15th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks a Success

The Adirondack Research Consortium’s 15th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks was held May 21-22, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Resort and Golf Club, in Lake Placid, NY. Lake Placid’s world class hospitality, combined with engaging conference speakers and presentations, and excellent networking opportunities, all contributed to a successful event. Nearly 150 attendees enjoyed a strong program focused on the “Future Sustainability of the Adirondack Park”. The final program and research paper and poster abstracts have been posted on the webpage.

The ARC is busy working on the program for the 16th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks, May 20-21, 2009. Please, mark your calendars! We welcome your thoughts and ideas in the planning process. Watch our web page as more conference planning information will follow in the months to come.

The Adirondacks featured on PBS

The Adirondack Park was featured this spring in a PBS special that premiered May 14, 2008. The feature included many folks that have been involved with the Adirondack Research Consortium since its inception, including Phil Terrie, Bill McKibben, and former ARC president Michael Wilson. From the program summary on YouTube:

Sprawled across six million acres in upstate New York, the Adirondack Park is by far the largest park in the lower 48 states. Yet it is the only one on the continent in which large human populations live and whose land is divided almost evenly between protected wilderness and privately owned tracts. Through the varied perspectives of many passionate characters, this program explores the remarkable history, seasonal landscape, and current state of the Adirondacks.

For more information visit http://www.pbs.org/theadirondacks/. For a sneak peak, check out the YouTube trailer below.

Research Notes: Black bears and human conflict

Recent research by the Wildlife Conservation Society on the habituation of black bears with human food and garbage could have widespread management applications. A May 10th article in Science Daily highlights research that suggests that, "Bears that steal human food sources are just as likely to form these habits on their own or pick them up from unrelated, 'bad influence' bears." The article also refers to research in the Adirondacks on the decline in human-bear conflicts due to the increased use of bear-proof trash canisters.

To view the full article, see:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105606.htm.

Research Notes: Shifts in Adirondack winter deer yards

Research on winter deer yards in the Adirondacks was published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Wildlife Management by Jeremy Hurst and William Porter of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Below is the abstract to the article, available at the website of the Wildlife Society.

In the Adirondack region of northern New York, USA, severe weather and deep snow typically force white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to congregate in areas of dense coniferous cover and along watercourses at lower elevations. We examined 16 yards in the Adirondacks and explored the observation that deer have changed their movement behavior to incorporate residential communities within their wintering areas. We compared locations of deer herds in 2003 and 2004 to deer wintering areas mapped during the 1960s and 1970s. Deer were predominantly absent in 9 of 16 historical yards but were present in residential communities within the same drainage. Yarding areas to which deer shifted contained more residential, deciduous, and mixed cover than yards where no shift occurred, indicating that deer in residential areas were using conifer and mixed cover at a finer scale than deer in nonresidential areas. Smaller winter ranges and core areas of marked deer in a residential winter yard further imply greater concentration of resources available in these areas. Marked deer demonstrated flexibility in core winter range fidelity, a behavior that allows for more permanent shifts as habitat and food resources change or as new areas with appropriate resources are encountered. Our study suggests that low-density residential areas in lowland conifer forests may provide an energetic advantage for deer during winter due to the assemblage of quality habitat interspersed with open areas and a variety of potential food sources in environments where movement is typically constrained by deep snow. Managers should consider the potential for changes in use of deer wintering areas prior to land conservation efforts and may need to adapt management strategies to reduce conflicts in communities occupied by deer during winter.

Research Notes: Science-based tourism management

Using science to manage Northern Forest tourism and recreation
Kelly A. Goonan, Carena J. van Riper, Robert Manning, and Christopher Monz, University of Vermont

Outdoor recreation and tourism is a growing and important use of the Northern Forest— 26 million acres stretching from the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York to eastern Maine. Thousands of visitors are attracted to the region’s mountains each year. Ultimately, outdoor recreation must be sustainable to protect natural resources in the area and provide a high quality experience to visitors. Managing tourism and recreation in the Northern Forest in a sustainable manner will require informed decisions based on a strong scientific foundation. This calls for formulating indicators and standards of quality for natural resource conditions and the visitor experience. Indicators of quality are manageable, measurable variables that define the quality of natural resources and visitor experiences, and standards of quality define the minimum acceptable condition of indicator variables. The University of Vermont is conducting research to guide management of the Northern Forest for tourism and recreation. Once indicators and standards of quality are formulated, indicator variables will be monitored and appropriate management action can be taken to ensure that standards are maintained. This study will focus on four summits across the Northern Forest region, and data will be collected during the 2008 summer field season. A pilot study was conducted on CascadeMountain in New York during the summer of 2007. Data were collected on the summit area to assess resource and social conditions. These data will provide an initial framework from which additional summits will be examined in upcoming field seasons. This research is funded by a grant through the Northeast States Research Cooperative.

For more information, please visit www.uvm.edu/envnr/parkstudies and www.nsrcforest.org.

Research Notes: Lowland boreal bird habitat

Habitat associations of lowland boreal birds
Kevin Jablonski, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

The lowland boreal habitats of the Adirondack Park are rare, poorly known, and threatened by climate change. They also harbor 13 bird species that are found few other places in New York State. The New York State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy urges the creation of a long-term monitoring program for these birds yet little is known about their habitat preferences. I will conduct intensive research into the habitat associations of lowland boreal birds during the summers of 2008 and 2009. This research will provide essential recommendations to the Wildlife Conservation Society for the design of a monitoring program, as part of their ongoing work in the Adirondack boreal areas.

Research Notes: Wildlife impacts from exurban development

Understanding the impacts to wildlife from exurban development in the Adirondack Park
Michale Glennon, Wildlife Conservation Society
Heidi Kretser, Wildlife Conservation Society and Cornell University

Building on our past work to disseminate information on effects to wildlife populations from low density rural sprawl in the Adirondacks and elsewhere (http://www.wcs.org/adirondackresearch#Development), WCS’ Adirondack program is currently engaged in a number of projects to address the overall issue of exurban development and wildlife with on-the-ground field research. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Biodiversity Research Institute, and the Northeastern States Research Cooperative, we are exploring the effects of residential development on a variety of taxa in the Park. Two of these projects investigate the effects of existing development on wildlife populations. We are examining the differences in breeding bird community integrity between subdivisions and adjacent control areas, as well as working to identify what defines a “wildlife disturbance zone” in the Adirondacks – the area around a home in which wildlife habitat should be considered altered by the presence of a residential structure and the associated activities of its inhabitants. A third project explores changes to small mammal, bird, and carnivore communities before and after construction of single-family residences. Collectively, these projects will provide valuable information for local land use planning and provide suggestions for planners to implement projects in ways that will minimize negative impacts to wildlife.

If you happen to be building a house and would consider participating in our study, contact us! www.wcs.org/adirondacks; 518-891-8872.