5 Things You Need to Know | April 2024 ADK Conservation News
By Justin A. Levine - Communications Associate
Friday, May 3, 2024
Ausable River Association plans new headquarters, name change
The Ausable River Association, which has expanded in recent years to conduct water quality sampling across the Adirondacks, will again be growing both in scope and size. AsRA, which has worked on water quality issues in the Ausable River watershed for years, will be building an educational center in Jay along the banks of the Ausable. The center will increase AsRA’s reach and mission, leading to the new name of Ausable Freshwater Center.
Trailblazing Adirondack forest ranger mourned
Robbi Mecus, a 52-year-old trailblazing Forest Ranger died while climbing a mountain in Alaska. Mecus was not only a member of the Adirondack ranger force, but was also transgender and a leader in the Adirondack LGBTQ community. Mecus fell 1,000 feet while ice climbing in Denali National Park. The fall also left a former Adirondacker, Melissa Orzechowski, with serious physical injuries.
APA grows annual planning forum after Covid
The state Adirondack Park Agency hosted hundreds in Saranac Lake for its second annual planning forum. Prior to Covid, the APA hosted its annual Local Government Day. But now the annual event has taken on a more pragmatic tone, as all sorts of elected leaders, advocates, and town employees attend to learn about planning initiatives and share ideas on how to operate within the Adirondack Park.
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Micro-grants given to 12 ADK farms, value-added businesses
The Essex Farm Institute, a program of the Adirondack Council, announced more than a dozen grants given to Adirondack farmers and businesses in honor of Earth Day. The awards, which have been given out for almost a decade, help farmers and value-added producers within the Adirondack Park to become more economically and environmentally sustainable while they continue to be an integral part of Adirondack communities.
Adirondack group sues DEC to force study of Saranac Lakes water bodies
Protect the Adirondacks! has filed a lawsuit in state court to compel the state Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct carrying capacity studies on water bodies in the Saranac Lake area. Within the DEC’s Saranac Lakes Wild Forest unit, there are nearly 150 water bodies, including some of the most visited in the Adirondacks, such as the Saranac chain of lakes, Fish Creek ponds, and Rollins Pond. A carrying capacity study would help determine what impact boaters have on the ecological integrity of the water bodies.
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Justin Levine joined the Council staff in 2021 as the Communications and Outreach Assistant. He previously worked as a regional marketing manager for the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and was an award-winning journalist and photographer for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News. Since graduating from Paul Smith’s College in 2004, Justin has worked in the environmental field in various roles in both the Adirondacks and Florida. When not working, Justin loves spending time with his family, running, and doing all the outdoor things the Park has to offer.
