The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
It is never an easy decision to remove railroad tracks, but as far as destroying history I agree with Philip Terrie that a rail trail can actually increase awareness of the industrial past. [“Would rail trail destroy a piece of history?” March/April 2016]. This winter I bicycled the 152-kilometer Otago Central Rail Trail on the South Island of New Zealand. Every few…
Since its creation in 1971 the Adirondack Park Agency has borne the responsibility of shaping the character of the Adirondack Park. Its decisions on how to manage state Forest Preserve and regulate the use of private lands set priorities and chart a future course. Its actions provide the answers to big questions: Will we value our critical natural areas? Will we respect a…
The title of your article about finches [“A frenzy of finches,” January/February, 2016] really hit home at our house! We put out a feeder specifically designed for finches this year, and the results have been spectacular at times. The thistle seed has brought them like oiled sunflower never has in the past. I’m attaching a photo that will illustrate. After the birds…
The articles on climate change have been well researched and clearly communicate the latest science for anyone to understand. We are well educated and read broadly and find your information well documented and in the mainstream of climate-change research. We were disheartened, but not surprised, by the letter from Jeffrey Munson of Rangeley, Maine. Having survived three years as residents of Rangeley, we…
I have to disagree with Town of Keene Supervisor Bill Ferebee’s claim in his interview with Publisher Tom Woodman [November/December 2015] that “hikers don’t spend a lot in our communities.” The last time I was in Keene Valley (October 2015), I stayed at the Ausable Inn ($45), ate breakfast at the Noonmark Diner ($10), shopped at the Mountaineer ($170), stopped at…
Environmental groups’ objections that maintaining the Polaris Bridge over the Hudson violates the Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers System Act (“Essex Chain questions,” January/February 2016) appear unfounded. Instead, the proposed Cedar River Bridge is the more pressing issue. The primary purpose of the act is to designate high-quality rivers of the state that “shall be preserved in a free-flowing condition and shall be…
I have to say I’m incredibly disheartened by your inclusion of letters from the two climate-change deniers [March/April 2016]. The time for arguing about whether this is real is long over. The letter writers who said you print “Progressive detritus,” “malarkey,” and “left-wing garbage” and that “anthropogenic global warming is a hypothesis” are just ignorant of the facts supported by 99 percent…
I strongly support the growth of the High Peaks Wilderness in the Adirondack Park. I encourage Governor Andrew Cuomo to accept the proposal made by the Adirondack Council and other environmental groups to expand the Wilderness Area to more than 280,000 acres. As a student studying public lands, I believe that the growth and expansion of the High Peaks Wilderness area will…
By Tom Woodman With this issue, Explorer writer Mike Lynch completes a yearlong series on the impact of climate change on the Adirondacks—its wildlife and ecosystems as well as its human communities. One of the lessons we can draw from his work is that when we study climate change in a particular region like the…
The article about snowshoeing to Mount Adams [“Snowy adventures,” January/February 2016] brought back memories of my tenure with the state Department of Environmental Conservation during the summers of 1959 and 1960. Forest Ranger Ed Shevlin, John Dever, and I worked on the trail to Adams, clearing, brush cutting, and building ladders up and over the…