, but as a "refuge from corrupt society" when utilized by Christian monks and hermits. I won't rewrite the whole passage, but he continues to provide differing concepts of wilderness over time. We have discussed the definition of wilderness numerous times throughout the semester, and so it was interesting to see how different groups of people use the term and define it. It was definitely a different perspective on the concept that I have not come into contact with much so far this semester. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find this book online, but there is another copy in the library aside from the one that I currently have! Check it out!

Moose Casualties

               Over the course of the past decade, scientists in New Hampshire have observed suspicious amounts of moose dying off due to unknown causes. For the past three years, new York's own scientists have been conducting an investigation targeting our state's moose population to try and find out why. There are currently estimated to be around 750 moose in the Adirondacks, based on sightings, road kill counts, and hunter reports. The basic idea of the survey and study is to find out how the population is fairing, and whether it is growing or declining in size. 

                Starting in the next few weeks, the Department of Environmental Conservation will be working in partnership with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Cornell University to conduct this in depth survey and study. In January, when the snow falls, an aerial count will be taken since the animals stand out against the snow. In accordance, Cornell will analyze DNA from moose droppings to learn about the Adirondack moose's eating habits. And the DEC will conduct movement studies using GPS tracking collars.

            New York lies on the southern boundary of where moose like to live. The population was wiped out in the 1800's due to over-hunting, but has recently begun to reappear as the animals have wandered in from surrounding states. Overall, this is a really interesting conservation project on the behalf of several different organizations and institutions, and I believe it will be extremely pertinent to our class when the results are made available.

http://snowyinn.com/ILMooseSign.jpg

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/A-checkup-for-an-Adirondacks-icon-5926394.php

Road Salt in the Adirondacks

Road salt is a difficult product to escape in the wintery north, even the protected forests of the Adirondacks. Road salt is something we've come to understand as necessary in a society where cars are our main source of transportation. However, road salt is incredibly caustic and has a drastic affect on the surrounding environment. Road salt remains and even accumulates in the soil and water "years, perhaps even decades" after it has melted off the roads. This means that even if all road salt application halted today the environment would continue to suffer. The problem is that road salt application can't be stopped today, it would be dangerous and probably illegal.

There are alternatives but they're frequently under-utilized because their value is misunderstood. Calcium, for example, has a lower impact on the environment and less is needed to achieve the same effect. However, calcium has a significantly higher face-value and is therefore off-putting to state highway departments who are frequently struggling with their tight budgets.

As usual, the battle over road salt is one of safety and usability (of roads, in this case) vs. environmental preservation. Both are of vast importance and neither can be disregarded for the sake of the other, putting the issue at a standstill, just like essentially every other issue in the park.