Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I was more than a bit surprised to find Thacher closed today, presumably due to damage from the recent ice storm. As I drove through the park, I could see a lot of limbs and trees down in the picnic areas along the top of the escarpment... looks like the park workers have a lot of cleanup to do. Hopefully they'll have the manpower to do it - with the state parks' budget slashed as part of the measures to make NYS a bit closer to being financially viable and major cuts to parks' funding in next year's proposed budget, that's not a given. I can't imagine the mess that's going to greet the Schodack Island State Park staff when they re-open next April... that area was hit harder by the ice storm, and there won't be any upkeep happening during the winter since the park was closed for the winter in October.
Naturally once I got home I had to check if the Thacher being closed had been mentioned anywhere in the media. I found the following article from the Albany Times Union:
Weather closes Thacher, Peebles Island state parks
By DENNIS YUSKO , Staff writer
Dec 15, 2008
ALBANY - Add state parks to the list of places shut down by the ice storm. John Boyd Thacher State Park in Voorheesville and Peebles Island State Park in Waterford are closed until further notice due to dangerous conditions related to the weather, Alane Ball Chinian, regional director for state parks in the Saratoga-Capital Region District, said today.
Also, the lower area of Mine Kill State Park in Schoharie County has been closed due to dangerous ice conditions and tree damage, Chinian said.
The ice storm that ravaged parts of the region last week brought down numerous trees throughout Thacher park, closing many trails and damaging fencing, Chinian said.
"Trees continue to bear heavy ice," she wrote in a press release. "Forecasted winds may result in additional limbs and trees coming down in the park."
The main road through the Albany County park is open for traffic. The nature center does not have power and is closed.
At Peebles Island, the road connecting Cohoes and Waterford through the park is open, but the park remains off limits to the public, Chinian said.
Guess that rules out going to Peebles sometime during the holiday break...
JMH
