News

USLA is coordinating with the Paul Smith’s VIC to conduct a 1 day, 8-hour boating safety course for USLA Members and member guests.

Saturday, August 20
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Paul Smith’s VIC
8023 State Route 30
Paul Smiths NY

The course will be free to USLA members. USLA member guests will pay $10.

Instructors will show graduates how to apply for their NY State Boaters Certificate online which costs $10.00 to the state upon application. Students should bring lunch; however, snacks and drinks can be purchased at the VIC.

Sign up on the Events page of the USLA website:

• Register Here (login required)

The course is limited to 20 students. Deadline for registration is August 15, 2022.

A group of like-minded antique wooden boat owners on Upper Saranac Lake are once again planning the annual 4th of July wooden boat parade. The parade will start from Sekon and wind its way via its traditional route culminating in Back Bay. Led by the Tupper Lake Fire Department fire boat, the parade will put smaller boats up front and bigger boats towards the rear. For safety reasons, each boat will need to stay in line as the parade proceeds at a leisurely pace.

All wooden boat owners are strongly encouraged to participate by meeting on the lake off Sekon at 9:30 AM to organize in a line for the parade. The parade will proceed about 10:00 AM and finish about 11:30 AM.

While not a USLA managed event, most members are looking forward to enjoying the parade again this year!

We are looking for someone who loves being out on the water and has a desire to preserve the natural character of our waterways. 

Upper Saranac Foundation (USF) is looking to hire a qualified diver to manage aquatic invasive species from the end of May to October 2022. The diver’s primary responsibility will be to hand harvest underwater invasive plants to prevent their spread throughout the Saranac Lake Watershed. Divers will work primarily in the Upper Saranac Lake and Tri-Lakes region. This position offers a competitive wage along with benefits.

Work Schedule: Four 10-hour days, generally Monday-Thursday

Pay Rate: Based on experience, starting at $25 per hour

USF is a science-guided organization seeking to preserve, enhance, and protect the natural beauty, environmental quality, and recreational enjoyment of the Upper Saranac Lake watershed. Learn more by going to the USF website: usfoundation.net.

Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest and specific qualifications detailing your past diving and any aquatic invasive experience, plus a resume and contact information for professional references as one PDF document to lakemanager@usfoundation.net.

Join a great team with great benefits and work every day to protect our natural resources. Upper Saranac Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. 

Posted 4/26-22

Take action by April 1st.

We are trying to reach homeowners, especially those around lakes that may not live here year-round, to take a state survey about their internet connection at their homes in the North Country.  The survey closes on March 18.

Open North Country Broadband Survey

Earlier this year, you helped us convince state legislators to pass the aquatic species bill that would protect Adirondack waters. You also answered our call to email Governor Cuomo and urge him to sign it into law. Unfortunately, he didn’t take action before he resigned. Now this bill sits on Governor Hochul’s desk, where she will decide to either sign it into law or veto it. We need your help again to make sure she makes the right decision. 

This bill would require boat owners to show proof of inspection and/or decontamination of their motorized watercraft before launching in Adirondack waters. This will help protect the Park's waters from invasive species.

CLICK HERE to email Governor Hochul by December 9 and urge her to sign the Aquatic Invasive Species Bill into law.

Thank you for taking the time to help protect the waters of the Adirondacks!

The USLA Store has signed an agreement with The Village Mercantile (aka Community Store) in Saranac Lake to sell Upper Saranac Lake merchandise via their website. You can purchase the same high-quality merchandise and have it delivered to your home or shipped to your favorite recipient!

The benefits of this agreement to you, our customers, are that you can have easy year-round access to your favorite USL merchandise, pay using your credit card and have at-home delivery. All proceeds benefit the USLA Scholarship Fund, which also benefits through an expanded market for its merchandise.

We are grateful to the Village Merc for their partnership with us on this endeavor.

To shop, please click HERE directly, or go to https://villagemerc.com, click on SHOP. and select USLA Scholarship Fund.

Click here to read a letter from Adirondack Health Foundation to USLA regarding USLA support for Covid intervention locally. 

Please join the Upper Saranac Foundation for a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, to learn more about the Upper Saranac Lake (USL) Management Plan effort and to provide your input on the future of the watershed.

This online session is the first of three public meetings hosted by the Upper Saranac Foundation and the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute. We will present the results of this summer’s USL public survey and provide opportunities for you to contribute ideas toward future management of the watershed.

The public meeting will take place on Zoom. All members of the community who are interested in joining the public information session should register in advance — click here to sign up.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting. 

This public meeting is part of a larger effort to develop a Lake Management Plan for the Upper Saranac Lake watershed that builds on decades of monitoring and management activities on the lake and throughout the watershed. Upper Saranac Foundation was awarded a $68,000 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to develop the management plan and contracted with the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute to assist. The resulting document will establish the framework for future state funding grant proposals and will define community priorities related to watershed resources.

Thank you for your interest in this effort. If you have any questions about the planning effort or logistics of the meeting please email Guy Middleton at lakemanager@usfoundation.net.

This hearing will be held virtually on Zoom beginning at 6 pm on 12/28. Details of the meeting and directions for attending are on the Town of Santa Clara Website under the Events Tab. 

Click here to read the full USLA letter to DEC.  See also the Unit Management Plan (UMP) available on the DEC website.

NYS DEC proposes an upgrade and modernization for the Fish Creek Campgrounds.  Please review and send your comments to NYS DEC. Water quality in Upper Saranac Lake is directly affected by activities at the campground. USLA members are encouraged to send your comments soon.

Follow the link for complete information and Upper Saranac Foundation recommendations: https://usfoundation.net/newsfeed/usf-provides-comments-for-dec-fish-creek-management-plan/

To all Seasonal Homeowners:  

Review this attached flyer for important information about the 2020 US Census. Following these instructions ensures all properties are counted!

Please join the Paul Smith's College Adirondack Water Institute for Water Week taking place virtually from Sunday, 8/23 through Friday, 8/28, and celebrate one of our most precious and valued resources in the Adirondacks, our freshwater.

Learn more about our aquatic resources and discover ways you can take action to protect our waterways. This year's inaugural event focuses on the Legacy of Adirondack Waters and features a week-long Speaker Series and an Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention Certification Training program. Detailed information on this free event can be found here.

I hope you will join us to celebrate our Adirondack waters!

Dan Kelting 

August 6, 2020

Dear Upper Saranac Lake neighbors,

I’ve had a camp on Upper Saranac since 1989, though I’ve lived in Saranac Lake itself for 45 years. I can remember no other summer quite like this one.

As chair of the board of the Trudeau Institute, located on the shores of Lower Saranac, I’m proud to tell you of our efforts to restore confidence, trust and our region’s economy in the face of this pandemic. Please join me at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, at an online presentation to tell you about the Northern Adirondack Leadership Alliance, a new partnership among community leaders in health care, science, business and local government. Alongside leaders from Adirondack Health and CVPH, Trudeau will develop and implement a COVID-19 testing infrastructure and framework for New York’s Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Hamilton counties.

Please click the links below to read more about NALA, and Trudeau. If you have further questions, or would like an invitation to join me and Trudeau’s president, Dr. Atsuo Kuki, at our upcoming online event, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

https://www.trudeauinstitute.org/s/Northern-ADK-Leadership-Alliance.pdf

https://www/trudeauinstitute.org

Email Institutional Advancement ia@trudeauinstitute.org for invitation to Leadership Alliance presentation by Dr. Atsuo Kuki.

Sincerely,

Dorothy S. Federman, M.D., Chair

Dear Friends, 

Welcome home! 

On behalf of Adirondack Health, we hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and well. We wanted to reach out with some guidance and best practices to ensure as safe a summer as possible for everyone.  Read here or download the PDF.

The summer season is here, and, so far, our region has largely been spared from the catastrophic spread of COVID-19. To date, we appear to have successfully limited the reach of the virus by implementing early social and physical distancing measures, backed up by the natural protection of our mountains and rural location. However, we are concerned that could change when our population increases over the summer.

Our region may emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health success story, with our population safe and healthy. But despite our initial success, we remain highly vulnerable to infected persons and asymptomatic carriers of the virus coming from out of the area, whether they are year-round residents, second homeowners, guests of homeowners, athletes or tourists. It will take all of us working together to keep the virus in check.

We are asking members of our community who will be returning in the coming weeks and months to please keep up to date on the latest federal and state guidance, which can (and does) evolve weekly, if not daily.

• It is best to go directly to your destination and not stop for supplies along the way. The state of New York has mandated additional precautions for those traveling from certain states with relatively higher infection rates. The current list of such states is available at coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory.
   
• Please consider being tested for COVID-19 at the earliest appropriate opportunity following your arrival. Adirondack Health offers testing – visit adirondackhealth.org/covid-testing for our current schedule.
   
• If you are experiencing respiratory distress, shortness of breath, dry cough, fever, or any other potential COVID-19 symptoms, contact the Adirondack Health COVID Clinic at 518-897-2462 to receive instructions on accessing appropriate care. The full list of symptoms is available at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

• Comply with all local, state, and federal directives and recommendations regarding physical distancing and other measures to limit spread of the virus.
   
• Wear face masks in public places when physical distancing is difficult.
   
• Refrain from hosting or attending large gatherings and utilize physical distancing measures, such as entertaining outdoors, using disposable flatware, plates and glasses, providing guests individual servings, and wearing masks inside when keeping six feet apart is difficult. New York State Department of Health guidance on gatherings is available at coronavirus.health.ny.gov/travel-large-gatherings-and-quarantines.
   
• Be diligent with handwashing and disinfecting much-used surfaces.
   
• Limit trips to the grocery store.

Local businesses are working hard to adapt to the current situation and are under strict regulations as part of New York state’s phased approach to reopening. We encourage you to abide by any such limitations, which are meant to protect all of us.

We look forward to welcoming all who make our region such a special place. We know this season will be unlike any before, and it will take some time to adjust to the new normal, but we’ll get there.

In closing, thank you for weighing all this information as you consider a return to the Adirondacks.  If you wish to receive continue receiving periodic updates of this nature, please contact Hannah Hanford in the Foundation office at hhanford@adirondackhealth.org to be placed on an email list.

We look forward to being back together again as soon as possible, in a safe and responsible manner. Our skilled, compassionate clinicians are well prepared to care for all who seek our services. Although we hope you won’t need us, we are here if you do.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Getman
President and CEO
Adirondack Health
518-897-2301

The USLA webcam is currently offline while it is being relocated to a new site. Check back to visit the webcam in the next few weeks.

Welcome home. On behalf of Adirondack Health, we hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and well. As the weather turns warmer, we wanted to reach out to you with some guidance and best practices to ensure as safe a summer as possible for everyone.

The really good news

Spring is here, the ice is out, your homes wait for your return, and so far, our region has largely been spared from the catastrophic spread of COVID-19. To date, we appear to have successfully limited the reach of the virus by implementing early social distancing measures, backed up by the natural protection our mountains and rural location offer us. However, we are concerned that could change when our population increases going into the summer.

The opportunity

Our region has the chance to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as a public health success story, with our population safe and healthy. But despite our initial success, we remain highly vulnerable to infected persons and asymptomatic carriers of the virus coming from out of the area, whether they are year-round residents, second homeowners, guests of homeowners, athletes or tourists.

Read the full letter (PDF)

NY Gov. Cuomo, NJ Gov. Murphy, and CT Gov. Lamont announced marinas, boatyards, and marine manufacturers are open for personal use as long as strict social distancing and sanitization protocols are followed.

New York State recognizes the importance of recreation and continues to encourage the public to get outside locally and responsibly to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To support the alignment of policies in NY, NJ, and CT and the region’s ongoing response to COVID-19, on April 18, ESD updated guidance on marinas and the use of boats that removed the temporary suspension on the use of boat launches for recreation.

See the NYS website for details.

Access to DEC and State Parks boat launches will be allowed if strict adherence to the CDC/NYSDOH guidelines for preventing the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19 is followed:

• Try to keep at least six feet of distance between you and others.
• Avoid close contact, such as shaking hands.
• Wash hands often or use a hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
• Avoid surfaces that are touched often, such as rails, posts, and tie off cleats.
• Wear masks in public when appropriate social distancing cannot be maintained.

Photo credit: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

The following information has been received from the Franklin County Legislature regarding cases of coronavirus (CoVid-19) in the USLA area.  We provide this to inform our members about the situation in our community.  For additional information about coronavirus in the USLA area, please see the additional links and the USLA website, where we will continue to post information.

Franklin County Legislature Notice

https://www.adirondackhealth.org/coronavirus 

https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home 

https://www.co.essex.ny.us/Health/local-covid-19-notices/ 

http://www.protectadks.org/2020/03/coronavirus-in-the-adirondack-park-and-north-country/ .  

You might also read current information in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise (subscription may be required);

https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/coronavirus/ 

From the Adirondack Daily Enterprise 3/25/20:

As people flee COVID-19 hotspots such as New York City and come to the Adirondacks, some — but not all — local officials are publicly urging those visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days before they go to shops or other public places.

Paul Maroun is one of those. He doubles as Tupper Lake village mayor and a Franklin County legislator, and he said the topic came up Tuesday morning in a daily phone conference among Franklin County officials.

Maroun said he knows people have come up to their second homes in the Tupper Lake area from New York City and Westchester County — epicenters of COVID-19 for the entire U.S. — and have then gone shopping in his community. He urged them to stay in self-quarantine for 14 days before they go out to shops or other public places.

The reason, he said, is that they’re more likely to be unwittingly carrying the virus than local residents who haven’t traveled.

“They’re In contact with regular people in the community if they go to a store, if they get take-out,” Maroun said. “They come up here thinking they’re in a cabin. … They go in Shaheen’s (supermarket) and buy $200 worth of meat, well, they’ve potentially infected (several people).”

He said he isn’t trying to stop people from coming here. Instead, he’s pleading with them to help protect the community they enjoy here.

“It’s not to be offensive, not to be mean,” he said. “It’s just common decency.”

So how should someone who just came up from a COVID-19 hotspot get food? Maroun didn’t have a solid answer to that question yet, as of Tuesday morning.

“They could call the stores to see if they can deliver,” he said. “If not, if they go into a store, they should wear a mask and gloves … and maybe have one person instead of everybody.

“If they call the village office, (518) 359-3341, we’ll try to find a way to get it to them. … I’m not saying we would be able to do them all, but …”

Maroun said some Tupper Lakers doubt how dangerous the new coronavirus is, but not him.

“There are still people that don’t believe this,” he said. “The odds are very high something is going to turn up in Franklin County eventually, and we want to be ready for it.

“This isn’t a joke.”

—

Emergency response

—

Brendan Keough, chief of the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department, was also on the Tuesday morning conference call. He and other fire chiefs are taking steps to make sure their firefighters don’t get infected.

“Two of our last three fire calls have been people from the city (New York City), and one was a couple staying in an Airbnb,” he said. He didn’t detail the fire calls but said they were typical of the kind his department at this time every year “as people are opening camps and Airbnbs.”

He said his fire department, as well as the Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Paul Smiths-Gabriels and Bloomingdale volunteer fire departments and the Saranac Lake Police Department and Saranac Lake Volunteer Rescue Squad, are communicating with each other daily and trying to follow similar safety protocols.

The SLVFD has divided itself into two companies — named Woodruff and Miller for local historical figures — that each work 14-day stretches before handing off to the other. That limits the number of firefighters that come into contact with each other. Specialty teams such as diving and ice rescue will respond when those kinds of calls come through.

Thursday is normally the SLVFD’s training day, and this Thursday the department plans to conduct its first fire school class through internet conferencing using WebEx, a program it learned about from Franklin County officials.

“It’s been very useful for us,” Keough said.

—

Village response

—

Maroun said the village has also divided its departments’ staff so each worker interacts with fewer people. Similar steps have been taken by municipalities across the state in response to state recommendations.

Maroun also said he informed the governor’s office that Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services Office in Tupper Lake — a former veterans hospital — has two buildings that could be converted for hospital beds if needed. It would take a lot of work, he added, but the Army Corps of Engineers and Navy Seabees might be able to do it.

“I think the governor has done an excellent job in terms of relaying to the people what’s going on, and I think he’s done an excellent job of (getting services where they’re needed),” Maroun, a Republican, said of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.

How does he feel about the federal government’s handling of the situation?

“I think they’re coming on board,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate they couldn’t pass the stimulus” to get money into hands of people who are out of work. “I think they’re moving in the right direction. They’ve got the smarts. They’ve got the knowledge and the science … but I hope we can move this along a little quicker.”

One state has gone further than just encouraging isolation. As of Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mandated anyone on a flight from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival or face criminal penalty.

—

Rabideau disagrees

—

Saranac Lake village Mayor Clyde Rabideau doesn’t have the same approach as Maroun or DeSantis when it comes to visitors. He said Saranac Lake supports the current state initiatives and isn’t encouraging anything further. He said it’s not his position to make those calls.

“If somebody owns a house up here and pays taxes on it, they should be able to go to their own home,” he said. “We’re already supposed to be in lockdown and confined and practicing social distancing.”

—

Officials encourage travel limitations

—

In a letter released on Tuesday, North Elba Supervisor Jay Rand encouraged visitors to “limit travel to essential only.” It didn’t address self-isolation for visitors from downstate specifically.

The letter supported recent statements and initiatives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Rand reiterated the governor’s 10-point PAUSE plan, Matilda’s Law and descriptions of essential businesses identified by the state.

Lake Placid is among the busiest tourist destinations in the Adirondacks and home to the most short-term vacation rentals in Essex County. Around 636 rentals on Airbnb and VRBO listed Lake Placid addresses as of Tuesday, according to AirDNA, a vacation rental data and analysis website.

“We’ve got non-essential travel coming into the area, some of which may be occupying vacation rentals and others may be in hotels, which are listed as essential businesses (by the state), but we have no mechanism for stopping that,” Lake Placid village Mayor Craig Randall said in a phone interview Tuesday. Randall didn’t address isolation, but he said he hopes fewer people travel to Lake Placid during the pandemic.

“There’s no reason for people to come here right now,” he said. “There are no businesses. There are no restaurants or bars open. There are no venues here. There are no events going on.”

He read a piece of a public statement he was working on.

“Hotel lodging is a listed essential service,” he said. “However, many of our local lodging establishments have elected to close at this time. Further, some local real estate offices have suspended taking vacation rental reservations during this period.”

Merrill L. Thomas, among the largest local real estate agencies in Lake Placid and owned by former North Elba town Supervisor Roby Politi, announced on social media on Sunday that it would stop accepting vacation rental bookings for the month of April.

“We express our sincere appreciation for this and hope word spreads to others to defer their plans to spend time in Lake Placid until this current emergency has passed,” Randall said.

Between the coronavirus outbreak and the village’s recent adoption of new short-term rental regulations — which among other things establishes a registry and requires owners to apply for a permit to rent out their properties to vacationers — the number of Lake Placid listings online has plummeted in the last few days, though there are still hundreds of listings.

For the last few weeks, Wilmington town Supervisor Roy Holzer, in multiple posts on social media, has called for short-term vacation rental owners in his town to consider a self-imposed moratorium on accepting new bookings for the time being.

“I want to thank our Wilmington vacation rental hosts that have voluntarily ceased renting their places during this difficult and scary time in our world,” he wrote. “In fact, I know of rental owners that have offered their places in Wilmington for voluntary quarantine so the individuals can be reunited with their Wilmington family.”

The co-owner of Woodland Vacations in Wilmington, in a video posted on social media on Sunday, offered one of their short term rentals free to any healthcare worker in need of a place to stay.

The Essex County Board of Supervisors is asking people not to visit the Adirondacks during this time.

In a statement Tuesday, board chairman and Willsboro town Supervisor Shaun Gillilland said the county has limited medical and food resources.

“This is in keeping with federal and state mandates that people stay at home and stay put,” he said. “It is far better for you to stay home and limit your movements.”

Gillilland also encouraged people to pause their vacation rental operations.

“As we work together to minimize the spread of this virus across our most vulnerable populations, we respectfully ask that property owners comply with this request to limit new exposures and protect the health and welfare of all by removing short-term rental listings from services such as Airbnb and Vrbo, and not renting their short-term rentals,” he said.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading throughout New York State. As of March 24th, there were over 25,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York, in 53 out of the state’s 62 counties, though many Upstate New York counties face shortages of medical supplies and cannot undertake extensive testing. Read more.

From Adirondack Daily Enterprise:

ELIZABETHTOWN — Amid concern over the spread of the novel coronavirus, public health officials on Wednesday sought to quell concerns about hospital capacity and testing capabilities — while conceding that sustaining a stable supply of protective equipment and testing materials would likely be a challenge.

At a press conference on coronavirus outside the Essex County complex in Elizabethtown, representatives from both Adirondack Health and the UVM-Elizabethtown Community Hospital said their hospitals have enough supplies to continue testing those with suspected cases of COVID-19 — for now.

Read more.

From Lake Placid News:

LAKE PLACID — The town of North Elba’s Recycling and Transfer Station will stop accepting glass starting March 1.

The transfer station will still accept redeemable glass bottles, but locals turning in non-redeemable glass items will now have to pay to discard them. The town charges 9 cents per pound of garbage. Revenue generated from the redeemable bottles and cans go to local nonprofit organizations, according to the town’s website.

Town Councilor Richard Cummings suggested the town move forward with the change at the council’s meeting Tuesday, Feb. 11.

“There’s no market for glass,” he said.

The transfer station is open from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. every day except Thursday, Sunday and holidays.

Clean water is the lifeblood of the Adirondack Park. However, the excessive application of road salt on state roadways is contaminating our surface waters and drinking water wells and it’s happening at an alarming rate.

A study of 500 wells across the Adirondacks found that more than half of the private wells exceeded safe sodium levels and more than a quarter exceeded chloride guidelines. To learn more, click HERE.

Legislation to extend protections against the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species is now making its way through the NYS Legislature.  

This bill:

"Extends provisions relating to the department of environmental conservation's management of aquatic invasive species, spread prevention and penalties"

We know how important this is to your lake association.  As such, we encourage you to contact your representatives in Albany and make your voice heard.

Click here for more information.
 

From the Adirondack Explore 1/24/20:

The Adirondack Land Trust announced Friday that it has purchased Upper Saranac Lake property that once belonged to early Adirondack conservationist Clarence Petty’s family, preserving 570 feet of rugged shoreline on an interstate canoe route.

The trust last week paid $200,000 to Ed and Teresa Palen, of Keene, for 5 acres with a boulder-edged shore between Indian Carry and Indian Point on the lake’s south side. Department of Environmental Conservation — lived their first 

Read more.

SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. (AP) 12/1/19: 

Through the middle of the 20th century, ailing people seeking a “rest cure” reclined on cottage porches in the community to take in the crisp Adirondack Mountain air. Saranac Lake grew into a mini-metropolis of medical care, with a dozen trains chugging in and out daily, a famous mountainside tuberculosis sanitorium, hotels — and three undertakers.

Read more. 

From DEC: The Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor is a railroad right-of-way approximately 119 miles long and generally 100 feet wide. Constructed in 1892, the line was operated continuously until freight service ceased in 1972. In 1974, the Corridor was purchased by New York State. In 1977, the State leased the line to the Adirondack Railway Corporation. After the bankruptcy of the lessee, and following a long period of litigation, the State acquired the remainder of the lease in 1991. Title to the Corridor remains under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Read more.

As reported in our newsletters and on our website, the USLA Government Affairs Committee has been actively involved in monitoring and responding to each step in the marina approval process.  All of the Committee’s written responses are available in the Government Affairs news section on our website UPPERSARANAC.COM

We monitor the Town of Santa Clara, APA and NYSDEC meetings and are awaiting the Marina's final project proposal submissions to the APA and NYSDEC. We will provide feedback during each Agency’s public comment period, as appropriate, and will provide future updates via our normal communication channels.

In addition to the Committee’s official responses, we would like to make you aware, as we have with other major items within our watershed, of an organized effort to provide feedback to the agencies reviewing the marina project. A sizable group of folks including some USLA members have organized and are requesting additional involvement.

To best inform interested parties, this group has been sending regular updates via email regarding their actions. 

If you would like to be put on their email list for future updates, previous email updates or to get agency contact information, send an email to:

Dick Gunthert
179 Fish Creek Park Rd.
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
rjg4141@gmail.com

This letter linked below was sent by the USLA Government Affairs Committee to the Santa Clara Town Board Members on 5/19/22 regarding the marina special use permit.

Letter: USLA marina permit response 5-19-22.pdf

This letter linked below was sent by the USLA Government Affairs Committee to the Santa Clara Town Board Members on 5/19/22 regarding the marina special use permit.

Letter: USLA Comments on Short Term Rental Regulations.pdf

This letter linked below was sent by the USLA Government Affairs Committee to the Santa Clara Town Board Members on 10/13/21 regarding the public hearing for the marina regulations.

Letter: USLAPublichearingresponse101321.pdf

Deerwood Association lot 9 development in a Class 1 wetland was approved by the APA and now goes before the Town of Santa Clara for building permits. The APA approval required many variances for Septic, building and tree clearances using inaccurate information. Interested members can write to the Santa Clara Town Council voicing their opinion on this new development proposal by drafting their own letter or using all or parts of the one found here: TEMPLATE LINK.

The USLA Government Affairs Committee has been following some local proposals that will impact Upper Saranac Lake. The Committee will remain informed and send appropriate comments to the town and the APA. 

For more information, click below to read the recent letters sent by the USLA regarding these projects.

Moratorium Law in Santa Clara

• USLA Comments to Town of Santa Clara May 4, 2021
• USLA Comments to Town of Santa Clara May 28, 2021

Deerwood Lot 9 - APA variance issue

• USLA Letter to APA May 3, 2021
• USLA Letter to APA May 24, 2021

USLA - DEC Fish Creek UMP 

• 1st - Final DEC Letter Fish Creek UMP 9302020
• 2nd - USLAresponse DECFCCampUMP060421

USLA - Town of Santa Clara Moratorium and Marina Regulations

• 1st - USLATOWNResponseJan2021
• 2nd - USLAresponse2 ... 04212021
• 3rd -  USLAresponse3 ...05042021
• 4th -   USLAresponse4 ...05282021
• 5th -   TownBoardComment...PowalykUSLA 06172021
• 6th -   USLAresponse6 ---066282021

Judith Cohen, of Upper Saranac Lake and New York City, passed peacefully, aged 92, on October 26. 

READ OBITUARY

Margaret Mary Thompson passed away unexpectedly on July 21, 2022, at her home in Fairport, NY at the age of 74. She enjoyed the time she spent with her friends in the Powder Mills Park Garden Club and was a proud member of the Upper Saranac Lake Association in the Adirondacks where she spent countless summers by the lake with family and friends.

In Memoriam: Remembering Margaret Mary Thompson, 1948-2022

Martha Leitner passed away after a hard-fought battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She was a 37-year summer resident of the Bartlett Carry Club, presiding as its President for five years. Martha developed a passion for the Adirondacks after serving in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. The Adirondacks became her spiritual place. She raised three daughters in New York City and on the Lake, and found the time and grit to become a 46er even as her Alzheimer’s condition emerged. She is survived by her husband, Paul, their daughters and husbands and one grandson. 

Bruce Holran died August 20, 2021 at age of 87. Bruce loved the Adirondacks and was active in the Back Bay Association as well at Upper Saranac Lake Association.  The following obituary (link) was published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise August 29 2021.

Jean Chubb Hardy, 99, beloved wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, aunt, second Mom and devoted friend to many died April 7, 2020 at theWartburg Nursing Home, Mount Vernon, New York. Since 1944 Jean has spent and loved many memorable summers on Upper Saranac Lake, where she embraced nature and the love of family and friends. Jean is survived by 3 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 3 grandchildren, 2 step grandchildren and 7 step great grandchildren.

Dan Weber died February 3, 2020. He leaves behind a wife and 5 children. Read Obituary.