Spectacular Snow Geese (video)
Snow Geese in Flight
Dan Swinton takes a look at the growing population and beauty of snow geese.
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Spectacular Snow Geese (video) <Click Here>
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Snow Geese
Spectacular Snow Geese (video)
Author Archives: Tom
Campout to mark Pike’s Cantonment in Plattsburgh
This article featuring the schedule of events for the celebration of the 200th anniversary celebration of Pike’s Cantonment in Plattsburgh originally appeared in the Press-Republican.
Campout to mark Pike’s Cantonment
PLATTSBURGH — The Battle of Plattsburgh Association is planning to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pike’s Cantonment with family events for everyone.
In the summer of 1812, a large army of American soldiers were sent to Northern New York to conduct operations against Canada. After a half-hearted campaign in the fall that barely made it over the border, the American army settled in for winter quarters.
General Dearborn left for Greenbush near Albany, and the 9th, 11th, 21st and 25th U.S. Infantry Regiments headed for Burlington.
That left the 6th, 15th and 16th Regiments in Plattsburgh, under the command of Col. Zebulon Pike.
HUNDREDS DIED
The troops had to build their own shelters, sleeping on the frozen ground until their huts were completed after Christmas. The army had shortages of supplies, and Pike complained about the poor quality of what was available.
Due to disease and exposure, about 200 of the 2,000 men who initially inhabited the cantonment died. To this day, the exact location where these soldiers were buried is unknown.
During this period, the army was responsible for keeping the North Country secure, which included attempting to interrupt the rampant smuggling that was occurring along the Canadian border. The problem had become so bad that Pike was obligated to print the Articles of War in the local paper and patrols were dispatched to deal with the situation.
CAMPOUT
In memory of the men who served during this troubled time, the Battle of Plattsburgh Association is inviting the public to a special Pike’s Cantonment Campout, to be held Saturday, Dec. 15, and Sunday, Dec. 16, on the grounds of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association, located on Washington Road on the former Air Force Base.
Re-enactors are being encouraged to join the campout.
Children’s activities will be provided inside the Battle of Plattsburgh Museum throughout the day, including making a soldier’s journal, coloring a period flag, trying on period clothing and a scavenger hunt.
Here’s the schedule of events:
SATURDAY, DEC. 15
10 a.m.: Re-enactment camp opens.
10:45 a.m.: First formation.
11 to 11:30 a.m.: Skirmish.
Noon: Wreath laying at Old Post Cemetery (the resting place of 1812 unknown soldiers).
12:30 to 12:55 p.m.: Reception for visitors and participants of the wreath laying.
1 to 3 p.m.: Dr. Timothy Abel and Keith Herkalo will speak on the history of Pike’s Cantonment and the current archaeological dig.
4 p.m.: Camp closes, evening gun, museum closes.
SUNDAY, DEC. 16
10 a.m.: Re-enactment camp opens.
11:45 a.m.: First formation.
Noon: Skirmish.
3 p.m.: Camp closes and afternoon gun.
4 p.m.: Museum closes.
Champlain Bridge site to host new boat launch
Here’s an interesting article from John Flowers of the Addison Independent about the future improvements and upgrades to the site of the Lake Champlain Bridge between Crown Point, New York and Chimney Point, Vermont.
Champlain Bridge site to host new boat launch…. and more
Posted on October 18, 2012
By John Flowers
MIDDLEBURY — About three years after the old Champlain Bridge was closed due to safety concerns, workers will soon begin the final phase of work on the new Lake Champlain Bridge project.
That work will involve upgrades to property on the Vermont side of the span to include construction of a new boat launch, two gravel parking lots and walking paths with interpretive signs.
The 80-year-old Champlain Bridge was closed on Oct. 16, 2009, and imploded two and a half months later. The new, state-of-the-art span was built in its place, and it was put into use last Nov. 7 amid much fanfare.
Dan Landry, structures project manager for the Vermont Department of Transportation, confirmed on Monday that Carmel, N.Y.-based Peckham Road Corp. had submitted the lowest ($853,954) of seven bids from companies interested in performing the work, designed to restore and improve land at the West Addison entrance of the bridge.
That land was disturbed back in the fall of 2009 after authorities closed the Champlain Bridge when an inspection revealed it to be structurally unsafe. State and federal authorities decided the bridge needed to be replaced, which in the short term led to construction of a temporary ferry adjacent to the former span that linked West Addison with Crown Point, N.Y., across Lake Champlain.
Workers put in road approaches and ferry landings on both sides of the lake. Historic preservation officials conducted digs in an effort to preserve important artifacts that were at risk of being destroyed with the ferry and bridge work.
The project, Landry explained, was carved into several pieces, with the federal government paying 80 percent of the tab and the states of Vermont and New York each paying 10 percent. Those project “pieces” included the temporary ferry system, implosion of the bridge, construction of the new one (at a cost of more than $83 million) and now the final element: restoration of the sites (and related approach work) on both sides of the bridge.
“When the bridge opened I think some people thought that was the end of the project,” said Rep. Diane Lanpher, D-Vergennes. “But there is more work to finish.”
Lanpher, a member of the House Transportation Committee, was pleased to report that the low bid of $853,954 is significantly less than the $1.2 million price tag that had been forecast. Major features of the project include:
• A new handicap-accessible boat ramp that will be much wider than the previous one and that will be served by a graveled parking lot.
• New fencing around the parking area.
• A series of gravel paths that will feature interpretive signs. Those signs will include information about the former Champlain Bridge that was erected in 1929. Lanpher is requesting that the trails be named after the late Carl Reidel, a former Ferrisburgh resident, state representative and patriarch of the University of Vermont’s Environmental Studies program.
• A small amphitheater that will be used for, among other things, lectures about the rich history of the region.
• An additional parking area for visitors and recreation enthusiasts.
• New landscaping, to include some apple trees.
• Removal of the temporary ferry access road, reshaping of the Chimney Point driveway and resurfacing of more than four-tenths of a mile of Route 125 leading up to the bridge.
“It will really be a nice improvement to the area,” Landry said of the plan, drawn up by David Raphael of Middlebury-based LandWorks.
Landry said Peckham Road Corp. has until June 30 of next year to complete the project. A pre-construction meeting will soon be held to iron out expectations for the work, at which time Peckham can get started.
“We are likely to see at least equipment at the site this fall,” Landry said.
The Addison Independent reached out to New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) officials to get details on site improvements to the Crown Point side of the bridge, as well as to respond to reports that some of the lights designed to illuminate the massive span are still not in working order. NYSDOT was the lead agency in planning the Champlain Bridge project.
An e-mail and multiple phone calls went unreturned by NYSDOT spokeswoman Carol Breen as the Independent went to press on Wednesday.
Reporter John Flowers is at johnf@addisonindependent.com.
45th Parallel Towns: Alburgh, Vermont
Alburgh, Vermont – A 45th Parallel Town
Alburgh, Vermont is the only 45th Parallel Town located in Vermont’s Grand Isle County, and is the western-most of Vermont’s 45th parallel towns.
Alburgh offers the only land route (via bridges) between New York and Vermont north of Crown Point, New York and Addison, Vermont. Unlike the other four towns in the county (Isle La Motte, North Hero, Grand Isle and South Hero) which are on islands, Alburgh is a peninsula projecting southward from Canada into Lake Champlain. Like the other four towns, it has a considerably higher percentage of lakeshore property than other towns on the Lake, making it popular for summer homes and camps.
What’s in a Name?
Ira Allen and 64 associates are named on the charter, but it was Allen who paid the fees and it was always considered “his” town, so it is reasonable to accept that the name is a contraction of Allenburgh or Allensburgh.
The name was changed to Alburg in 1891 on recommendation of the United States Board on Geographic Names, which for the sake of standardization, determined that all municipal names ending in ”-burgh” were to be changed to ‘-burg”. Other Vermont towns affected were Enosburgh, Ferrisburgh and Irasburg. In 2006, a majority of Alburgh voters approved changing the spelling of the town’s name back to Alburgh.
Pronunciation?
Most residents pronounce the “Al” as in “Allen,” and this is the generally accepted pronunciation, although there are some who pronounce it as in “ball”.
History
In 1734, much of the land had been granted by the French in Canada. After the British victory in the French and Indian War, those titles were passed to Henry Caldwell and later to his son. This later led to disputes between the Republic of Vermont, the United States and Canada over the rights of various claimants. Ownership was eventually confirmed to the settlers who were actually in possession of the land.
Later in 1781, when it was chartered, Ira Allen was one of the commissioners appointed to negotiate the boundary between the Republic of Vermont and State of New York. It was agreed that Alburgh would be part of Vermont, but disputes continued.
Alburgh was an important rail hub until the early 1960’s providing connections between northern New York State, Vermont and the rest of New England, and Canada. With the ending of the railroad era, Alburgh has become primarily an agricultural and vacation home community.
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Alburgh Dunes State Park
This 625-acre property became a state park in 1996. It is named for the sand dunes near its’ natural sand beach. This beach is one of the longest beaches on Lake Champlain.
The beach and dunes make up a barrier island, geologically similar to formations commonly found along ocean shorelines. The sand here has come from a layer of glacial till, the soil that was left when the last glacier melted.This sand settles out in a pocket between the rocky “Point of Tongue” to the east and “Coon Point” to the west, forming the beach. Southerly winds blow the sand back from shore to form dunes. This forms a barrier between the lakeshore and the wetland behind, and an island because the beach and dunes, however slowly, continue to migrate into and over the wetland.
The wetland behind the beach includes the largest black spruce bog in Grand Isle County. Black spruce swamps and bogs are more typical of colder, northern climates than of the Champlain Valley, which is Vermont’s warmest area. Core samples from the bog reveal peat to depths of more than 26 feet.
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http://www.alburghvt.org Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9 AM-5 PM
(802) 796-3468 email: townofalburgh@fairpoint.net
Middlebury College’s New Lake Champlain Research Vessel is Home
Middlebury College’s new Lake Champlain research vessel, the RV David Folger, has completed the journey from Vancouver, British Columbia, and is now berthed at its’ new home Point Bay Marina in Charlotte, Vermont. The official dedication on October 20, 2012.
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Why a Lake Champlain Research Vessel?
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From: Blogs Dot Middlebury
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Middlebury College is blessed by its proximity to Lake Champlain, a 435-square-mile lake – the sixth largest in the US. An historic waterway and the birthplace of the US Navy, the lake contains many shipwrecks. It borders Vermont, New York, and Quebec and sits at the center of the region’s ecosystems, which boast impressive biodiversity. The region also holds 34 hazardous-waste sites and 95 landfills, yet the lake is a major source of drinking water for roughly 200,000 people. Compared to the Great Lakes, however, Lake Champlain remains under-studied.
For 24 years, Middlebury College’s research vessel, the R/V Baldwin (RVB), served the College as a “floating laboratory” on Lake Champlain. This remarkable facility provided unique opportunities for faculty-student collaborative research, research training, and teaching in Geology, Biology, and Environmental Studies, but by 2009 the RVB had reached its limits. It was nearly 30 years old, was last upgraded in 1990, and couldn’t be renovated any further.
Though well equipped, the RVB was undersized and out-of-date for research and class requirements, and maintenance costs were escalating. Weight-load limits restricted the amount of gear on the vessel, which meant that equipment had to be unloaded and reloaded for most trips. Because of Lake Champlain’s length (~100 miles) and the vessel’s slow speed (6–8 knots), it often took longer than a single day to reach research sites. The RVB was unsuited for the short, choppy storm waves on Lake Champlain, so it couldn’t work on the Main Lake during rough conditions. Research access on the lake was restricted mainly to the narrow, weed-choked southern regions. The RVB’s size also restricted student access to lake research. Its maximum capacity was adequate for most summertime faculty and senior-thesis research, but during the academic year some classes had to go out multiple times to accomplish a single research “errand,” while other classes had to be split up — or couldn’t be accommodated at all.
In 2006, an external review of the Geology Department (the main user of the RVB) recommended replacing the RVB with a larger, more seaworthy vessel built to United States Coast Guard (USCG) T-boat safety specifications. A generous grant from the Lintilhac Foundation supported the planning effort. However, the cost of replacing the vessel was prohibitive, and the onset of the Great Recession shortly thereafter appeared to mean that this dream was now dead in the water. Then, in 2009, the National Science Foundation announced the Academic Research Infrastructure Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R2) Program, a funding opportunity backed by federal stimulus dollars. Because we had recently completed a feasibility report on replacing the RVB, the College was ideally prepared to apply for this funding, and to our delight, the NSF gave us the opportunity we had been yearning for: an award to replace the College’s aging research facility.
This new floating laboratory will be a College facility, used by all of the sciences. It will expand research opportunities for Middlebury College’s faculty and provide superior research training for its students. Middlebury is a leader in environmental and science experiential learning and field research, and the College is excited to be able to offer better lake access to faculty and students in the biological, chemical, and environmental sciences. The scope of research will be increased by gaining access to the entire lake, reducing transit times to research sites, and providing a stable, up-to-date platform for high-quality research. Improving and expanding research capabilities on Lake Champlain will generate new knowledge in several disciplines about the lake itself, the region, and freshwater lakes in general.
This project will also add a sophisticated research vessel with advanced capabilities and greater capacity to the research infrastructure on Lake Champlain, enhancing interdisciplinary inquiry not only for more Middlebury College students and faculty, but for other members of the local educational community. The new facility will:
- enable faculty at other local colleges to give students hands-on training in research techniques that would otherwise be unavailable
- provide research training to local K-12 teachers
- offer outreach to “land-locked” institutions and organizations in Vermont that need lake access
- advance development of a nautical archaeology program in the Lake Champlain basin
- produce data with environmental benefits to the region
With this new research vessel, Middlebury College will prepare highly qualified candidates to enter professions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. Many of our students earn advanced degrees in ocean sciences, and the new facility will help Middlebury College to carry on and expand that tradition.
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