Polar vortex afflicting Texas is old hat for us northeasterners
Weather is the one place where we all seek common ground, despite the ground being frozen, thawed, snow-covered, rain-saturated or dry as a bone in a desert.
New Paltz area | Nature & Environment
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Ulster County Legislature approves solid-waste management plan
The Ulster County Legislature unanimously approved a 10-year local solid waste management plan, which calls for the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency to review waste diversion strategies and alternative ways to approach the goal of zero waste in Ulster County. The plan includes looking at the creation of a new local landfill.
Mohonk Consultations hosts plastic waste crisis talk
It’s a terrifying deep dive into the scourge of plastic pollution, from the gyres of junk to be found swirling in our oceans to the mountains of unrecyclable materials clogging the world’s solid waste plants to the microplastic particles finding their way inexorably into our food supply.
Advice from runners who have found that running in winter increases their “discomfort tolerance”
No matter which trail or carriage road you choose to run on, you know it’s going to be hard for you. It’s going to be cold, especially at first, until your core temperature rises and your circulation gets flowing.
Nordic skiing revival thrives in the Shawangunks
Central Ulster County, with the miles of groomed carriage roads, linear rail-trail parks. and now the River-2-Ridge trail that leads outdoor enthusiasts from the Village of New Paltz to the heart of the Shawangunk Mountains. This is a pristine and magical place to wax up cross-country skis and glide across the wintry landscape.
A link to the past: Hudson River Brickyard Trail opens in Kingston
As an aesthetic experience, traveling the Hudson River Brickyard Trail is a time-trip through two centuries of the valley’s industrial past, rather than a sojourn in pristine wilderness. As long as you don’t expect manicured parkland, you’ll have a fine time.
McKee takes Land Trust helm at Scenic Hudson; Aguirre tapped for advocacy chief
After a nationwide search, the not-for-profit decided to go no further than its own backyard and promote veteran land conservation director Seth McKee to the post of executive director of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust and land programs. At the same time, Scenic Hudson hired Raul “Rocci” Aguirre as its new executive director of Policy, Advocacy and Science.
Regular ski grooming launched on River-to-Ridge Trail
New Paltz’s River-to-Ridge (R2R) Trail, whose popularity surged with the pandemic and is expected to top 200,000 visitors this year, has now become much more accessible for a particular subset of seasonal users: cross-country skiers.
New Paltz reduces number of conservation areas
The scaled-back proposal focuses on the Shawangunk Ridge, Wallkill corridor, Plutarch and Clearwater woods and wetlands. Most of the referenced area is already regulated (such as wetlands) or protected (for example, the ridge).
Ulster’s Department of Environment gets a director
The Ulster County Department of the Environment is seeing some updates after a resolution was adopted (18 to 4) during the County Legislator’s December 15 session. The amendment creates a shift from having a coordinator of the environment to a director instead. The coordinator and soon-to-be director is Amanda LaValle of Kingston.