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Adirondack Environment


Water quality
Climate
Wildlife
Invasive species

Environmental Bond Acts

Within the millions of acres of protected land, scientists are studying our changing environment. We, too, have been following these changes: The emergence of invasive species that threaten the health of our trees and waters. The shifts in migrating birds returning to the Adirondacks. And the return of moose, wolves and other mammals.

The thread that weaves through all our reporting is the balance between the man-made environment and the natural world. That plays out with debates around how to manage the close-to 3 million acres of state-owned land in the Adirondack Park.


Dams: An investigation

A look at the park’s aging dams

Explorer investigation spotlights safety needs of Adirondack dams

Explorer investigation spotlights safety needs of Adirondack structures

Do dams belong in places meant to be ‘untrammeled by man?’

Old dams present inherent tension in wilderness areas

Can dams weather climate change?

Dams have historically helped create drinking water, power and food. In an era of a warming planet, dams could create havoc.

Hard-earned lessons to improve dam safety

Sometimes it takes a disaster to get the policy gears in motion

DIVE DEEP INTO ADIRONDACK ISSUES

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WATER QUALITY

St. Armand to buy Paul Smith’s College land that holds town’s water supply 

Long history of divided ownership over Bloomingdale water supply could wrap for $300,000

The St. Regis River flows under state Route 37 in Hogansburg, as it nears its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Photo by Tom French

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe leads effort to curb road salt pollution

New technology includes outfitting snow removal trucks with cameras and sensors to track salt use and optimize operations

Ice begins to form on Mirror Lake in November 2017. Photo by Brendan Wiltse

Salt success: How Lake Placid rallied to save Mirror Lake

Community's efforts to reduce salt use, divert runoff has helped bring a key Adirondack lake back from the brink

Results are in for milfoil-killing herbicide used in Adirondack lakes

Lakes using the herbicide ProcellaCOR find it effective at killing invasive milfoil and more continue to eye its use

CLIMATE CHANGE

The town of Jay Community Center is home to a senior center and has the capacity to serve as an emergency shelter. Here, senior center site manager Tiffany Thomas stands below a heat pump installed last fall to allow it to better serve as a cooling center. Photo by Mike Lynch

State recognizes Jay for climate work

Adirondack town reduces carbon footprint with energy efficient upgrades, achieves bronze status in Climate Smart Communities program

Paul Smith's College students gathered around the trailer distributing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) before assisting Paul Smith's College alums by clearing downed trees and debris from their property. Lake Lure, NC, January 2025. Photo courtesy Paul Smith's College

Mobile emergency operations center to support Adirondack communities

Paul Smith's College students design mobile emergency unit that will be used for training and real-life situations

climate change superfund law supporters

New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act on Trump’s hit list

“There’s no legal basis for what they’re trying to do,” said one legal expert.

Flooding, housing, energy-efficiency rise to top of North Country residents’ climate concerns 

Findings revealed at annual Adirondack Climate Conference

WILDLIFE

Old Forge black bears

Following last summer’s bear deaths, Old Forge ramps up efforts to protect wildlife from harassment

Violators who feed or harass wildlife in town of Webb could face fines as high as $1,500 per offense

Man in yellow waders on a boat holding a large lake trout in front of him

Native lake trout success story in Lake Champlain: stocking to end this year

As wild population thrives, New York, Vermont and feds celebrate milestone in decades-long restoration work

lake champlain

New York updates list of vulnerable fish species

The update includes several Adirondack species including the round whitefish, which has been downgraded from endangered to threatened.

white winged crossbill

White-winged crossbills: A ‘spark bird’

How a winter irruption sparked a lifelong passion for birdwatching

INVASIVE SPECIES

milfoil in lake george

ProcellaCOR herbicide use expanded to more Adirondack waters in 2024

Lake George sees first chemical management of invasive plants as herbicide use grows across Adirondack waters

New director on the ‘never-ending’ fight against invasive species in the Adirondack Park

Brian Greene discusses the challenges facing Adirondack Park as it loses its natural defenses against invasive species, emphasizing the role of herbicides in future conservation efforts

phragmites on the Adirondack Rail Trail

Adirondack Rail Trail users invited to join the fight against invasive plants

Visitors encouraged to use 'Play, Clean, Go' approach to stopping the spread

emerald ash borer

First documented sighting of invasive tree killer in the Adirondack Park’s Essex County

Emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that kills ash trees, was caught in a trap in mid-July in Essex County, state officials have confirmed.

ENVIRONMENTAL BOND ACTS

New state website tracks $4.2B environmental bond spending

Interactive map shows projects funded by bond act and what funds are still available.

Sen. Peter Harckham, center, chair of the state Senate's Environmental Conservation Committee, listens during a budget hearing on Wednesday in Albany.

Lawmakers double down on clean water funding

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle shared frustrations with the governor’s $250 million clean water cut.

Kathy Hochul

Adirondacks absent from 1st round of $4B bond act awards

Money from a $4.2 billion environmental bond act voters passed last fall is starting to flow, but so far, not to the Adirondacks.

A screenshot shows a virtual presentation, hosted by Executive Director of the Adirondack Park Agency Barbara Rice, about the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.

Breaking down the bond act

The state is drafting criteria for spending from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act.

Kathy Hochul

Adirondacks absent from 1st round of $4B bond act awards

Money from a $4.2 billion environmental bond act voters passed last fall is starting to flow, but so far, not to the Adirondacks.

2022 bond act infographic

2022 Explored: New York’s environmental bond acts

Nearly 60% of New York voters authorized the state to borrow $4.2 billion for an environmental bond act, the first such act since 1996.

Grasse River

1996 Bond Act lookback: Adirondack land conservation

How $150 million from the 1996 Environmental Bond Act was used for open space and farmland protection

With an environmental bond act before voters, a look back to 1996

New York voters will decide on unprecedented state debt for environmental projects, something they have not been asked to do in 26 years.

Through its news reporting and analysis, the nonprofit Adirondack Explorer furthers the wise stewardship, public enjoyment for all, community vitality, and lasting protection of the Adirondack Park.

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