The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
By Mike Lynch
The search for Alex Stevens ended on Tuesday without locating the subject. DEC Forest Rangers located a campsite on the summit of Wallface Mountain, tracks and other signs leading from that camp which they determined belonged to Mr. Stevens. The search continues today with 24 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, five…
By Mike Lynch
The number of people using the Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park, especially in the High Peaks region, has increased dramatically in recent years, causing some people to say there is a need for more forest rangers.
By Phil Brown
Shipton’s Arete is one of my favorite places to take a novice rock climber. The three routes on the arête are all pretty easy. There’s a good anchor for a top rope. And the arête overlooks scenic Chapel Pond. The easiest route, Shipton’s Voyage, is rated only 5.4 on the Yosemite Decimal System scale of…
By Phil Brown
In its latest forest ranger report, the state Department of Environmental Conservation gives its account of the search for a hiker who drowned in the East Branch of the Ausable River. Click here to read the full report.
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Conservation is conducting a search in the Catskills for a sixty-year-old man who has been missing since Tuesday. Following is a news release from the department: DEC Statement More than a dozen DEC Forest Rangers, a DEC K-9 Unit, a New York State Police aviation unit helicopter with infrared camera, four…
By Mike Lynch
An autopsy performed August 2 determined that missing hiker Ralph "Skip" Baker drowned in the East Branch of the Ausable River. The death was ruled accidental.
By Mike Lynch
Missing hiker Ralph "Skip" Baker was found Tuesday by searchers in the East Branch of the Ausable River near the base of the Wolfjaw Mountains in the Great Range.
By Phil Brown
Ten forest rangers and ten other DEC employees and volunteers are helping to fight a wildfire in Lolo National Forest in western Montana. As of July 27, the fire had spread to 3,700 acres. In all, more than 400 firefighters and other personnel have been assigned to the fire. You can read more details in…
By Phil Brown
An 18-year-old man fell more than a hundred feet while climbing the waterfall between the Cascade Lakes on Sunday afternoon. The state Department of Conservation reports that he is believed to have suffered multiple fractures and internal injuries. He was flown to a hospital in Burlington, Vermont.For more information on this and other incidents, click…
For years, volunteers have assisted DEC in responding to accidents at Adirondack cliffs, but at first their help wasn’t always wanted. By DON MELLOR Forest Ranger Rob Mecus got the call at 3:15 in the afternoon. A climber had fallen on Wallface. Rob had been at his Adirondack post for only a couple of years, but he knew what all longtime local climbers…