Thirteenth Lake © Nancie Battaglia
update Spring 2021
Keeping Thirteenth Lake’s Shoreline Wild Protection of year-round outdoor recreation is vital—not only to the local economy, but to benefit the health and well-being of residents. — Johnsburg Town Supervisor Andrea Hogan
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s 2020 came to a close, the Adirondack Land Trust bought the last piece of unprotected shoreline on Thirteenth Lake, a headwater of the Upper Hudson River and the largest water body surrounded by the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. The purchase of 17 acres secured the wild character of Thirteenth Lake’s shoreline. The tract is bordered on one side by New York State Forest Preserve and the other by the Garnet Hill Property Owners Association, which protects its lakeshore property with restrictive use covenants. The Adirondack Land Trust will work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to add the tract to the 114,010-acre Siamese Ponds Wilderness, at which time it will become public and protected by the Forever Wild clause of the state constitution.
The purchase fulfills the conservation goals of the previous landowners, Elise and Woody Widlund, and was made possible by donations to the land trust’s Wild Adirondacks Fund, including more than 40 contributions from residents and homeowners in the town of Johnsburg. “The town board enthusiastically and unanimously supported the Adirondack Land Trust acquisition of this beautiful parcel on Thirteenth Lake,” Johnsburg Town Supervisor Andrea Hogan said. “Protection of year-round outdoor recreation is vital—not only to the local economy, but to benefit the health and well-being of residents. ...We have been grateful for the rural and scenic character of our region, and to the organizations that partner with us in preservation.” Adirondack Land Trust Board Chair Bill Paternotte said, “We are proud to partner with New York State, the town of Johnsburg, and members of the community to safeguard the wild character of Thirteenth Lake. The people of New York State had the foresight to conserve most of this shoreline more than a century ago. This project is an example of how a small but strategic land purchase can have wider impact and protect New York’s collective investment.” spring 2021 | 1
BOARD of Directors Bill Paternotte, Chair Jonathan S. Linen, Vice Chair David Henle, Treasurer Barbara Glaser, Ed.D., Secretary Stephen H. Burrington Executive Committee Member Kevin Arquit Barbara Bedford, Ph.D. David Brunner Charles Canham, Ph.D. Timothy Fritzinger Heidi Kretser, Ph.D. Joe Martens Vincent McClelland Amy McCune, Ph.D. Elizabeth McLanahan Holly Rippon-Butler Anne C. Stuzin Kip Testwuide Julie Willis Advisory Directors Tim Barnett Mike DiNunzio Bill McKibben Amy Vedder, Ph.D. Chairs Emeriti Lionel O. Barthold James C. Dawson, Ph.D. Harry Groome Edward W. McNeil Peter S. Paine Jr. Meredith M. Prime Charles O. Svenson STAFF Bill Brown, Conservation Manager Mike Carr, Executive Director Kimberly Corwin-Gray, Assoc. Director of Philanthropy Becca Halter, GIS and Stewardship Specialist Doug Munro, Stewardship Manager Susie Runyon, Finance and Office Manager Mary Thill, Communications Manager Nancy Van Wie, Director of Philanthropy Kathy Woughter, Philanthropy and Outreach Coordinator Megan Zack, Land Protection Manager 2861 NYS Route 73 PO Box 130 , Keene, NY 12942 (518) 576-2400 info@adirondacklandtrust.org adirondacklandtrust.org
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LASTING IMPACT The legacy of an Adirondack Life editor Jim Carman recently wrote to let us know that his parents, Bernard and Barbara Carman, left a bequest for the Adirondack Land Trust. From Jim’s letter: This bequest originated with my father, Bernard R. Carman, who was editor of Adirondack Life magazine during the late 1970s and early 80s. My parents lived for a number of years in Lake Placid, and some of my own fondest memories are times that we spent hiking, canoeing and fishing in that beautiful place. We honored a last request of my father to scatter his ashes on a mountaintop near John Pond that has a commanding view of the High Peaks, and at some point in the future my mother’s remains will join him there. Although the occasion of this bequest is a sad one, it brings some solace to my brother David and me that our parents’ wishes are able to be honored in this fashion. They truly valued and loved the Adirondacks, and I hope that this gift continues to support the Forever Wild distinction that makes that land such a special place. On behalf of my parents and my brother, I thank you for the work you are doing.
Become an Adirondack Visionary Adirondack Visionaries are those who make provisions for Adirondack Land Trust in their estate planning. There are several options to consider, including a bequest or living trust, life insurance designation, charitable remainder trust, or charitable lead trust. To direct a bequest, or a portion thereof, to the Adirondack Land Trust: Our legal name is Adirondack Land Trust Inc., a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing under the laws of New York, and with a principal business address of 2861 Route 73, P.O. Box 130, Keene, NY 12942, Tax ID# 22-2559576. For more information, please contact Kimberly Corwin-Gray, Associate Director of Philanthropy, at kimberly.gray@adirondacklandtrust.org.
Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest Inholding
© Adirondack Land Trust
Closing A Gap in the New York State Forest Preserve In March the Adirondack Land Trust purchased 60 acres surrounded by the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest, closing a gap in the New York State Forest Preserve. “I bought the camp 20 years ago and had great experiences and adventures, and learned a lot about survival in a remote and pristine place,” said previous owner Daniel Golden. “When I decided to leave it, I considered selling the land to a private buyer but decided to make sure that it was preserved as part of the greater Adirondack Park.” An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of publicly conserved land such as a statedesignated Adirondack “wilderness” or “wild forest” area. Inholdings result from private ownership of lands predating public protection of surrounding lands. The Vanderwhacker inholding included a motorized private right-of-way on the Lost Pond Mountain Trail to reach the property. That right-ofway will now be erased, but the trail remains open to the public for snowmobiling.
landscape,” said Bill Paternotte, board chair of the Adirondack Land Trust. The 91,854-acre Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest comprises several tracts in the towns of Minerva, Newcomb, North Hudson and Schroon in Essex County; the towns of Chester and Johnsburg in Warren County; and the Town of Indian Lake in Hamilton County. The newly protected tract is contained within a 60,000-acre parcel that includes the namesake mountain as well as many lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. The Adirondack Land Trust will work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to transfer the land to the Forest Preserve for Forever Wild protection under the state constitution.
Above: Adirondack Land Trust staff snowshoe to the private inholding. Left: The white rectangle on the map will soon blend into the green Wild Forest.
“In addition to our focus on large intact wildlands, we work to protect small but key tracts that protect New York’s collective investment in the Forest Preserve and improve the connectivity of the wider spring 2021 | 3
The Big Picture Land
Wat er
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Co mmu ni t y
C limat e
Although conservation requires a long-term commitment and a large-scale vision, the work itself is local. — Scott Russell Sanders
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How maps can help us understand the conservation values of our region
View from Skylight © Brendan Wiltse; Land © Erika Bailey / Adirondack Land Trust; Water © Nancie Battaglia; Community © Debra Millet; Climate © Larry Master
Gazing out from an Adirondack summit, you see vast expanses of forest. From above, the Adirondack landscape can look seamless, but within this panorama are a variety of woodlands, farmlands, waters, wild places and communities. We have to make choices about where to take land-protection action, and how to allocate time and resources. The Adirondack Land Trust works in an area spanning seven million acres of public and private lands, about half of it classified as conserved. So how do we decide which pieces of the picture to focus on? To provide a framework for these decisions, we are embarking on a project to map the best available information about the Adirondack landscape and its many parts, from soils to scenery. We are collecting geographic information system (GIS) data to help us identify places with high potential to provide lasting conservation and public benefit. Initial mapping will be completed this year. Criteria include:
These maps will help us evaluate a place’s conservation value and understand how it might advance the goals of our strategic plan, among them: • Keeping the character of the Adirondack forest intact and healthy at a parkwide scale • Protecting farmlands that contribute to local food production, community aesthetics, and a strong rural economy • Working to ensure that Adirondack communities have clean water, and protecting water quality by maintaining natural buffers • Linking climate-resilient areas inside the Adirondack Park, and protecting wildlife stepping stones in migration corridors spanning the park periphery The long-range vision remains the same: An Adirondacks that thrives as a living model of how people embrace and respect the natural world; communities that benefit from wild lands, clean water, clean energy, working forests and farms, and access to outdoor recreation; and an Adirondack Park that grows ever more vital in a changing climate, inspiring new and diverse advocates for conservation.
• Climate-resilient landscapes • Productive farmlands • Managed woodlands • Undeveloped shorelines • Free-flowing streams • Drinking water sources • Biodiversity of plants and animals
Our Working Area: GIS mapping tools will help us set conservation priorities across a diverse sevenmillion-acre landscape
• Wildlife habitat and corridors • Scenic vistas and byways • Community linkages to public lands • Key additions to public Forest Preserve
The conservation priorities mapping project is supported by a grant from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program of the Environmental Protection Fund, administered by the Land Trust Alliance in coordination with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A private matching gift from Annette Merle-Smith made the grant possible.
NYS Conservation Land Conservation Easement Land Private Land
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Organizational U p date s
Meet the 2021 Intern for the Future of the Adirondacks Zoë Turner-Debs has been selected for the Adirondack Land Trust 2021 Internship for the Future of the Adirondacks. She will apply her geographic information system (GIS) skills in the field and in the office. Originally from Providence, RI, Turner-Debs will complete a bachelor’s degree in Earth science and society from Vassar College in June 2021 and plans to pursue a Master of Forestry centered around environmental management for conservation. This summer Zoë will work with our staff to update and improve maps of conservation areas. She will use GPS technology in the field to locate boundaries and structures on private lands under conservation easement, followed by processing and organizing the data. She will also use GIS to support a mapping project to guide land-protection decisions (see page 4). Zoë has been a GIS teaching assistant and a research fellow at Vassar. In that role she gathered and formatted data for the town of Poughkeepsie’s greenhouse gas inventory for the New York Climate Smart Communities program. In 2019, Zoë was an invasive species management intern for the 415-acre Vassar Ecological Preserve. In her spare
time, she is a member of the Hudson Valley Mappers, participating in OpenStreet mapathons, and is part of Vassar’s Students for Equitable Environmental Decisions. The Adirondack Land Trust Internship for the Future of the Adirondacks was established in 2020 by conservationists Barbara Glaser and the late Clarence Petty (1905-2009), with the assistance of Clarence’s son Ed.
Seeking Future Conservation Leaders The Adirondack Land Trust is seeking people in their 20s and 30s who value the Adirondack Park as a place that welcomes and provides benefits for all. The Next Generation Council is an opportunity for young professionals interested in applying a diverse array of skills and experiences to tangible land protection action, and to shaping meaningful and inclusive conservation. In turn, the Adirondack Land Trust invests in NextGen Council members by providing leadership and networking opportunities for rising conservation champions—and eventually we look forward to time together hiking, paddling and sharing ideas in real life. Interested in learning more? See adirondacklandtrust.org/ NextGen or contact Kathy Woughter, Philanthropy & Outreach Coordinator, at Kathy.Woughter@adirondacklandtrust.org.
We Welcome New Directors Timothy (Timo) Fritzinger Timo Fritzinger started his career at Hancock Timber Resource Group, where he worked as a research analyst and a transaction manager. He has a BA, MBA and Master’s in Forestry, all from Yale University. Timo manages Brooknoll Advisors LLC, an independent investment advisory firm that works with institutional investors to source, diligence and manage real asset investments. Previously, he served as an investment director at Alta Advisers Ltd., a private investment firm in London, where he oversaw real asset investments globally. Prior to that he was a principal at FLAG Capital Management and a senior research consultant at Cambridge Associates. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. Timo lives in Wenham, MA, where he is on the board of the Greenbelt land trust. 6 | spring 2021
Lisa Guide Lisa Guide is Associate Director of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a philanthropic public charity focused on climate change and the environment, economic justice for women, and democracy. She is also a co-founder of the Women Effect Fund and Women Effect Action Fund. Prior to joining RFF in 2002, Lisa served in several positions in the Clinton Administration White House and Department of the Interior. These included acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, and communications manager for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She is a New Jersey native and a graduate of Douglass College at Rutgers University. She divides her time between Alexandria, VA, and North River, NY. Lisa’s board term begins in August.
Nature Never Closes
2021 Field Trips The Adirondack Land Trust invites you to get outside with us this spring and summer for safe family-friendly fun with masks. We hope to botanize, bird, hike, paddle and share the peace of wild places.
©Jess Grant / Adirondack Land Trust
Saturday, May 8 Mother’s Day Wildflower Hike Coon Mountain Preserve, Westport; 11 a.m.– 2 p.m. Leaders: Elizabeth Lee, NYS licensed guide and Director of Education & Interpretation at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum; and Dan Spada, plant ecologist and past president of the Adirondack Research Consortium Coon Mountain is bursting with wildflowers around Mother’s Day, and you don’t have to be a mom to sign up for this moderate 1.4-mile round-trip summit hike, including a steep and rocky section, with stops along the way to enjoy the woodland flora.
Friday, June 4 Neotropical Migrants of the Champlain Valley 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
Leader: Derek Rogers, Development Director for Champlain Area Trails, eBird Adirondack region editor for Cornell Lab of Ornithology Derek will lead a moderate 1.4-mile round-trip summit hike, including a steep and rocky section, with stops along the way to look and listen for woodland warblers and other species that breed in the Champlain Valley.
Thursday, July 8 Naturalist Hike at Private Conservation Site 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Leader: Brian McAllister, naturalist and educator focused on birds and plants Brian will lead a moderately steep hike of 1.6 miles round trip at a mountainous Adirondack Land Trust–owned site in the town of Jay where some northern tree species are near the southern limit of their range, and where some southern species reach their northern limit. Plenty of stops along the way for interpretation.
Date: To Be Announced Paddle Osgood Pond Leader: Jess Grant, Adirondack Land Trust 2020 Intern for the Future of the Adirondacks Jess will share one of her favorite places from her research on publicly accessible sites protected by the Adirondack Land Trust. A former kayak guide now working for the Adirondack Council, Jess will lead a paddle on Osgood Pond. Participants must provide their own canoe or kayak, cleaned, drained and dried to prevent introduction of invasive species. For field trip details see adirondacklandtrust.org/FieldTrips. To learn more or sign up, please contact Kimberly Corwin-Gray at Kimberly.Gray@adirondacklandtrust.org or (518) 461-0947. All events are subject to weather, group size limits, and changes in health and safety guidance.
Volunteer Workdays This field season we are not yet signing up volunteers for workdays because of uncertainties posed by COVID-19. However, if you’re interested in volunteering and would like to be informed about future fieldwork or other opportunities, please visit our website and let us know what interests you: adirondacklandtrust.org/ About-Us/Volunteer
Online Discussions Over the past year we’ve met up with many friends and supporters online. If you missed our virtual programs on the Northern Forest Atlas, Listening to Landowners (about getting started in conserving your own land), and trends affecting Adirondack forests, you can watch the recordings on the Adirondack Land Trust’s YouTube channel. spring 2021 | 7
PO Box 130, Keene, NY 12942
update Spring 2021
— Aristotle
©Doug Munro / Adirondack Land Trust
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.