The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
In a career rooted in watchdog reporting, former Explorer editor James M. Odato has been cited as one of New York’s top journalists covering state government, gambling, and abuse and waste of public money. He has written thousands of articles, his byline has appeared in numerous national publications and his investigative stories have spurred reforms. As a staff reporter for five daily newspapers, including the Albany Times Union and Buffalo News, Odato has received more than 30 awards from the Associated Press, New York Publishers Association, the New York Legislative Correspondents Association and other media organizations. In 2007, Investigative Reporters and Editors recognized his reporting with the Freedom of Information Award Medal. In October 2021, the University of Massachusetts Press released his book, This Brain Had a Mouth, Lucy Gwin and the Voice of Disability Nation.
By James Odato
Tributes to Gary Randorf on Wednesday focused on his deliberate, modest and agreeable style while advocating for protections to the forest preserve and wilderness that he photographed for decades.
By James Odato
“We’ll figure something out, either a partnership or a sale,” ownership leader Michael Foxman said. “It’s a pause, if you will.”
By James Odato
“I never did backflips,” Michael Hannagan said. “But the whole point of the airbag was to try a trick and have a soft landing; it was the perfect place to try things out.”
By James Odato
The closure brings the latest round of job uncertainties for a mine that New York voters in 2013 agreed to support by amending the state constitution to allow an Adirondack land swap that has yet to happen.
By James Odato
Karen Feldman's widely expected appointment would signal an opening to a larger pool of future appointees to the job, as she would be the rare agency leader selected from outside the Adirondack Park.
By James Odato
Seven workers at the wollastonite processing plant in Willsboro were laid off by owner Imerys on Friday. It’s the latest setback for workers at a mineral operation where a state land swap approved by New York voters has failed to materialize.
By James Odato
ATV rides abruptly ended at Whiteface after environmental watchdogs raised concerns to state officials, and after the Adirondack Explorer inquired about the propriety of the rides.
By James Odato
Adirondack water bodies ravaged by acidic precipitation for years are springing back to life, and fish and wildlife are returning.
By James Odato
Five years ago voters changed the New York Constitution to give an Adirondack mining business the right to dig in the state Forest Preserve, in part to save local jobs. So far, it hasn’t worked out that way.
By James Odato
After spending millions on litigation and permitting, the developers began road construction last fall after securing final permits. The regulatory process with the Adirondack Park Agency and defense of a lawsuit and appeals by Protect the Adirondacks and the Sierra Club contributed costs that reached $10 million, said Foxman. Concerns by the environmental groups resulted in the developers cutting fifty-three sites on steep slopes from the plan.