The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
In pursuing their passion, a crew of mountain bikers creates a resource for all in the greater Lake Placid region. By Alan Wechsler I’m following Keith McKeever and his friends up a mountain-bike trail on a bright summer afternoon. The trail climbs smoothly but unrelentingly as it switchbacks up the side of Winch Mountain in…
State attorney general asks judge to dismiss claims against Explorer editor in navigation-rights dispute. By Kenneth Aaron More than three years after Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown paddled through private land on Shingle Shanty Brook and almost two years after he was slapped with a lawsuit accusing him of trespass, the parties in…
State tries to curb illegal trade in bear paws and gall bladders. North Country Taxidermy in Keene does a steady business in mounted deer heads, stuffed mammals, skulls, horns, and fur rugs and blankets. Black-bear gall bladders are a lesser-known commodity. Bud Piserchia, who owns the shop, acquires as many as 150 gall bladders during…
By Phil Brown The spruce grouse is likely to vanish from the Adirondacks, perhaps within a decade, if the state fails to take steps to help the species, according to scientists. In a draft recovery plan issued in February, the state Department of Environmental Conservation recommends both manipulating habitat on private timberlands to favor…
DEC’s decision not to rebuild the structure at Duck Hole raises questions about the future of other artificial lakes in the Forest Preserve. By Phil Brown Before Tropical Storm Irene, hikers had urged the state to repair the old logging dam at Duck Hole to preserve its impoundment, a charming brook-trout pond ringed by mountains…
Group calls for end to Lake Placid’s tourist train, arguing the region would benefit more from a recreational path. By Chris Morris Jim McCulley and Tony Goodwin butted heads for years over the legal status of the Old Mountain Road in Keene and North Elba. Goodwin helps maintain the woods road as a cross-country ski…
Tropical Storm Irene closed Wilderness Areas, washed away roads, damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, changed the look the High Peaks—and brought people together. By Phil Brown Johns Brook rises deep in the High Peaks Wilderness, less than a mile from the summit of Mount Marcy. The stream is well known to hikers who cross…
By Kenneth Aaron The State of New York can intervene in a trespassing lawsuit filed by a group of landowners against Adirondack Explorer editor Phil Brown, a State Supreme Court justice has ruled. The state attorney general’s office and the Depart- ment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) asked to join Brown in the dispute, and Justice Richard…
Despite ban, riders continue to abuse trails in the Forest Preserve, though the extent of the problem is debated. By Stephen Williams It’s a warm and sunny morning on the old dirt road between Harrisburg Lake and Wilcox Lake in Warren County, the sky above brilliant blue, the woods full of birdsong. A beautiful day…
Attorney says a public interest is at stake in dispute over paddling on Shingle Shanty Brook. By Kenneth Aaron If a court rejects New York State’s effort to intervene in the trespassing case against Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown, the state will go to bat for paddlers on its own, a lawyer representing the state…