Mike Lynch has been a multimedia reporter for the Explorer since 2014 and can often be found hiking mountains, paddling rivers, or skiing down slopes. His photos complement many of the stories throughout the magazine and website, and he regularly writes wildlife, land acquisition and recreation stories. 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]. Sign up for Mike’s newsletter
By Mike Lynch
September 16, 2015
Climate change poses a threat to moose and other life forms—plants and animals—at the southern edge of their range in the Adirondacks. By Mike Lynch On a warm day in June, state wildlife biologist Ben Tabor knelt in a dark forest in the northern Adirondacks, peering through his binoculars at a dark shape a few…
By Mike Lynch
July 15, 2015
Scientists say that climate change is disrupting the biological cycles of plants and animals. By Mike Lynch Scientist Curt Stager walks along the edge of the woods, his flashlight shining into the shallow water of a leafy, roadside pool on a dark night in Paul Smiths. It’s late April, and he’s out looking for spotted…
By Mike Lynch
May 13, 2015
Scientists question whether the Adirondack Park has enough habitat and prey for a wild cat adapted to boreal climes. By Mike Lynch A fellow carnivore scientist once showed Cristina Eisenberg the skeleton of an animal and asked her to identify it. Looking at the large hindquarters and feet, she guessed snowshoe hare. Told she guessed…
By Mike Lynch
May 4, 2015
Rangers and state police fight fierce winds and dangerous cold to find woman and her young sons. By Mike Lynch Forest rangers and state police rescued a mother and her two preteen sons near the summit of Mount Marcy in mid- March after undertaking, in brutally cold conditions, one of the largest search operations of recent years. “As far as our…
By Mike Lynch
April 30, 2015
DEC stocks tens of thousands of exotic fish in Adirondack waters each year, a practice that some observers believe diminishes populations of native brook trout. By Mike Lynch When people think of invasive species in the Adirondack Park, they think of Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, Asian clams, or any number of other exotic plants and animals that have made the headlines. People don’t…
By Mike Lynch
February 23, 2015
Climate change threatens to reduce the cold-water habitat preferred by this Adirondack native. By Mike Lynch In one traditional method of lake-trout fishing, an angler holds in his or her hand a weighted line while trolling from a boat. To collect the line, the angler uses a jerry-rigged Victrola record player with a spool in…
By Mike Lynch
February 23, 2015
Wildlife advocates believe wolves could come back to the Adirondacks someday and want the state to facilitate their return. By Mike Lynch Standing in a snowy meadow in Wilmington, a wolf lifts its head and howls, breaking the near silence on a cold winter day. Just a few feet away Steve Hall watches the scene,…
By Mike Lynch
December 22, 2014
Wildlife advocates say the state should prepare the public now for the possibility that mountain lions will be back in the future. By Mike Lynch Darcy Wiltse, a veterinarian, was driving on Route 458 near Meacham Lake one night early last winter when she saw a large animal crossing the road. She’s convinced it was…
By Mike Lynch
October 23, 2014
DEC bolsters the Adirondacks’ shrinking population of spruce grouse by bringing in specimens from Maine and Canada. By Mike Lynch Once abundant in the Adirondacks, the spruce grouse has struggled for much of the past century, but now scientists are trying to bolster the dwindling population by importing birds from out of state. The state Department of Environmental Conservation released three spruce grouse…
By Mike Lynch
October 22, 2014
Experts and officials look for ways to reduce the use of road salt, which can persist in the environment for many years. By Mike Lynch Standing next to a small, unnamed stream near where it empties into Mountain Pond on a cool September day, scientist Dan Kelting reads a sensor he just dipped in the water to measure…