The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Explorer archives
In the article “Showdown at Stillwater” (March/April) you covered many of the issues surrounding the Stillwater boat launch and access to the hamlet of Beaver River. However, a major benefit of the barge service that carries vehicles to Beaver River was not addressed. Prior to the Thompsons’ purchase of the barge, the vast majority of…
By Explorer archives
In reference to your article, “Showdown at Stillwater”, the influx of vehicles in Beaver River is of some concern to many longtime homeowners. Imagine that traffic is an issue there! Also, if people want to drive a vehicle to town, they have another option besides the barge; they may procure a “high-rail” vehicle, which is…
By Explorer archives
The renewed focus by the State of New York on the northeastern area of the Adirondack Park known as the Sable Highlands is exciting. The watersheds of two large, natural lakes, Chazy and Upper Chateaugay, have recently been conserved by major easements and state land purchases in the Sable Highlands. While this is a giant…
By Explorer archives
I want to say how much I liked Tom Woodman’s essay “The Mayor of Cold River” in the March/April issue of the Explorer. Since I had just read and reviewed the latest book about our favorite Adirondack hermit, your writing hit me hard, particularly the difference between being an activist and being an isolationist. It…
By Explorer archives
The March/April Explorer contained an interesting article regarding the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Heritage Strain Brook Trout Program. Sadly, with only two fishery biologists currently working in Ray Brook, it appears this valuable program is as endangered as the remnant trout populations they seek to protect and restore. Brookies are truly the jewel of…
By Explorer archives
The article on heritage trout is, of course, sobering. I am a brook trout fisherman, and to learn more about the troubles the heritage strains are undergoing is sad. I have to admit, though, that I would think that an article conveying the woes of Adirondack brook trout would not feature a fisherman killing a…
By Explorer archives
The January/February Adirondack Explorer carries a letter by Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward concerning Protect the Adirondacks’ opposition to a constitutional amendment that would permit NYCO to mine a deposit of wollastonite currently under Forest Preserve lands. She cites Protect’s position as evidence that the Adirondack experiment that tries to sustain communities while preserving wilderness has failed.…
By Explorer archives
Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward writes (January/February) that the Willsboro-based NYCO is in need of Forest Preserve land in order to continue future mining operations adjacent to their facility adjoining the Jay Mountain Wilderness. She fails to mention the lengthy adjudicatory hearing that was held in 1995 at great expense to the taxpayers of New York and…
By Explorer archives
In the mid-1980s on an Adirondack Park Agency field trip, the superintendent for Litchfield Park, John Stock, a pretty astute forester, stated that the beech die-back was as serious a problem as acid rain. I thought, you have got to be kidding: His concern was made clearer when he pointed out that beech is extremely…
By Explorer archives
I read with interest in your last two issues about the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. The first article detailed different possibilities for the corridor, including the plan to extend the ten-mile-long tourist line, now operating between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, another twenty-five miles to Tupper Lake. The January/February issue included a debate about removing the…