A collection of interesting reads:
Reporting in 2022 you won’t find anywhere else
As we reach the end of 2022, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the stories and projects that had the biggest impact on the Adirondacks. Stories published online and in the Adirondack Explorer magazine this year laid out challenges and potential solutions to longstanding issues facing the park, from the workforce-suppressing lack of housing to the increased visitor use of the High Peaks region. (Click here for a look at the top 10 stories from the past year.)
The Explorer’s full-time reporters also dug deeply into two issues of significant importance to the Adirondacks in 2022: a plan in the works for 12 years to build a power line from Quebec to Queens that is set to begin this year; and an accounting of the spending of the $1.75 billion borrowed in 1996 for the Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act.
Almanack’s top 10 posts from 2022

Gray Wolf. Wikimedia Commons photo.
Without fanfare, here at the top 10 posts on the Almanack from the past year:
- WOLF DNA: This original press release got the ball rolling on what became one of the biggest news stories from 2022. READ MORE
- BACKCOUNTRY ROAD WORK? Peter Bauer has been keeping tabs and keeping us informed on DEC’s unusual efforts on an abandoned logging road. READ MORE
- TRAILHEAD BREAK-INS: Almanack contributor John Sasso recently shared his experience having his car broken into at Poke-O-Moonshine, in a post that went viral. READ MORE
» Continue Reading.
Reporting on solutions
The news can feel especially unpredictable and relentless. From the climate change crisis, global pandemics, impending recession, and a housing shortage, it can feel as though it’s one negative story after another.
One way to combat the “bad news cycle” is to focus reporting on ideas and solutions for some of the Adirondack region’s most daunting challenges. In 2022, the Explorer’s Solutions Reporting Project looked into what’s working in other places that could have implications in the Adirondacks. Examples include: managing use of some of the busiest places in the High Peaks region to dealing with a growing housing shortage to taking on the climate crisis.
Discussion time: Gas ban?
Wondering where Almanack readers stand on the debate about phasing out gas in heating appliances and stoves. Are you on board with a “gas ban”? Or are you like “hands off my gas”?
What would potential solutions be on each side of the debate?