Upper Saranac Foundation seeks help in shoring up dam
By Ry Rivard
October 19, 2020
“Our emergency was precautionary,” the Upper Saranac Foudation's lake manager said.
Ry Rivard
Ry covers water for the Explorer. Before coming to New York, he reported on water and energy for Voice of San Diego.
He can be reached at [email protected].
The EPA, a gorilla in the closet
By Ry Rivard
October 13, 2020
Last week, after magazine deadline, I took a few days to attend an online workshop hosted by the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources. In normal years, the institute offers fellowships for reporters to travel around the country and visit places they may not have the time or money to see. That’s how, in 2017, I…
Time scales
By Ry Rivard
October 6, 2020
Tomorrow happens to be my first anniversary at the Explorer. I’m still on deadline for the next print issue of the magazine, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. One of the interesting things about working for a magazine is thinking about how to tell stories that will stick around and still be news for a while. Since the…
Fishing for many returns
By Ry Rivard
September 29, 2020
I joined the Explorer last year in October — just in time to miss peak fall foliage. So, this is my first full fall back on the East Coast. We never find things, even seasons, as we left them. This year’s first frost was colder than I remember first frosts. The leaves are now both brighter than…
The long, long wait for road salt legislation
By Ry Rivard
September 22, 2020
Covering legislation can be maddening — and following coverage of legislation can be even harder. First, there are the bills that get introduced each year. It’s hard to know which ones of those to take seriously. Then there are the various procedural steps that happen along the way. A bill passes one chamber then goes…
Salt study stalled
By Ry Rivard
September 22, 2020
This summer, New York lawmakers approved the bill to require the state to look at ways to cut the pollution caused by salt dumped each winter on state roads. The bill remains unsigned.
The fight against lampreys
By Ry Rivard
September 15, 2020
Last fall, driving toward Crown Point, I came across some officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service checking one of Lake Champlain’s New York tributaries for lampreys, a fish with a bad reputation in the modern era because it’s ugly and harms the region’s precious salmon. The wildlife service dumps a chemical into the water…
Regulators look to tighten Lake George pollution protections
By Ry Rivard
August 8, 2020
Lake George has been ahead of other communities in imposing stormwater rules, because the lake’s tourism economy so obviously depends on its clarity and many homes around the lake drink water right from it.
Salt through the hourglass: Legal deadlines put contamination relief out of reach
By Ry Rivard
August 1, 2020
When homeowners have found salt in their tap water, any delay—even hoping to get the government’s help instead of going to court—can be fatal to their court case.
New stormwater regs proposed for Lake George
By Ry Rivard
July 31, 2020
In the latest action trying to spare Lake George from turning green, the lake’s main regulatory agency is proposing new rules to curb runoff from lakeside development, including a ban on lawn fertilizer within 50 feet of the lake. The Lake George Park Commission recently posted its new stormwater regulations, which have been several years in the making, and…