News

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. 

UPDATE: Board Meeting Postponed to Dec. 28 via Zoom

At a town board meeting, the town board will consider a motion to adopt a 6 month moratorium on Commercial development. The intent is to allow time to update town ordinances. As USLA members, we all have an interest in ensuring any future development is compatible with your surrounding environment. 

Please consider attending the meeting if you are in the lake area at this time.  Your support would be greatly appreciated!

SARANAC LAKE - Two local public health institutions have teamed up to launch a new high-speed COVID-19 testing lab, as reported in the Adirodack Daily Enterprise. 

The lab, located at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, opened this past Friday. It's a collaboration between biomedical research facility Trudeau Institute and Adirondack Health, which operates the local hospital. 

This lab is the first of its kind in this region. The creation of this new lab - which currently has the capacity to process anywhere from 80 to 160 tests per day - means faster turnaround times for COVID test results. 

Generally, tests take around two or three days to come back. In some cases, when labs outside of the area were overwhelmed, results took upward of 10 days to come back. With this in-house lab, tests can be processed in 24 hours, according to Adirondack Health spokesman Matt Scollin. 

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/

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

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

APA variance request

• 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

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.