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
By Tracy Ormsbee In early April, twelve more businesses in the vicinity of the former Finch, Pruyn lands received a total of $500,000 in Upper Hudson Recreation Hub Microenterprise grants backed by the Nature Conservancy. The money pays for businesses to capitalize on recreational opportunities, such as hiking, rafting, canoeing, and fishing, on the newly…
By Mike Lynch
Scientists are trying to understand how salmon are impacted by alewives, an invasive species that has become a main source of food for salmon, a keystone predator that eats smaller fish.
By Mike Lynch
Snowshoers can enjoy a wild panorama from the newly restored fire tower on St. Regis Mountain. By Mike Lynch As we neared the summit of St. Regis Mountain this past January, the conditions changed dramatically. Tree limbs—caked in snow and ice—hung down over the trail, and as we walked crouched through the tangle of branches,…
By Mike Lynch
Scientists are trying to find out what killed many of the red pines on the eastern edge of the Stephenson Range near Wilmington. Dozens of trees, perhaps hundreds, have died in recent years.
By Mike Lynch
Bear encounters in the backcountry and in residential areas were much more common than usual during the summer of 2016 in the Adirondack Park.
By Mike Lynch
Observers say more money is needed to repair and maintain an antiquated network of hiking routes. By MIKE LYNCH When many of the High Peaks’ trails were cut more than a century ago, the work was done by guides and hired hands. Keene Valley’s Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps created the first trail up Mount Marcy in 1861; Verplanck Colvin’s survey workers cut routes up…
By Mike Lynch
Guideboat makers carry on a craft born in the Adirondacks in the mid-1800s. By MIKE LYNCH Building a traditional Adirondack guideboat is a complex task, with ribs carved from spruce-tree roots and with thin hull planks held in place with several thousand tiny tacks. It can take many weeks to complete one. “I grew up working with…
By Mike Lynch
A sharp rise in hikers climbing some of the region’s highest mountains has lead to the degradation of natural resources and raises a variety of other issues.
By Mike Lynch
The state, local towns, and individuals are taking steps to adapt to life in a warming world. By MIKE LYNCH The Adirondack Park is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Lakes and ponds are covered with ice for fewer days than they were a century ago; spring is starting earlier in the lower elevations; and storms are becoming more intense and frequent.…
By Mike Lynch
Climate change is expected to bring heavy rains, more floods, and more damage to communities. By Mike Lynch A few years ago, Paul Smith’s College scientist Curt Stager came across a rare find that he says helps tell the story of climate change in the Adirondacks: the journal of Bob Simon, a retired engineer and…