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Natural History

All Stories

salmon study

Replicating nature 

By Mike Lynch

Can DNA research help bring back Champlain salmon?

bats

Let sleeping bats lie?

By Ry Rivard

Biologists fear Moriah clean-energy project threatens endangered species of bats that winter in Barton Hill's underground mines.

Monarchs get federal recognition but not protection

By Mike Lynch

The U.S. Fish and Wildife Service announced December 15 that monarch butterflies deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act, but didn't propose to list them.

Turkeys on parade

By Adirondack Explorer

BIRDWATCH By John Thaxton On the way down to Elizabethtown for a Christmas Bird Count, I suddenly found myself slamming on my brakes really hard in order to avoid running over 15 or so wild turkeys wandering around aimlessly on Route 9N—they looked like a group of overly serious philosophers contemplating a profound existential enigma,…

Adirondacks at night: A prime Eastern stargazing zone

By Tim Rowland

In contrast to much of the United States east of the Mississippi, Adirondack skies are relatively free from light pollution.

A mountain shaped by fire

By Tim Rowland

In total, about 90 acres of woods were consumed by the fire, and bordering the burn site are acres and acres of what you would expect: spruce, fir, white pine, maple, birch—but no aspen.

Retired DEC scientist wins award for book on reptiles, amphibians

By Phil Brown

The Snake and the Salamander is a wonderfully illustrated book about reptiles and amphibians, by a veteran New York Department of Environmental Conservation herpetologist.

State funds its former interpretive centers

By Mike Lynch

The state doled out $180,000 to the Paul Smith’s College VIC in Brighton and $120,000 to the the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb, which is run by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Venom: The Secrets of Nature’s Deadliest Weapon

By Explorer archives

A resident or seasonal explorer of the Adirondacks, you may believe that our cool, northern landscapes are devoid of venomous animals. Sure, rattlesnakes inhabit a smattering of sun-warmed spots along the shores of Lake George and Lake Champlain, but that’s all, isn’t it? You might fall off a cliff here, or die of hypothermia, or…

A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the Northeast

By Explorer archives

You don’t need a magnifying glass, a deerstalker cap, and a Dr. Watson to track the mammals you suspect to be traversing your favorite pieces of Adirondack real estate. What are required most of all are curiosity and a willingness to invest the considerable time and energy it takes to study footprints, partially eaten food…

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