May 14, 2013 — The mountains of the northeast attract hikers to their rocky summits. What happens, though, when something goes wrong? Carol Stone White collected over 50 essays in her new book, Peak Experiences - Danger, Death, and Daring in the Mountains of the Northeast. Betsy Kepes as this review.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 27, 2013 — Considered America's oldest working woodlands, the Northern Forest -- stretching from the Tug Hill through the Adirondacks to the coast of Maine -- is also home to a remarkable range of traditional artists. This month, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, opened a new exhibit that features art from among the trees.

TAUNY executive director Jill Breit says the concept behind Artists of the Forest is to showcase how artists are using the resources that are growing around them in the woods. The pieces featured in the show come from northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Jan 15, 2013 — Record numbers of bird species were counted recently during the Christmas Bird Count in the Saranac Lake area. Larry Master, longtime birder and wildlife photographer, says the Saranac Lake count broke a 47-year-old record for the number of bird species seen and the number of birders counting in the field. Fifty species were seen by 46 birders in the field, also a record for Saranac Lake.

Larry Master has been counting birds all his life. He took over compiling the Saranac Lake results in 1974. He says there was exciting birding news in the first week of the new year when a Common Pochard, a European duck, was sighted among several other very rare ducks, like the Tufted Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye, that gather near the Champlain Bridge at Crown Point.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Dec 28, 2012 — This fall, an ecology professor at Paul Smiths College traveled thousands of miles to learn about a new culture, and share a bit about life in the Adirondacks. Celia Evans was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and conduct research in Siberia. She, and her two daughters, spent three months in Russia's Altai Republic studying primary school students' relationships to their environment, community and culture.

Evans, who also shared her love of folk music with her Russian hosts, told Todd Moe that she also wanted to find out how students in Siberia are learning about their natural world compared with students in the North Country.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Nov 01, 2012 — Leaders from the region's environmental and conservation groups will gather at the Paul Smiths College VIC on Saturday to talk about improving communication, collaborations and the next generation of stewardship of the Adirondacks.

The nonprofit organization Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is sponsoring the workshop at the Paul Smith's College VIC. Todd Moe talks with one of the keynote speakers at the workshop - Dale Penny, president of the Student Conservation Association.  Go to full article

Paul Smiths, NY, Jun 03, 2011 — Ornithology, the study of birds, is entering a new "golden age" with tens of millions of participants, according to award-winning nature writer and bird expert Scott Weidensaul.

He's the featured speaker at the 9th Annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration at the Paul Smiths College VIC on Saturday night. Weidensaul lives in Pennsylvania and has written more than two dozen books on natural history.

Todd Moe spoke with him about about how bird watching grew out of a "gentlemen's hobby" in the 18th century to become a professional and popular pastime.  Go to full article

Feb 18, 2011 — Birders in the Northeast expect to see fewer robins and more redpolls as thousands of citizen scientists across North America get out their tally sheets for the 14th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Pat Leonard, of the Cornell Lab, helps coordinate the annual weekend count. She says the survey, which began this morning and continues through Presidents' Day, gives a snapshot of bird populations and migration trends. Leonard says the event typically records millions of observations.  Go to full article

Indian Lake, NY, Nov 02, 2010 — We continue our series, the Adirondack Attic, with Andy Flynn. You may know Andy from his series of "Adirondack Attic" books on local history. He uses the objects people make, use and leave behind to tell stories about the life and times of the region. NCPR is collaborating with Andy and his sources at the Adirondack Museum and other historical associations and museums in the region to bring these stories to air. Today, we hear the story of wildlife photographer Hobart Roberts.  Go to full article

Colton, NY, Oct 04, 2010 — In the North Country, we see whitetail deer grazing in fields and leaping across roads at dusk. Author Elizabeth Marshall Thomas sees far more than that. Betsy Kepes reviews her new book, The Hidden Life of Deer, Lessons form a Natural World.  Go to full article