Three Active Weather Alerts Source: Burlington, Plattsburgh, New York & Vermont Weather Alerts – My NBC5

Source: Grand Isle ferry closes due to strong wind gusts, ice

Source: OUR MANN IN BEIJING – Lake George Mirror

Source: Keene tentatively approves mountain bike park | Sun Community News KEENE | The Town of Keene voted at its Feb. 8 meeting to conditionally move forward with plans for a multi-use trail system north of the hamlet, designed to take advantage of the growing po

“With Starbucks moving out last October, LL Bean is the only store left, but that won’t be for long as the outdoor store is moving to Williston.”

Source: Burlington’s downtown mall closes for good

Source: Young Upstate NY girl missing since 2019 found alive, hidden under staircase – syracuse.com

Source: More Upstate NY concerts announced: Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, Lord Huron – syracuse.com

Source: Phish 2022 tour dates include two nights in Upstate NY – syracuse.com

Source: Super Bowl Ratings: Viewership Tops 100 Million As LA Rams Win NFL Championship – Deadline

Source: Scientists have possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time

Source: This Adirondack photographer has shot most winter Olympics since 1980. See some of her favorite photos | NCPR News

A great story of a small community working together. Source: Vermont village store implements new business model to keep doors open

Source: Anticipating wind and warmth, organizers to take down Saranac Lake ice palace

The Peru Central School District is seeking a candidate to fill one (1) at-large seat on the Board of Education, due to the upcoming expiration of the term of Ms. Linda Morgan. The five-year term of the seat runs from July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2027.

The Petition for Nomination of Candidate form is available in the District Office at 17 School Street on Mondays through Fridays, except school holidays, or via the web at https://www.perucsd.org/district/board-of-education/.  Petitions must be directed to the School District Clerk, shall be signed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District, and shall state the names and residences of the candidate and petition signers.    The candidate’s phone number shall also be stated.

The qualifications that must be met in order to run for the school board are:

• A U.S. citizen
• At least 18 years old
• A qualified voter in the District
• Able to read and write
• A resident of the District continuously for one year before the election
• Cannot be employed by the Board
• Cannot live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the Board
• Petitions must be returned no later than 5:00 PM on Monday, April 18, 2022.

The School Board Election will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

Source: Super Bowl commercials: 17 best ads of 2022, plus the 5 worst – syracuse.com

Source: Another country concert added to St. Joe’s Amp lineup in Syracuse – syracuse.com

“The numbers also show a general dearth of children in the Adirondacks. While nationally, a quarter of the population is under the age of 18, the number of children in the Adirondacks is 17%. In parts of Hamilton County, nearly 90% of the population is adult.”

Source: Adirondack census numbers point to sparsity of people, housing

Source: Ticonderoga to add fourth solar installation – Adirondack Explorer

Overall Harvest Declined; Catskills Harvest Rate Remains Highest

New York bear hunters took 1,346 black bears during the 2021 hunting seasons, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today.

“Every year, New York’s bear hunters provide DEC wildlife managers with valuable information to help guide future management decisions,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Although they aren’t always successful, thousands of dedicated hunters venturing afield each year help keep populations at desired levels, maintaining healthy bear populations in the state.”

Hunters took an estimated 403 bears in the Northern Zone and 943 bears in the Southern Zone. This represents roughly 30 percent fewer bears taken in the north and 20 percent fewer taken in the south than in 2020, but only about 10 percent fewer than the five-year average harvest in each zone.

Throughout the state, there is generally an alternating pattern of high and low bear harvest from year to year, which is influenced by fluctuating patterns in cub production and food availability. Because bear harvest was greater than average in 2020, and because natural foods for bears were abundant this fall, biologists expected the bear harvest to decline slightly in 2021. However, warm weather through much of the early season likely coupled with the abundant food to reduce bear movements and thereby reduced bear harvest more than expected.

Despite an overall lower harvest, the Catskill region continues to produce the greatest bear harvest densities, and in Wildlife Management Units (WMU) 3A, 3C, 3K, 3P, 4R, and 4W, hunters took more than 10 bears per 100 square miles. Bear management objectives are to maintain stable bear populations through most of New York and reduce bear abundance in the central and southern Catskills.

*In 2021, DEC simplified the bear hunting seasons in the Adirondack WMUs by expanding the regular season to incorporate the early, bow, and muzzleloader season. Bow and muzzleloader season continued in the other Northern Zone WMUs.

Notable Numbers

• 24.2: the number of bears harvested per 100 square miles in WMU 3K (southern Sullivan County and a portion of Orange County), which had the greatest bear harvest density of any unit. The town of Tusten in Sullivan County yielded 4.6 bears for every 10 square miles.
• 143: the greatest number of bears reported taken on any one day. This occurred on the Nov. 20 opening day of the regular bear season in the Southern Zone.
• 560 pounds: the heaviest dressed-weight bear reported to DEC in 2021, taken in the town of Hunter, Greene County, WMU 3A. Of the top 25 heaviest bears, five came from St. Lawrence County and five from Ulster County. Scaled weights of dressed bears were submitted for 28 percent of bears taken in 2021.
• 10: the number of tagged bears reported in the 2021 harvest. These include two bears originally tagged in Pennsylvania.
• 637: the number of hunter-killed bears from which DEC collected teeth for age analysis in 2021.
• 14 percent: the proportion of bears taken by non-resident hunters. Successful non-resident bear hunters hailed from 20 states and one territory.

Black bear harvest data are gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required of all successful bear hunters; and the physical examination of more than 300 bears by DEC staff and cooperating taxidermists. Harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing these two data sources and determining the rate at which hunters report bear harvests in each zone.

In 2021, 84 percent of successful bear hunters reported their harvest. Hunters who reported their harvest and submitted a tooth for age analysis receive a 2021 Black Bear Management Coordinator Patch and will be informed this fall of the age of their bear.

DEC’s 2021 Bear Harvest Summary report and past harvest summaries, including tables, charts, and maps detailing New York State deer harvest, are available on DEC’s website.