Annual Meeting held at the Visitor Interpretive Center in Newcomb on July 20th

This year’s Annual Meeting for Protect the Adirondacks was held on Saturday, July 20, 2024. The day’s events included a business meeting on the state of the organization, election of the Board of Directors, a vote on the proposed amendments to PROTECT’s ByLaws, and a Conservation and Advocacy Report. PROTECT Chair Charles Clusen opened the meeting with a welcome to 75 members and Board members in attendance. PROTECT Treasurer David Quinn reported on the 2023-24 finances for the organization and reported that our finances are fine.

 

PROTECT Chair Chuck Clusen addresses members at the 2024 Annual Meeting

2024 Board of Directors Election Slate Was Approved

Secretary Barbara Rottier reported on the election of the 2024 cohort of seven members elected to the Board of Directors (see list below). Over 100 members voted by proxy ballot and the vote of those assembled in the room was unanimous.

Andy Coney, Stowe, MA; Blue Mountain Lake, NY: Andy is retired after a long career in high tech. He enjoys paddling, hiking, rowing, cycling, orienteering and Nordic skiing, as much as possible around beloved Blue Mountain Lake, his lifelong center of gravity.

James C. Dawson, PhD, Plattsburgh, NY: Jim is a retired Geology professor from SUNY Plattsburgh. He served on the NYS Board of Regents and has served on numerous Adirondack and New York conservation group Boards.

Lorraine Duvall, Keene, NY: Lorraine is a retired computer software engineer and director of research who is now active in community organizations in Essex County and the Adirondack Park. Lorraine is also an author whose most recent book is Where the Styles Brook Waters Flow: The Place I Call Home.

Robert Glennon, Ray Brook, NY: Bob is a retired attorney who worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the NYS Dept. of Law, and as the Executive Director and Counsel of the Adirondack Park Agency. He was also CEO of Ecologically Sustainable Development, Inc.

Evelyn Greene, North Creek, NY: Evelyn is a naturalist and writer specializing in mosses, bogs, and river ice. A hiker, paddler, and snowshoer, Evelyn enjoys introducing people to the fascinating natural world of Adirondack bogs and unique habitats.

Sid Harring, Mayfield, NY: Sid grew up practicing forestry on his family farm in Wisconsin. A professor of law, Sid retired after forty years of teaching at six different law schools, he retired to a timber tract in the southern Adirondacks.

Sheila Hutt, Blue Mountain Lake, NY: Sheila Hutt grew up in Tupper Lake and has lived in her adult life in Blue Mountain Lake. She has served on the Board of Directors of a number of Adirondack educational and environmental non-profits.

Barbara Rottier also reported on a series of minor changes to PROTECT’s bylaws, which were also approved by the proxy vote and by those in the room.

 

PROTECT Secretary Barbara Rottier talks about Bylaws revisions.

Conservation and Advocacy Report

Peter Bauer, Executive Director, and Claudia Braymer, Deputy Director, and Chris Amato, Conservation Director and Counsel, combined to give the Conservation and Advocacy Report. This report covered a lot of ground over the major issues facing the Adirondack Park and Protect the Adirondacks. The report covered 12 topics:

1) Land Protection: 30 by 30, Open Space Conservation Plan

2) Independent Public Oversight and Legal Actions

3) Forest Preserve Management Reform

4) Growth Report: Development Trends 2000-2020

5) Wildlife protections

6) Defense of Article 14

7) Clean Water Advocacy

8) Sustaining Viable Adirondack Communities

9) Making the Adirondack Park More Open, Inclusive and Diverse

10) Long-Term Partnerships

11) Staff Succession

12) Expanding Long-term Organizational Financial Support

Click here to see the presentation from this year’s annual meeting.

 

PROTECT Executive Director Peter Bauer talks Forest Preserve management changes.

 

Conservation Director Chris Amato gives part of the Conservation and Advocacy Report.

Afternoon Hike/Paddle

After lunch, two dozen members took advantage of the trails on the Visitor Interpretative Center grounds or gathered for a hike up Goodnow Mountain or went paddling on Rich Lake.

 

PROTECT Deputy Director Claudia Braymer (right) and members hiking on the Goodnow Mountain Trail.