The Snow Lover's Trivia State Budget Puts Paul Smith's VIC in Peril

The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates the Paul Smith's Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC), a driving distance of 40 minutes northeast of Tupper Lake and 30 minutes northwest of Saranac Lake.

Open year-round with free admission, the facility serve the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park as environmental education and a traveler orientation center. The Paul Smith's VIC opened in 1989, and has served thousands of visitors. The Adirondack Park Institute, a non-for-profit group, funds publication, curricula, education programs and special events at Paul Smith's VIC. The vision is to give "a shared understanding and appreciation of the Adirondack Park for residents and visitors by assuring parkwide access to resource information and personal interpretation."

The Interpretive Trails at the Paul Smith's VIC offer miles of scenic, surfaced trails, beautiful and wild. Winter in Paul Smiths sees the trail system adapted for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. All the trails are interchangeable, meaning the cross country ski tracks and snowshoe tracks run side by side. In the winter, the last gasp of Lake Ontario winter storms extinguish at Paul Smith's, making for excellent play in the snow. Summers at the center feature regularly scheduled interpretive trail walks, night hikes, canoe paddles and live bird-of-prey sessions. With more than 20 miles of trails, there are ponds, open areas and areas of thick vegetation, what you would expect in the Adirondacks with evergreens, maples, birch, etc. I suggest viewing the Barnum Pond with its' wooden bridge that covers a distance of over half a mile with viewing platforms.

The Paul Smith's VIC's indoor exhibits on natural history are complemented by regular showings of multi-image presentations on the Adirondack Park. Youngsters will find "touch tables," games and puzzles to spark their interest in the region's animals, insects and plants. The country's first Native Species Butterfly House reopens every June at the VIC. All stages of development are on display, as well as larval food and nectar plants.

Environmental education is a priority at the VIC. With the support of the non-profit organization, Adirondack Park Institute, the facility sponsors a wide variety of on-site and off-site school programs and Stalking Science teacher training workshops. From lectures on bear behavior, orienteering classes, maple sugaring outings, and packbasket weaving workshops, the VIC offers a wide range of public programs annually.

Friendly staff and volunteers knowledgeable are eager to help visitors find places to stay, eat and enjoy all that the Adirondack Park has to offer from recreational activities; such as, skiing, canoeing and hiking, to museums and other attractions; concerts, plays, cultural programs, and annual community events like the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.

The state Adirondack Park Agency's Visitor Interpretive Centers in Paul Smith's and Newcomb would be closed under Gov. David Paterson's proposed 2010-11 budget. As a fan of Paul Smith's VIC, I sincerely hope it does not come to this and we lose the enjoyment of a wonderful nature center.