The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Phil Brown
For the May/June issue of the Explorer, Brian Mann wrote a piece about the difficulty of getting state funding for smaller land deals in the Adirondacks. That’s because all the attention is on the acquisition of former Finch, Pruyn lands and Follensby Pond–roughly 80,000 acres in all. As a result, Mann reported, the Adirondack Land…
By Phil Brown
Peter Bauer, a longtime environmental activist, has been named executive director of Protect the Adirondacks, an organization formed in 2010 with the merger of two green groups, one of which Bauer ran. In an interview with the Explorer, Bauer said he was drawn to Protect by the strength of its board of directors. “It was…
By Phil Brown
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has come out in favor of reopening the rail line between North Creek and Tahawus, which some environmentalists argue would violate the forever-wild clause of the state constitution. In a letter to the Federal Surface Transportation Board, Schumer said the line would provide “much needed economic development and jobs in…
By Phil Brown
Notice to rock climbers: the state Department of Environmental Conservation has confirmed that peregrine falcons are nesting on Upper Washbowl Cliff near Chapel Pond and on the Nose on the main face of Poke-o-Moonshine Mountain. The nesting location of falcons on Moss Cliff in Wilmington Notch has not been determined. To protect the nest sites,…
By Phil Brown
Little brown bats were once the most widespread .bat species in New York State, but its population has declined about 90 percent since the discovery of white-nose syndrome in a cave south of Albany several years ago. Now there may be a bit of good news: the latest survey of caves in the Albany region…
By Phil Brown
After years of negotiation and some controversy, the state has finalized an agreement that will allow more than two hundred hunting camps to remain on timberlands formerly owned by Champion International. In 1998, the state entered an agreement with Champion to purchase 29,000 acres in the Adirondacks and preserve another 110,000 with conservation easements…
By Phil Brown
The state attorney general is again asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that demands that the disabled be allowed to fly to remote lakes in regions of the Adirondack Park classified as Wilderness, where motorized use is prohibited. Among the waterways targeted in the suit is Lake Lila, long a prime destination of…
By Phil Brown
Sometime this year hikers will have a brand-new bridge for crossing Marcy Brook on their way to Mount Marcy and other destinations in the High Peaks Wilderness. The state Department of Environmental Conservation plans to build the bridge about a quarter-mile downstream from Marcy Dam. The old bridge at the dam was washed away during…
Adirondack Council voices support for huge resort in Tupper Lake, revealing split in environmental movement shortly before the APA approves the project. By Brian Mann The Adirondack Park Agency’s decision in January to approve construction of a massive new resort in Tupper Lake angered many environmental activists. David Gibson, one of the founders of Adirondack…
By Phil Brown The spruce grouse is likely to vanish from the Adirondacks, perhaps within a decade, if the state fails to take steps to help the species, according to scientists. In a draft recovery plan issued in February, the state Department of Environmental Conservation recommends both manipulating habitat on private timberlands to favor…