Delaware park makes maple sugar

National Parks Traveler reports on this weekend's maple sugaring demonstration in Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area.

National Park Service rangers and Millbrook Village Society volunteers will demonstrate the sugaring process from “tree to table.” Visitors will learn about tapping maple trees, collecting sap and boiling it down to make syrup and sugar. Recipes for maple-based foods will be available. In addition, some village buildings will be open for tours and craft demonstrations.

Read the full story: 'Maple sugaring' demonstration in Delaware

Photo by National Parks Service

Eco Inn in Berkshires

The New York Times reports on eco-hotel Topia Inn located in Massachusetts' Berkshires.

The guest policy is:

No Smoking.

No chemical fragrances/bug repellant.

Leave your shoes at the front door or cover them with the inn’s neoprene booties, so as not to track in pesticide residue and other pollutants.

Leave all grooming products at home, so as not to interfere with the chemical-free organic mattresses and bedding. Complimentary organic bath and body products provided.

Read the full story: An inn is an oasis to environmental fronts

Photo by Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Scenic byway in New Jersey

The Washington Post reports on New Jersey's historic Millstone Valley Scenic Byway. It's a hiking and driving path that meanders through untouched nature; not something that one would think exists in the Turnpike and strip mall state.

Isolated from the rumble of six-lane traffic and the sprawl of strip malls, the byway seemingly travels backward, to the 19th century, when the Delaware & Raritan Canal was a watery highway of commerce; to the Revolutionary War, when George Washington and his men tromped through the lowlands after two victorious battles; to the 1700s, when Dutch settlers farmed the fertile valley; to the pre-Colonial Native American settlements of the Lenni Lenape.

Read the full story: Thrown for a loop in New Jersey

Photo by Lardner/klein Landscape Architects From National Scenic Byways Online

Second plastic-bag subway art installation

Back in April '08 we reported on New York street artist Joshua Allen Harris, who fashions used plastic bags into inflatable subway grate art. Harris' latest incarnations, that are larger than his earlier polar bears and giraffes, look like giant fantasy monsters.

Watch the report below from New York Magazine.

Discover Maine's nature through new guidebook

USA Today reports on the new guidebook to Maine's natural areas.

"Wheeling and tromping across thousands of miles of Maine's remotest points, author Tom Hanrahan has been to those pristine patches and plenty more. While he doesn't mind being alone, he doesn't want all million-plus acres of Maine public lands to himself.

At the request of the state Conservation Department, Hanrahan has written a book, Your Maine Lands — Reflections of a Maine Guide, to show Mainers and visitors the wild and breathtakingly scenic preserves that few people — Mainers included — know."

Read the full story: New guidebook uncovers Maine's scenic preserves

Mercury levels high in NY Catskills bald eagles

The New York Times reports on the elevated levels of mercury found in New York Catskills' bald eagle chicks.

A report put out by Maine environmental group BioDiversity Research Institute showed the high levels of mercury build up in the chicks' feathers and blood.

High mercury levels have been shown to cause reproductive harm, yet the institute's director David C. Evers and study co-author Chris DeSorbo say "that not enough research had yet been done to say with certainty what effect the elevated mercury levels might have on eagles."

Mercury (which is blown east from coal-fired power plants in the Midwest), contaminates water sources, affecting fish and other animal and plant life, and the eagles eat the fish thus ingesting the metal.

"For much of the year, bald eagles live on brown trout, smallmouth bass and other fresh water fish that can be contaminated with methylmercury. Adult eagles feed the fish to their nestlings. Studies of common loons have shown how mercury can affect behavior. The loons become lethargic, which can affect their ability to gather food or sit on a nest long enough for eggs to hatch. Reproductive rates in loons contaminated with mercury can drop by as much as 40 percent, according to Mr. Evers.

Read the full story: Bald eagles in Catskills show increasing mercury

Biking Canada's Cape Breton Isle

The San Jose Mercury News' Geri Migielicz writes about her three-day bike trip across the Cabot Trail in Canada's Cape Breton Isle - the northeastern most part of Nova Scotia.

"The rich culture and history make it feel like a shortcut to the British Isles or, when in Canada's Acadian territory, France.

This mix of influences has produced a vibrant Celtic-flavored folk music scene, which alone could justify the trip.

And if you're a bicyclist looking for spectacular terrain and challenging steep climbs to notch on your altimeter, look no further."

Read the full story: Two wheels across Nova Scotia

Bus deals D.C. to NYC

Now that gas is so expensive, more and more people are using public buses to get around.

There's always been Greyhound, but now between the busy Northeast corridor, the demand for cheaper and better rides give travelers more options to choose from.

The Washington Post has a review of six bus lines going to and from Washington D.C. to New York City.

Ecotravel News can vouch for the environmental-friendliness, cheapness, and convenience of the Chinatown buses as written in this previous post; as for safety, that's another issue.

Read the full story: D.C. to New York: The deals on the bus go round and round

Photo from Picassa website, click here to read the photographer's review of the Bolt Bus from D.C. to NYC.

Enjoy Fall in the NE with AMC deals

USA Today reports on the Fall outdoor deals from the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).

AMC has many new programs to help nature lovers enjoy the Northeast region:

"A series of themed, all-inclusive family weekends are planned throughout September and October at AMC's New Hampshire lodges. The programs will include guided nature walks, foliage hikes and naturalist programs, along with activities like visiting an apple orchard, pumpkin and leaf crafts, wildlife watching and haunted evening hikes."

Read the full story: Appalachian travel packages emphasize the outdoors

Amtrak boasts Northeast ridership up 28%

Ecotravel News already reported earlier this month on the rise in Amtrak train ridership in California.

Now USA Today reports on the almost 30 percent increase in riders on Amtrak's Downeaster line that goes from Portland, Maine to Boston.

The line now is usually filled to capacity and the service has had to add a fifth additional train run and train cars to meet demand.

Amtrak is now trying to negotiate a sixth train trip with the rail owners Pan Am Railways and ways to expand the service up to Brunswick, Maine.

Read the full story: Amtrak's Downeaster posts 28 percent ridership gain

Art created with plastic bags

Plastic bags are the scourge of the environment.

They are hard to avoid in every day life and even harder when traveling, ask Senator Barack Obama. (We endorsed Hillary remember?)

So whenever a clever way of reusing or recycling plastic bags comes along, we like it.

One doesn't usually think of art when thinking about plastic bags, but that is what one innovative art student did.

Joshua Allen Harris (left in picture) created art using plastic bags and air pushed out through the New York City subway grating.

Some of his creations include the Air Bear:


the Air Zoo:


and the Air Giraffe:


According to the Associated Press, these creations are usually installed in the Chelsea neighborhood near Mr. Harris' art school.

So now there's another thing to add to visitors' or curious environmentalists' lists of things-to-see-or-do in NYC.

Bear attack reminds about nature's unpredictability

The LA Times had a gripping two part series about a father and daughter hiking team who were attacked by a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park. Experiencing nature is a wonderful thing but encountering wild animals can be hazardous. It's one of the ironies of ecotravel. Most who go explore nature appreciate and want to preserve it, but no matter how ecological one is, if wild animals deem you a threat, they will do what they can to protect themselves. This becomes more of a problem as people begin to encroach on wilderness areas and wild animals become used to people and find foraging in garbage is an easy way to get food.

Read the full story: A hike into horror