2015 Spring Meeting

The Adirondack Landowners Association held their annual membership meeting on May 8/9 at Minnowbrook Conference Center on Blue Mt. Lake. "Early-birds" were treated to a special private tour of the Adirondack Museum with Museum Director, David Kahn. There was a short meeting of the ALA Board of Directors, followed by our evening social hour/reception. In celebration of our 25th Anniversary we had a special display of "story boards" which featured information and history on various ALA members...everyone enjoyed the chance to see what "the other guy’s camp" looked like! We then had a great dinner in the main dining room. 

Following dinner we heard from Kathy Moser, NYS DEC Assistant Commissioner, Natural Resources. She presented us with a special proclamation from Governor Andrew Cuomo honoring the 25th Anniversary of the ALA. Kathy was followed by NYS Senator Betty Little and NYS Assemblyman Dan Stec...they two offered their congratulations on ALA’s first 25 years and presented us with a joint resolution from the NYS Legislature recognizing the milestone. We even had a custom cake for all to enjoy! 

We ended the evening with entertainment from Bill Smith, a well known Adirondack folk singer and story teller. His down home humor and wit are always a treat. 

Our Saturday morning meeting featured a presentation on the Past...Present...and Future, of the Adirondack Landowners Association. The old days were handled by two of the ALA’s past presidents, Bill Hutchens, Sr. and Peter Bertine...the current status of the ALA was left to Tom Williams and Wilbur Rice. The "futures" portion..and perhaps the most important part of the morning discussion fell to Neil Skotarczak and Justin Potter. They did a great job of engaging our members on both the challenge and the opportunities facing the ALA in the year ahead. 

This was followed by the "members" portion of our meeting where we heard reports from ALA President Tom Williams and our Senior Advisor, Dr. Ross Whaley. Minnowbrook is a great venue for our meeting and it was obvious all the attendees had a great time in Blue Mt. Lake.

2014 Spring Meeting

The Adirondack Landowners Association held their annual membership meeting on May 9/10 at Minnowbrook Conference Center on Blue Mt. Lake. “Early-birds” were treated to a special private tour of the Adirondack Museum with Museum Director, David Kahn. We then started the meeting with a discussion forum attended by key Adirondack legislators, the NYS Comptroller’s office and the ALA Board of Directors. This was followed by our evening social hour/reception and then with a great dinner in the main dining room.

Following dinner we heard from NYS Assembly members Marc Butler and Dan Stec along with Elizabeth Wolters, Legislative Director for NYS Senator Betty Little. We had a number of special guests including Fred & Carol Monroe, Bill Farber, Brian Towers, Steve Hamilton, Willie Janeway, Karen Feldman, David Kahn, Dennis Phillips, Kim Finnigan and Bob Stegemann. 

Our Saturday morning meeting featured a presentation titled: “The Challenge of Property Taxes and Generational Change" by Dennis Phillips, a well known and respected Adirondack attorney. The ALA members found this presentation to be very informative and it kicked off some interesting questions and discussion. 

This was followed by the “members” portion of our meeting where we heard reports from ALA President Tom Williams and our Senior Advisor, Dr. Ross Whaley. Minnowbrook is a great venue for our meeting and it was obvious all the attendees had a great time in Blue Mt. Lake. 

2013 Spring Meeting

The annual spring membership meeting was held at Minnowbrook Conference Center on May 11 and 12, 2013. Minnowbrook is a great setting and the folks there, really go out of their way for us. We enjoyed a record turnout for the Friday nite reception and dinner as well as the Saturday morning meeting. 

The Friday program began with an economic discussion forum hosted jointly by the ALA and Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages. Many north-country leaders were on hand, including: Senators Betty Little and David Valesky, Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, Assemblyman Marc Butler, former Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, Town of Chester Supervisor Fred Monroe, AATV President Brian Towers, Hamilton County Board of Supervisors Chairman, Bill Farber, APA Chairwoman Lani Ulrich, DEC Region 5 Director Bob Stegemann, Steve Hamilton from Comptroller DiNapoli’s staff and a large number of ALA members. This event was a success, and it helped provide the platform for our summer economic forum.

Friday evening was a memorable gathering…great food and conversation and a fine turnout of ALA members. The ALA paid tribute to former Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward for her years of dedicated service to the Adirondacks and its citizens. She was very pleased with the recognition as were all of those in attendance.

The Saturday morning meeting presentation by Jason Kemper was very informative for our members. He described in detail the role that the NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board plays in working on fish and wildlife issues with the DEC. This was followed by the members only portion of our meeting during which our Senior Advisor, Ross Whaley gave a detailed report on issues facing the Adirondacks. ALA President, Tom Williams explained the Invasive Species education program that was launched in 2013 by the ALA.

2016 ALA Winter Meeting Report

The Adirondack Landowners Association held their winter meeting recently at the Adirondack League Club. As usual, we had some winter weather…a little snow…a little ice…but that’s what you get in Old Forge in December.  The cold weather didn’t stop us from having a great event that was enjoyed by our members and special guests. 

Friday afternoon featured a tour of the Cornell Research Facility which is located at Little Moose Lake. Participants learned about the 60 plus year history of cold water fisheries research that has been done by Cornell in partnership with a number of ALA members, most notably the Adirondack League Club.

Friday evening was a busy time…we held our annual auction event where folks could bid on a wide variety of Adirondack items and other interesting gifts. We had a nice social hour followed by dinner and then a presentation of the ALA Stewardship Award. This year’s recipient was the Adirondack Lakes Alliance…the ‘other ALA’ was represented by Ed Griesmer and Jane Smith. This relatively new group on the Adirondack scene has been a real leader in the fight against aquatic invasive species. They have a broad base of supporters and members all across the Adirondack Park and do excellent work.

We had a number of special guest including NYS Senator Betty Little, APA Chairman Sherman Craig, DEC Region #5 Director, Bob Stegemann, and Reg #6 Director, Judy Drabicki, NYS Assemblyman Dan Stec , Deputy Executive DEC Commissioner Ken Lynch and Fred Monroe, Executive Director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board.

Our Saturday morning meeting featured a discussion panel which included Ken Lynch, Sherman Craig, Fred Monroe and Dan Stec. ALA members interacted with the panel on important issue related to private stewardship in the Adirondacks. This was followed by the membership business portion of our meeting and a delicious lunch. 

The ALA spring meeting will be held the first weekend in May, at Minnowbrook Conference Center in Blue Mt. Lake. Check back for more information. 

2016 SPRING MEETING

The annual spring membership meeting was held at Minnowbrook Conference Center on May 13 and 14, 2016. Minnowbrook is a great setting and the folks there, really go out of their way for us. We enjoyed a great turnout for the Friday nite reception and dinner as well as the Saturday morning meeting.

Friday evening was a memorable gathering…great food and conversation along with some interesting after dinner discussion. We were honored to have a number of Adirondack officials in attendance including; Assemblymen Marc Butler and Dan Stec, AATV President, Brian Towers and APA Chairwoman Lani Ulrich. Our guest speaker on Friday night was attorney Diane Van Epps Finnegan. Diane was instrumental in the preparation of the ALA’s amicus briefin support of the Brandreth Park Court of Appeals presentation.

The Saturday morning meeting presentation by Mark Whitmore from Cornell was an eye opener for our members. He described in detail the threats we face from terrestrial invasives, like the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Following Mark we heard from Captains Dan Darrah and Harold Barber from the NYS DEC. This was followed by the members only portion of our meeting during which our Senior Advisor, Ross Whaley gave a detailed report on issues facing the Adirondacks. We welcomed 2 new members to our board of directors, John Montefusco and Philip Power, we also introduced a new regular member, David Glass.

The meeting was successful, well attended and informative. The ALA will meet again in December at the Adirondack League Club.

2014 Winter Meeting

Our annual winter meeting held at the Adirondack League Club was a great success. We had a record turnout for the Friday nite activities…there was a wonderful social hour followed by a delicious buffet dinner with little auction fun thrown in to keep things lively. 

The highlight of Friday nite was the presentation of our 2014 ALA Stewardship Award to NYS Senator Betty Little. Betty is well known to ALA members and to just about everyone else in the north-country. She has worked tirelessly to help promote a better quality of life for Adirondack residents while at the same time supporting sound conservation and stewardship of both public and private lands in the Park. We were honored to have her with us and pleased to be able recognize her for the great work she does in the Adirondacks. 

Our Saturday morning meeting began with an interesting presentation by Paul Jensen, Senior Wildlife Biologist with DEC. He filled us in his Pine Marten study which has been very successful because of a unique partnership between ALA members and the DEC. 

The Pine Marten discussion was followed by our regular business meeting which included reports from ALA President Tom Williams and our Senior Advisor Dr. Ross Whaley. The meeting concluded with a tasty luncheon and everyone headed home to get ready for the holidays. 

2013 Winter Meeting

The annual winter meeting was held at the Adirondack League Club on December 6-7, 2013. This meeting is always a favorite among our members because of the great location combined with socializing and having fun at the auction. We enjoyed a record turnout for the Friday night reception and dinner as well as the Saturday morning meeting.

The meeting was highlighted by the presentation of our 2013 ALA Stewardship Award to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA). This group has gained great recognition and support for their leadership in bringing the major stakeholder groups together to work on important Adirondack issues. The ALA was delighted to make the presentation to Lani Ulrich, Bill Farber and Brian Houseal, who were chosen to represent the CGA at our meeting.

Additionally, the ALA paid tribute to Fred Monroe, Executive Director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board for his tireless contribution to “communications” in the Adirondacks. Fred is also the Supervisor for the Town of Chester and plays an active role in a variety of issues facing the Adirondacks. 

Our Saturday morning meeting featured a discussion panel with the three Common Ground Alliance representatives who answered questions from our members. Lani, Bill and Brian offered their thoughts and comments on Adirondack issues and the role of the CGA. Our meeting concluded with reports and commentary from our Senior Advisor Dr. Ross Whaley and ALA President Tom Williams.