Balsam Swamp is a sprawling state forest that stretches almost 5.5 miles east-west across 4 towns. The area is very rural, and the landscape surrounding the State Forest is predominantly forested. Balsam Swamp State Forest is comprised of a mix of native hardwood forests, hemlock swamps, and conifer plantations. There are no designated recreational trails on the forest, but there is ample opportunity for self-guided day hikes to explore the diversity of habitats represented on this State Forest. Additionally, the western section of Balsam Swamp State Forest is adjacent to Five Streams State Forest to the south.
The main attraction of this forest is Balsam Pond. The impoundment is approximately 152 acres and is a popular destination for fishing and paddle boat sports. Balsam Pond is a warm water fishery that contains a mix of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, brown bullhead and sunfish. Tiger muskellunge have been stocked in the past with the last stocking occurring in 1995. However, there have been very few reports of anglers catching any of the adult tiger muskies. A shallow gravel boat launch is suitable for launching small fishing boats.
A small rustic camp ground is also located at Balsam Pond. Camping spaces are available at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is no running water or electricity. A fire ring, outhouse, and picnic table are provided for each camping space. A sign on Balsam-Tyler Road in Pharsalia designates the entrance to the boat launch and camping facility. This is a carry-in carry-out facility. Please do not litter.
“Misery, wretchedness, ennui and the devil — I’ve got to spend another evening in Albany. Of all the miserable, wretched, second-class, one-horse towns, this is the most miserable.”
~ H. H. Richardson, architect of Albany City Hall (as quoted in William Kennedy’s O Albany)
The following state forests in Chautauqua County have designated campsites …
Chautauqua Gorge State Forest totals 538 acres. This state forest is located in the north western area of Chautauqua County in the town of Chautauqua, west of Mayville.
Mounnt Pleasant State Forest totals 1,522 acres and is located in the Town of Chautauqua in the western area of Chautauqua County.
North Harmony State Forest totals 2,561 acres and is used for many outdoor recreational opportunities such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, snowmobiling, and hunting.
Stockton State Forest totals 977 acres. This state forest provides opportunities for many outdoor recreational activities, including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, horseback riding and hunting.
“… Avoid the trap of doing something. Locking in losses usually means missing the ensuing gains, too. Stay focused on your goals, maintain your disciplined approach, and enjoy the long-term benefits of a diversified portfolio.”
I was having trouble figuring out why ST_Area area calculations weren’t working correctly in R. The reason was I was dumb. For ST_Area to work correctly you have to use an equal-area projection, such as Universal Transverse Mercator or Consus Albers. Projections that distort area won’t work, if you want to use such projections, you have to reproject the data before calling ST_Area.
Cruise control in my truck. It sounds silly but cruise control is an easy way to comply with speed zones as you can adjust your speed appropriately, hit a button and cruise along at a constant speed without worries of speeding up as you go along.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize that beauty of the state’s policy of keeping dispersed and wilderness campsites at least a 1/4 mile apart.
While that leads to fewer camping opportunities in popular locations, it also means a truer wilderness experience where other campers will not be disturbed by talking, music, chopping wood or other human noise, smoke from other fires or other privacy issues.
I enjoy having my space while camping and having nobody else in sight or sound while in the wilderness.
I’m not really into politics nor do I follow every news story or tweet, but my grotesque obsession over Donald Trump continues. He’s one part horror show, one part freak show, one part agent of change. I can’t decide if I hate or love the man or for that matter have much of an opinion of his presidency.
There are some things I think are just awful about Trump. He seems to have a very poor understanding of economics, international relationships, climate change and science. It’s fine to have an opinion and be a conservative, but you should have a basic understanding of the concrete facts your dealing with as our nation’s chief executive. Sometimes liberals insist on policy outcomes not based on the facts but their own values without considering values and priorities of other Americans — but they sometimes are more grounded in reality rather then rhetoric.
And I think Trump is just wrong on immigration. Immigrants are the fabric of our community, and while illegal immigration is problematic, we should find solutions to integrate immigrants already here, and go after employers who break immigrant law. Immigrants rarely take American’s jobs, because most of the lowest skilled jobs aren’t that attractive to Americans. If we want more jobs, we should have taxpayer-support of public colleges and training, so people can get the skills needed to succeed in our economy. We shouldn’t discourage international trade, we should encourage fair trade.
At the same time, I like the idea that Donald Trump is pushing a smaller government – I think the government at all levels had gotten too involved in too many people’s lives, pushing the trendy social causes of the day, spending too much time and money to save puppies and cute children. Government has core responsibilities, but we should empower private citizens rather then state to mediate conflicts. We don’t need more laws, we just need simpler, more enforceable laws, and fewer of them. Government needs to spend less time trying to stop the next so-called tragedy, and focus on making people’s lives better today.
To that matter, I am not that horrified by his budget proposal, as much as I’m amused by it, even if it spends too much on military defense and the police state. We need an honest discussion of government programs, and those that are absolutely necessary, Congress should reinstate. Sometimes it’s better to start at ground zero, and build back up. Maybe they shouldn’t keep doing things the same way in government, because that’s the way they’ve always done it.
To be sure, I’m not thrilled by Donald Trump. I thought Barack Obama had a better grasp of the facts, and delivered a healthcare program, while not perfect, helped out a lot of people. But as they say, there is always more to do. Mr. Trump has three years left to prove himself, and ultimately governing is not defined by who has the best rhetoric, but who gets the best results. People need to learn that things need to change, so we can make life better for people.
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