The Adirondack Council

News Release

For more information contact: John F. Sheehan - 518-432-1770

For Immediate Release Friday, July 12, 2002

NORTH RIVER, NY -- New York Rivers United of Rome, NY, was presented with the Adirondack Council's highest honor -- the coveted hand-carved loon commemorating its Conservationist of the Year Award -- at the Council's 2002 Annual Awards Banquet Saturday night here.

The Council's annual celebration was held at the Garnet Hill Lodge, overlooking Thirteenth Lake and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness in this southeastern Adirondack hamlet.

Also receiving awards at the banquet were veteran Adirondack Life editor Elizabeth Folwell of Blue Mountain Lake, who won the 2002 Park Communicator Award, and Fort Ticonderoga, in Essex County, which won the 2002 Park Heritage Award.

New York Rivers United: In 1992, as the long-term licenses for dozens of the state's hydro-electric power facilities were about to expire, a group of concerned citizens from Upstate New York joined forces to form New York Rivers United. Their goal was to restore as much of New York's natural river systems as they could.

Wherever they looked, they saw hydro plants that had been killing fish and harming river ecosystems for decades. Miles of pristine rivers had been stuffed into pipes and diverted into generating turbines. Reservoirs rose and fell so dramatically over the course of each year. Aquatic life and shoreline wildlife habitat didn't have a chance to survive.

"NYRU became a chief environmental negotiator in the federal license proceedings and hired Bruce Carpenter to lead their team," said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian Houseal prior to the event. "Since then, hundreds of miles of dry river bed has been restored to natural flows and power companies have committed millions of dollars to environmental and recreational enhancements.

"In the Adirondacks, NYRU has worked alongside the Adirondack Council to reach settlements that will restore major sections of the Beaver, Raquette, Sacandaga and Oswegatchie rivers," Houseal noted. "Our organizations work together very well. It's a pleasure to extend this award in recognition for their efforts."

Elizabeth Folwell: Elizabeth arrived at Adirondack Life Magazine in 1989. As editor and now editor at large at Adirondack Life, Elizabeth has written and edited pieces on just about every facet of life in the Adirondacks. She has served as education coordinator of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake and as executive director of the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, also in Blue Mountain Lake, where she and her husband still live. During the 1980 winter Olympics in Lake Placid, Elizabeth worked as a project coordinator for Traveler's Aid. Over the past decade, Elizabeth has won many awards from the International Regional Magazine Association, facing stiff competition for well-deserved honors. Her work has also appeared in many prestigious national publications as well. They include the New York Times travel section, National Geographic Traveler, Reader's Digest Books, and elsewhere. She is also the author, with Amy Godine, of Adirondack Odysseys: Exploring Museums and Historic Places from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence (published in 1997 by the Adirondack Museum and Berkshire House Publishers) and The Adirondack Book: A Complete Guide (published by Berkshire House Publishers in 1992), one of their "Great Destinations" series.

Fort Ticonderoga: Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French from 1755-1758 as Fort Carillon located above the narrow point between Lake Champlain and Lake George, which controlled the major north-south inland water "highway" during the 18th century. Today, it is a museum and educational institution and one of the Adirondack Park's premiere tourism attractions, bringing more than 114,000 visitors and $11.4 million to the local economy.

The Fort was the "key to the continent" as the superpowers of the 18th century, the French and the British, contested for empire in North America. At the outset of the American Revolution, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and the Green Mountain Boys crossed Lake Champlain from Vermont under cover of darkness. From then until July 1777, Fort Ticonderoga served as an important staging area for the American army, and as the site where vessels for America's first navy were rigged and fitted out.

In 1820, William Ferris Pell purchased the ruins of the Fort and the surrounding land to preserve it for posterity. In 1909, it was opened to the public with President Taft in attendance. In 1931, the fort was designated a private not-for-profit educational historic site managed by the Fort Ticonderoga Association.

Currently, it employs 19 full time and 61 seasonal staff members and counts more than 2,200 people among its loyal volunteers. Among its unique historical collections is the Thompson-Pell Research Center, which houses a research library with over 13,000 rare books and manuscripts. Throughout the season, the Fort offers numerous education programs, lectures, symposia, and reenactments. Over 7,000 school-age children receive education programs both at the Fort and in area schools.

Previous winners of the Adirondack Council's Conservationist of the Year Awardinclude Governor George Pataki, Governor Mario M. Cuomo, New York Times editor John Oakes, NYS Attorney General Dennis Vacco, NYS DEC Commissioner John P. Cahill, Senate EnCon Chairman Carl Marcellino, Assembly EnCon Chairman Richard Brodsky, Assembly En Con Chair Maurice Hinchey, Adirondack Park Agency Executive Director Robert Glennon and Adirondack activists Clarence Petty and Peter Borrelli, the late Paul Schaefer and the late State Senator and Public Service Commission Chairman Harold Jerry.

The Council's board of directors has been presenting awards at the group's annual meeting since 1984. The Council was founded in 1975.

The Adirondack Council is an 18,000-member, privately funded, not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the natural character and communities of the Adirondack Park through research, education, advocacy and legal action.