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Community Projects
The goal of ACCP’s Community Program is to promote the natural resources of the Adirondack Park as assets to local communities and to provide resources for community based conservation.
We achieve this goal by working directly with communities and constituencies to:
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identify key issues and information needs within the Adirondack Park
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conduct applied research and analysis that address these needs
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identify opportunities to connect community and conservation interests
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initiate projects that promote conservation and sustainable community development.
Our approach is cooperative, including partnerships with local and state governments, community groups, schools, colleges, industry, commercial foresters, entrepreneurs, tourism representatives, and other non-governmental organizations from across the conservation and community development spectrum.
For more details on ACCP Community Projects click on:
Adirondack Community Information Centers
Community Exchange Days
Community Planning
Adirondack Education
Recreation
Oswegatchie Roundtable
Geographic Information Systems
Community Exchange Days
 Community Exchanges build connections, celebrate success, and allow local leaders an opportunity to share their knowledge about community development projects in the Adirondacks. The exchanges provide a forum for local leaders, planners, residents, and local governments to learn about planning and implementing community- based projects. These events promote linkages that connect the people and communities of the Adirondacks. ACCP holds exchanges twice a year in cooperation with local communities.
Dozens of communities have participated in WCS’ Community Exchange Day series. Each exchange focuses on a theme chosen by the community. Host communities and past themes have included:
· Town of Inlet - On Community Projects
· Village of Saranac Lake - On Developing an arts community
· Town of Keeseville - On Community Projects
· Town of Johnsburg/hamlet of North Creek - On Community Projects
· Town of Webb/hamlet of Old Forge - On Community Projects
· Town of Wilmington - On Community Projects
· Town of Long Lake - On Community Projects
· Town of Lake Pleasant/Village of Speculator - On Community recreation trails
· Town of Keene - On Promoting local products and businesses
· Town of Tupper Lake - On Renewing and revitalizing community assets
· Town of Lake George - On Using Geographic Information Systems in communities
· Towns of Clifton and Fine - On Redeveloping industry in communities
If you are interested in hosting an exchange or would like to be notified of future exchanges, contact our office.
Community Planning
ACCP is involved in a number of initiatives to assist communities in developing long term planning strategies for economic development, tourism, and resource protection. Through community participation meetings, asset inventories, and analysis of past planning efforts we are able to understand the  important issues and assist communities in developing formal plans or implementing priority projects. We also provide support by assisting with grant writing and providing tools such as Geographic Information System expertise to assist communities in meeting their goals.
Currently we are leading the effort to develop a waterfront revitalization plan, through the NYS Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, for the Towns of Clifton and Fine. The plan will define the communities’ vision for its water resources and outline strategies for implementing projects for economic revitalization, increased quality of life, and resource protection in the Clifton Fine area. With the guidance of a waterfront advisory committee, we are engaging the community in a series of community participation meetings to direct the formation of the plan. The final plan will significantly increase Clifton’s and Fine’s ability to prioritize revitalization strategies while respecting the unique cultural and natural characteristics of its waterfronts. By presenting a unified vision for the waterfront, the communities will increase their chances to obtain public and private funding for future waterfront projects. For more information about the New York State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, visit www.nyswaterfronts.com.
We are assisting the Adirondack North Country Association in developing the Scenic Byways Corridor Management Plans for many of the NYS designated North Country Byways. Each plan states a vision and goals for the byways and outlines strategies and methods to enhance, promote, and protect the recreational, historic, cultural, and natural resources found along the byways. The completed management plans will make it possible for groups and communities along the byway to work towards a common vision and be eligible for funding for qualified enhancement projects. For more information about the New York State Scenic Byway program, visit www.dot.state.ny.us/scenic/scenic.html.
Other projects include promoting bear-smart communities, recreation planning, and nature based tourism promotion.
Adirondack Education
ACCP provides educational resources to local schools and communities in a number of ways. We have provided training in Geographic Information Systems to local high school students in local area schools. We are working to host a teacher training event for local educators through the WCS Education department in the Bronx, and in partnership with Hamilton, Essex, Franklin BOCES. An on-line curriculum, Wild Explorations: Adirondack module, is under development by the WCS Education Department at the Bronx Zoo. This curriculum focuses on the Adirondack Living Landscape Program and lets students play the role of scientist tackling real-life ecological challenges and using real data. And through the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program, in partnership with the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, we are involved with the Loon Scientists program, a curriculum for seventh graders to enhance understanding of the natural history of the loon.
ACCP supports a number of educational initiatives in the Adirondacks. Through the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program we support two middle school curricula focusing on loon conservation. Loon Scientists helps students understand the natural history of the loon while Science on the Fly! allows students to conduct real science inquiry activities. We also support Wild Explorations in Science: the Adirondacks, a curriculum being developed through the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Education Department at the Bronx Zoo. Wild Explorations in Science will be an online high school curriculum focusing on the Adirondack Living Landscape Program. It lets students play the role of a scientist tackling real-life ecological challenges using real data collected by our field staff in Saranac Lake.
There are a number of other ecological education initiatives happening in the Adirondacks. To coordinate these efforts and provide support for existing programs, we partnered to form the Adirondack Collaborative Ecological Educators (ACEE). ACEE is a partnership of ACCP, the Adirondack Mountain Club, T. Roosevelt Wild Life Center at the Adirondack Ecological Center, the Visitor Interpretive Centers in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, and the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks Wild Center. The group provides resources and programming support to teachers and other educators throughout the park. Every spring ACEE sponsors a Teacher’s Resource Fair: Connecting Classrooms to Communities in different regions in the park. In the fall we convene the Educators Roundtable, a forum for educators to learn about and exchange ideas for ecological education programming.
Recreation
Recreation is a topic of keen interest to local communities for both its tourism value and its management challenges. Recreation has been a past topic of both Community Exchange Days and the Oswegatchie Roundtable. Through our BBEAR program, we are able to help communities understand the causes and solutions to bear conflicts in the backcountry. We also provide information through the ACCP Working Paper, All-Terrain Vehicles in the Adirondacks, which attempts to inform the local dialogue about the issues associated with ATVs. The Forest Preserve Education Program seeks to create a consistent message about the Forest Preserve, user safety and low impact use by providing essential knowledge to community members and visitors. Through all of these efforts, ACCP works to help communities promote and protect their natural and recreational assets, and to understand and mitigate the impacts of recreation.
One example of the materials we've developed with communities to promote recreational assets is the 10 Favorite Hikes in the townships of Clifton and Fine brochure, available for download from our Research and Publications page.
Oswegatchie Roundtable
 The Oswegatchie Roundtable (ORT) is ACCP’s annual forum for diverse stakeholders to freely discuss pertinent issues facing the Adirondacks. Each year the roundtable focuses on a topic of current interest. Past topics include recreation, forest issues, climate change, community conservation priorities, conservation easements, and wildlife. The ORT improves relationships between diverse constituencies, fosters communication, interaction, and the free exchange of thoughts and opinions, and gives rise to tangible outcomes. ACCP gains programmatic direction from the ORT, and numerous activities have resulted from ideas raised at past ORTs. ACCP is not holding an ORT in 2006 due to fiscal concerns. Participation in the ORT is by invitation only; each year we select a group of people uniquely qualified to speak about the chosen topic, with keen consideration to involving an appropriate mix of regional leaders.
Geographic Information Systems
ACCP uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in community planning initiatives as a way to enhance planning efforts. We also work to build local GIS capability. In the past, we have conducted GIS training courses for the public and held GIS education programs in local schools. These are not active projects at this time. ACCP is also a founding member of the ADK GIS Users Group, and has collected and disseminated a great deal of geographic data. One of the outlets for this information is The Adirondack Atlas.
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To learn more about our past research and publications, click here.
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