The great ice storm of Jan. 7-11 has long since melted away. But the economic damage left in its wake continues to mount, with New York maple syrup producers facing production losses of more than $3 million.

In Clinton County alone, Cornell Cooperative Extension forestry experts are predicting the loss of almost 100 percent of the 1998 maple syrup harvest. Clinton County is in the far northeast corner of New York, bordering Vermont and the province of Quebec.

"In Clinton County, I have heard of few maple producers who will tap in 1998," says Lewis Staats, Lake Placid, N.Y.-based extension associate in Cornell's natural resources department.

In a memorandum to Cornell extension researchers, Staats notes that Clinton appears to be the county suffering the greatest economic effects from the storm in New York state, which struck the heart of maple syrup country. According to state records, there are 52 maple sap producers on an estimated 3,600 acres in Clinton County, harvesting sap from 180,000 taps, or spouts. Larger trees can have more than one tap. Staats estimates that nearly all of these taps will be nonproductive this season because of damage both to the trees and the sap-collection systems.

Staats explains that all producers once used buckets on individual maples to harvest the sap each spring. But today, large commercial sap producers use plastic pipeline systems to carry the sap to a central collection point.

However, Staats hopes that some Clinton County producers may be able to tap a reduced number of trees next year. "Essentially, they have lost this year's production," he says.

Five other New York counties also are facing losses in sap production this year. Staats estimates that for the 120 producers in St. Lawrence County, who harvest from 142,000 taps on 2,840 acres, the losses could be about 80 percent. Franklin County, which has 26 producers harvesting from 30,000 taps on 600 acres, could lose about 60 percent of production. And Essex County, which has 45 producers harvesting from 34,000 taps on 685 acres, could lose 40 percent.

Staats is not yet sure about the ice storm's economic effects on Jefferson and Lewis counties. Lewis, with 120 producers with 261,000 taps on 5,220 acres, could lose close to 20 percent of production, he says. The preliminary loss estimate for Jefferson, which has 28 producers harvesting from 24,000 taps on 480 acres, is 50 percent of production.

Many producers, says Staats, will not be able to tap this year because downed branches are restricting access to sugar maple trees and because sap-collection systems are either badly damaged or are under layers of ice and snow. Trees with severe damage will be lost to future production, he says, referring to sugar maple trees with broken trunks or decapitated crowns, or trees that were uprooted. "There is no accurate estimate this early after the storm, but many producers are reporting 30 to 50 percent of their trees were lost, while others feel they have [lost] nearly all their trees," said Staats in his Cornell memorandum.

Because it takes 40 years for a maple to grow large enough to tap, the loss of trees will leave a void in sap production for more than 30 years, says Staats. Maple trees can be in sap production for 200 years, according to Staats. It is not uncommon for consecutive generations of families to collect sap from the same tree.