Press-Republican

Outdoors

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
November 7, 2009

Under the influence of wilderness

By ELIZABETH LEE, Living With Wilderness

All of us in the North Country live under the influence of a big and important wilderness.

Despite what past generations have attempted, the jury is pretty much "in" that the land dominates us, we don't dominate it. Whether you listen to country radio or public radio, your reception is relative to the mountains between you and the signal's source. Whether you sail the sparkling lakes or hunker down in a tiny duck blind on a pond, the water that got you to that spot has something wild about it. We live here because we like the wilderness that surrounds us.

In the best of cases around the North Country, there is a harmony between what's on the land and what we humans are up to. Adirondack Harvest and the Venison Donation program are examples. In the tougher cases, there is discord, anxiety and aggravation among the people while the land just continues its timeless wait for us to settle down and sort ourselves out.

I'd use last spring's heated debate over closing the school in my town as an example. Not much changed on the shoreline but we got started on a big bipolar conflict about whether staggering property taxes on the waterfront would force us to close the school. It's interesting to feel this push me, pull you about people and land and privilege and resources the way we do because so many other people in the world feel it under circumstances that are so profoundly not in the wilderness. It's a unique puzzle.

My interest in exploring the influence of the wilderness on North Country lives derives from my family's history. My ancestors came to Westport in 1838. Our property was bought at a land auction and was clear-cut at the time of purchase. Now it is a paradise. The story of the way the land has shaped me and my children has taught me more about life than any schooling I ever had. Now I make my living as an outdoor teacher and guide.

My column will track my outdoor explorations and the animal, plant and mineral occurrences that keep me going outside. In addition, I freely disclose that among my interests are fashion, footwear and food — like the search for an orange vest for my dog to wear in the woods, the dearth of comfortable low, waterproof hiking boots, and some questions about deer processing I have as a novice hunter. More soon.

Elizabeth Lee is a licensed guide who lives in Westport. She leads recreational and educational programs focused in the Champlain Valley throughout the year. Contact her at lakeside5047@gmail.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Outdoors
Mountain Forecasts
Photo of the Day