For Immediate Release: December 31, 2002
Contact:
Victoria Hristovski | Director Public Information | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
RAY BROOK- The first Adirondack Park Agency (APA) meeting of 2003 will take place on January 9th and 10th in Ray Brook where members will learn about a new program at the Paul Smith's Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC), welcome a new staff member, and receive a presentation on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. In addition, APA Board Members and Designees will review the Bog River Unit Management Plan (UMP) for compliance with the guidelines and criteria set forth in the State Land Master Plan.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 9th, 2003, VIC Volunteer Coordinator Brian McAllister will announce the first-ever Great Adirondack Birding Festival to be held June 7-8, 2003 at the Paul Smith's VIC. This new event will feature birding field trips, lectures on threatened birds in the Adirondacks, kid activities, and more. It is an all-day event and will kick off a special weekend in the Adirondacks.
Holly Elmer is the new Assistant Director of Regulatory Programs for the Agency and will be formally introduced at Thursday's morning meeting. Holly attended SUNY Geneseo where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Geology, and Kansas State University where she worked as a research assistant in the area of oil field technology. Holly has worked in the field of regulatory permitting and environmental analysis for over eighteen years and is a certified professional geologist, and has specialized in the field of hydrogeology. In addition to her work in the regulatory field, she has worked in the field of establishing and permitting private and public water supplies. Holly is from Bolton Landing originally, and is an outdoor enthusiast.
On Thursday morning, the Agency will consider a request by the Lake George Park Commission (LGPC) to delay a decision for the Sonar demonstration project, which is scheduled to go before the Regulatory Programs Committee at 9:30 a.m. Tentatively the Committee will meet from 9:30 to 11a.m. to review two projects, the first one is the aquatic herbicide demonstration project to control Eurasian water milfoil, proposed by the LGPC. The project was directed to public hearing in July 2001 and the full Board was presented with several thousand pages of testimony, evidence, briefs, reply briefs, and public comment at the close of the hearing in October 2002. The second project for consideration is a variance request in the Town of Schroon, in Essex County.
The Administration Committee will meet form 11 a.m. to noon on Thursday to review the Unit Management Plan Public Comment Policy and Ex Parte Communications.
From 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Park Policy and Planning Committee, and State Land Committee Members will meet. Park Policy and Planning will meet first and discuss map amendment actions and receive a planning division report. State Land Committee Members will then meet to determine whether the Bog River UMP is in compliance with the criteria and guidelines set forth in the State Land Master Plan. State Land Committee Members will also receive a presentation of the Cranberry Lake Public Campground Intensive Use Area UMP. (The Cranberry Lake UMP is for presentation only.)
Park Ecology Committee Members will meet from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Large Conference Room at the Agency, while members of the Local Government Services meet at the same time, but in the Small Conference Room. Greg Lawrence of the U.S. Geological Survey, Karen Roy of the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, and Sean Connin of the APA will present acid rain research to the Park Ecology Committee. Mr. Connin will also give a presentation on the use of pressure treated lumber and report on changes relative to Agency advice and special conditions for project review of treated lumber. Local Government Services Committee Members will receive an informal presentation of the Town of Hague's Comprehensive Plan where representatives of the Town and their consultants, Chazen Companies, will review the development of the plan. Local Government Services Committee Members will also receive Local Government Day 2003 plans and details for the March 20-21 event.
The Enforcement Committee will meet from 4 to 5 p.m. on Thursday to review two shoreline setback violation cases in the towns of Webb (Herkimer County) and Schroon (Essex County).
On Friday, from 9 to 10:15 a.m., Economic Affairs Committee Members will meet and Rob Center, Executive Director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, will discuss the 740-mile historic waterway linking Old Forge, New York, and Fort Kent, Maine.
The next APA meeting will be held on February 13th and 14th in Ray Brook. For more information, please call (518) 891-4050, ext. 173