Canoe trial tests access
When Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown paddled his eighteen-pound canoe through private property on waters linking public lands in 2009 he touched off a legal battle that continues today and may help clarify paddling rights.
Originally scheduled for July, Brown’s trial was rescheduled and began August 20 in New York State Supreme Court in Johnstown. It was expected to last into September. If there are appeals, the case could continue for another year or two, according to Brown’s attorney, John Caffry.
The landowners—the Brandreth Park Association and the affiliated Friends of Thayer Lake—filed a trespassing lawsuit against Brown eight
