The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Mike Lynch has been the Explorer's climate reporter since January 2025 and has worked for the publication since 2014. In addition to writing about climate change, he covers issues related to wildlife. Mike has also worked as a licensed outdoor guide and thru-paddled the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail. He is the author of 12 Short Hikes on Preserves near Lake George. He can be reached at [email protected].
By Mike Lynch
The current theme for the Explorer’s Views of the Park photo contest is “wildflowers.” Enter your favorite Adirondack wildflower shots by posting them on social media and using the hashtag #adkexplorerpix with the images. Five winners will receive free subscriptions and be published in the July/August issue.
By Mike Lynch
Well-known Tupper Lake guide Vanessa “Lynn” Malerba has died just days after she was hit by a tree while camping in the Pharoah Lakes Wilderness in the eastern Adirondacks. Marlerba, 60, had been tent camping with three other people on Rock Pond Friday night when she was hit by a tree. After being rescued by…
By Mike Lynch
Last week, New York State sent personnel to the village of Saranac Lake to help control flooding from the Saranac River and other waterways. Above are photos of high water on Lake Flower and Saranac River in Saranac Lake. Here is a link to a news release that we received May 3.
By Mike Lynch
A 60-year-old woman from Tupper Lake is in critical condition after being hit by a tree early Saturday morning at Rock Pond near Putnam Pond Campground. The woman was rescued by forest rangers and local fire fighters who removed the tree that had pinned the woman, according to a state Department of Environmental Conservation. Storms…
By Mike Lynch
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is proposing to move the Cascade Mountain trailhead to the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex as a way to deal with the surge in hikers using the trail, according to a draft amendment to the High Peaks Wilderness unit management plan. This amendment, which also contains proposals for…
By Mike Lynch
Standing on the shoreline of Follensby-Clear Pond on May 1, Doug Fitzgerald surveyed the ice conditions before him. “This (pond) is still locked up tight,” said Fitzgerald, referring to how ice covered much of the pond and hugged the shoreline. Fitzgerald has been keeping ice records on a handful of lakes and ponds in the…
By Mike Lynch
A choice passage in Curt Stager’s new book Still Waters: The Secret World of Lakes puts the author and a group of his Paul Smith’s College students in a remote spot near Lake Baikal, deep in the wilds of Siberia. With his charges nearby but otherwise occupied, Stager wanders off alone and blunders into some…
By Mike Lynch
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued guidance on how to prevent negative encounters with black bears. Nearly all negative bear encounters in New York are the result of hungry bears being attracted to human food sources. The simplest way to avoid a nuisance encounter is to remove potential food sources, which…
By Mike Lynch
Here is the statewide Forest Ranger report for April 9-16. Town of Fort Ann Washington County Search: On April 10 at 5:03 p.m., DEC Ray Brook Dispatch received a transferred call from Warren County 911. The caller had poor cell phone service, but stated she was lost near a campsite on Lake George. The call…
By Mike Lynch
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the release of the final Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan for New York. “Lake Sturgeon have been listed as a threatened species in New York since 1983, and this plan will provide DEC and our partners with a clear blueprint to achieve recovery…