28+ min ago (580+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. Move over Doppler radar and Farmer's Almanac. When it comes to predicting winter in the Adirondack Mountains, there's another meteorologist predicting the weather'and he fits in the palm of my hand, wears a fur coat year-round and doesn't say a word. Meet the legendary woolly bear caterpillar. The woolly bear caterpillar is the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth. It's known not just for its banded black-and-brown coloring, but for the curious legend that surrounds it: that the width of its colored stripes can predict the severity of the upcoming winter. Here's how it supposedly works: More black than brown? Bundle up'winter's coming in hard. More brown than black? Not so bad. You…...

1+ day, 7+ hour ago (296+ words) On a Saturday in late spring, my mother would get up with the birds and make her way to the garden. I'd trail after her, squishing the wet blades of grass between my bare toes. Our family garden was simple'a large rectangle on the edge of the property enclosed with a white fence. The slats of the fence were just wide enough for the rabbits to sneak through and nibble the tomatoes." As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you."All donations are matched"dollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impact"on independent journalism today. As a child, I was mesmerized with the trellis archway that beckoned me to enter and walk under the deep purple morning glories who had just awoken at dawn. I could sit down between the green beans climbing the fence…...

1+ day, 20+ hour ago (573+ words) On Monday, Oct. 20, a text came in that afternoon about an adult loon that was seen on Mill Pond in Brant Lake. It was swimming mostly on its left side, indicating that something might be wrong with the bird. As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. That afternoon, Ellie was joined by Nina Schoch, a long-time loon scientist, veterinarian and wildlife rehabilitator; Julie Harjung, a retired forest ranger; and Griffin Archambault, a biologist with the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. The plan was to capture the unlucky loon to remove the lure and move it to a larger lake where it could take flight to continue migrating. Ellie arrived back at Mill Pond first and searched for the loon from shore....

2+ day, 19+ hour ago (195+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. Dan Barusch is the planning and zoning director for both the town and village of Lake George. He is also the chair of the Go Green Committee, which is the sustainability committee for the village and town that focuses on Climate Smart Communities and Clean Energy Communities programs. In his role, he believes communities should be doing their part to make their communities more resilient, in addition to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. "We were the first community in the Adirondack Park to get the climate smart and clean energy certifications, the dual certification," he said. "We try to be leaders here, and we try to set examples for what other small communities in…...

3+ day, 4+ hour ago (689+ words) Jerry Jenkins" new book, "Field Guide to the Woody Plants of the Northern Forest," is a monumental ecological and botanical reference work Five hundred and thirty-one pages, 1 pound, 14 ounces of goodness. Jerry Jenkins" new book, "Field Guide to the Woody Plants of the Northern Forest," is a monumental ecological and botanical reference work. I know Jerry and when I sat down to read the guide and tried to use it, I heard his words speaking in my head. And I"m sure most readers will hear his voice in their heads even though they may never have heard his speaking voice. Such is his ability to write in a manner that lets you imagine that you are sitting next to him in an easy chair, next to a fire on a cold winter night with a beverage of choice in…...

3+ day, 8+ hour ago (371+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. This shift into winter offers a perfect moment to explore the fascinating science behind the season's cold and snow. From the atmospheric mechanics that send Arctic air streaming south to the cellular magic that keeps our trees alive through brutal cold, winter in the Adirondacks is as scientifically remarkable as it is stunning to behold. Paul Hetzler admits he can't explain exactly what a polar vortex is'and neither, apparently, can the American Meteorological Society, which has changed its definition three times in 20 years. But that doesn't stop him from offering his take on why these atmospheric phenomena cause such havoc when they escape their normal bounds. Trees are about half water, and if the…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago (224+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. Adirondack bobcats, wildlife in deep snow Continue reading for the full story. Bobcats: Elusive, powerful and beautiful The distinctively feline tracks through the snow in our woods last winter intrigued me. They would follow the narrow ski trail a ways, then meander into the trees or, sometimes, seem to disappear altogether. There was no way, I thought, a house kitty was so far from home in the deep of winter, and besides, these tracks were a bit large for your average cat. Then it hit me: these were bobcat tracks! Tracking wildlife: Where do bobcats cross the road? Nature Conservancy field technicians conducted wildlife detective work in New York's Southern Lake Champlain Valley. This…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (158+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. Below, the Almanack shares a few of our favorite owl features, courtesy of longtime naturalist Steve Hall. Screech owls are cute killers Short-eared owls: Wide-ranging, funny in flight Short-eared owls are one of the most widely ranging members of the strigidae owl family, absent only from Australia and Antarctica. They favor grasslands, fields, tundra, meadows, airports, marshes and bogs, any open habitat home to their favorite prey, moles, voles, deer mice, shrews, small birds and insects. Long eared owls always look surprised Barn owls: The ghostly rodent destroyer Saw whet owls: A shrew's nightmare Community news stories come from press releases and other notices from organizations, businesses, state agencies and other groups. Submit your…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (352+ words) As a nonprofit news organization, Adirondack Explorer relies on readers like you.All donations are matcheddollar-for-dollar through Dec. 31, up to $100,000. Double your impacton independent journalism today. Paul Smith's College has received a climate resilience grant from The Nature Conservancy to lead a regional outreach initiative aimed at amplifying rural voices and promoting flood resilience in the Adirondack-North Country region. The grant is part of The Nature Conservancy's 2025 Climate Resilience Grant Program, which awarded $500,000 to support 12 projects across New York state. The program, now in its fifth year, funds land trusts, local governments, Tribal Nations and nonprofit organizations working to conserve resilient lands, protect floodplains and shorelines, and build local capacity to adapt to climate change. The Paul Smith's College initiative is one of six planning and capacity-building projects selected this year, chosen from a record number of applications. The program…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (1472+ words) Three takeaways from Adirondack Explorer's panel on Lake Champlain water quality Controlling phosphorus in Lake Champlain is one of the hardest and most important pollution problems in the region, according to a panel of experts hosted by Adirondack Explorer." During a 90-minute discussion at SUNY Plattsburgh on Thursday night, the panel of scientists and advocates working in both Vermont and New York agreed that much work remains to rein in the amount of phosphorus making its way into the lake and grapple with a long legacy of farming, logging and other impacts to the region's environment. The types of projects needed to mitigate phosphorus loading in Lake Champlain, which drives harmful algal bloom growth, vary widely from specific agricultural practices to minimizing erosion by seeding roadside ditches." Even simple mitigation projects are complex and costly. But the panelists agreed that…...