A year of Earth-friendly journalism

10 examples of how Adirondack Explorer showed up for the environment since last Earth Day

By Explorer staff

It’s Earth Day every day for Adirondack Explorer, which uses its Adirondack journalism to cover the natural world around us. Reporters are keeping watch on challenges facing the park, from climate change to policy decided in Albany that affects our park protections, as well as stories that help readers understand all that makes the Adirondacks special. 

In recognition of a holiday that celebrates protecting the planet, we’re sharing 10 examples from the past year of reporting on environmental issues that impact the Adirondacks.

Holding government accountable on road salt reduction

The Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force released its long-awaited report in September, offering a roadmap to rein in road salt use in the Adirondack Park. 

The report came after months of state officials assuring it would soon be published and amid growing frustration among the task force members who produced it. Some members also said they wished the report included more accountability mechanisms to ensure state agencies act on the proposals. 

Read all our road salt coverage here.

Following invasive threats

The state plans to treat infestations of invasive hemlock woolly adelgid in the Adirondacks this fall including a new batch found in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest in Saratoga County.

That wild forest invasion discovered at the beginning of this year and a previously reported population on the western side of Lake George in Warren County demand chemical attention, said the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The Saratoga County population is the second known infestation of the bug, outside of the Lake George area, in the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park. 

Approximately 10% of the park’s trees are hemlocks.

Here’s how to spot hemlock woolly adelgid

Documenting the effects of warm winters

For many in the Adirondacks, winter is highly anticipated and celebrated. Months of powdery and icy conditions in the region have historically attracted outdoors enthusiasts to experience the park’s extensive cold season.

But this winter’s record-breaking warm temperatures and minimal snowfall transformed the season, shortening outdoor recreation times and disrupting some events. 

Will Roth, an ice-climbing guide at Adirondack Rock and River, said this winter was especially hard because of large temperature swings. Scheduled trips for the first few weeks of December were canceled because of a lack of snow and ice, said Roth, the president of the Adirondack Climbers’ Coalition. 

Observing deer gain ground in the park

People in residential areas deal with deer year-round while population data shows the species is sparse in the park. But population numbers could change in the future with warming winters. 

“I think the deer population will increase simply because the severity of the winter is lessened,” said Brian Underwood, a research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and an adjunct faculty member at SUNY ESF. “In general, the overall trend and abundance across the Adirondacks will likely be higher than it ever was.”

Examining how the Adirondacks can play a role in climate migration

Warming temperatures are driving many animals and plants northward and to higher elevations, researchers say. Recent studies show nearly half of the world’s species are on the move because of the changing climate and habitat disruption.

Now, scientists want to know where the world’s wildlife will go and how humans can foster their migration.

Apart from slowing fossil fuel production and prioritizing carbon storage, a direct solution for species inching north as temperatures rise is improving climate connectivity, a term likely coined by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in a 2016 study. The idea builds on the established science of wildlife corridors and land conservation that supports the migration of animals.

Lake Champlain clean up efforts

A new plan for New York’s side of the Lake Champlain watershed will guide state funding for years under a two-state attempt to control phosphorus pollution in the nation’s 13th largest lake.   

The state Department of Environmental Conservation on Monday released its final Lake Champlain Watershed Implementation Plan, which details current pollution sources and programs aimed at controlling them.

The plan lists specific projects to prioritize, including grants to improve agriculture practices, dredge sediment, restore streamside buffers and replace undersized culverts. The plan encompasses projects in the Lake George watershed, which ultimately feeds Lake Champlain.

Whiskey fungus: Tracking a mysterious spread of mold-like substance

In the northeastern corner of the Adirondack Park, white and yellow houses are turning gray, green metal roofs are turning brown and white gutters and fence posts are turning spotted black. It’s as if a five-o’clock shadow is growing over Grover Hills, a neighborhood in the hamlet of Mineville.

Mineville has the first case of whiskey fungus in New York, health and environmental officials said.

Spirited disagreements have town officials trying to placate both residents and a business that employs nearly three dozen people in a hamlet with a population of 1,300, part of the community that lost dozens of jobs when the state closed a prison in 2021.

Read more here.

Carbon credit market moves into the Adirondacks

Adirondack trees have a long history of providing income for forest industries. Before the formation of the Adirondack Park Agency, loggers bought and harvested expansive lots in the park, yielding huge profits for timber companies and significant taxes for the state. The practice has faded due to regulations, although tree-cutting continues on some lands. 

Now, wood-product companies and landowners can benefit from an emerging forest operation: Carbon offset projects. 

The North Country offers forest-rich lands for owners willing to protect them and for companies looking to achieve a net-zero status or shrink their so-called carbon footprint.

Analysis of public documents by the Adirondack Explorer found that more than 450,000 acres of land in the North Country are used for carbon offset projects. Read more here.

Climate impacts brook trout habitat

Brook trout habitat in all but a small portion of Adirondack lakes could disappear as climate change warms lakes and summertime oxygen loss is exacerbated by lake browning associated with the region’s recovery from acid rain, according to a new study by Cornell University researchers.

The researchers estimated that only 5% of Adirondack lakes may sustain suitable habitat for cold-water fish like Adirondack brook trout and Atlantic salmon when water temperatures and oxygen depletion peak in the summer months.

Turning out the lights for birds

Birds use natural lights from the stars and sky to orient themselves, in addition to relying on landmarks and an internal compass that senses the Earth’s magnetic fields. The artificial light can disrupt those internal systems and cause them to become disoriented.

Ornithologists have been studying the problems of light pollution with a focus on big cities where the impacts seem to be the greatest.

The Adirondacks is one of the darkest places in the Northeast, rivaling places like Maine for a lack of light pollution. Are there potential light places that impact them?

Canada jay photo at top by Larry Master