About Adirondack Voices

Adirondack Voices is a community conversation about the past, present and future of the Adirondack Park.

The Adirondack Park contains 6 million acres covering 9,375 square miles. It is the largest park within the contiguous United States, larger than Yosemite, Glacier, Olympic and Grand Canyon National Parks combined. It lies within a day’s drive of 70 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

Called a “model for the world,” this great experiment in balancing human needs and the environment is a complex, and often contentious endeavor. Nowhere else is the interaction between man and the environment more a part of public conversation and debate. Although this discussion focuses on local concerns, the issues faced here are common to areas around the world.

Within the Park’s borders are both public and private lands: approximately 2.5 million acres are protected public land; 3.5 million acres are privately owned. It is this combination that makes the Park so unique. Established by an act of the Legislature in 1892, the Adirondack Park is one of the oldest conservation experiments in the world.

Article XIV, Section 7 of the New York State Constitution, ratified by voters in 1894, specifies that all state-owned public land “shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.” There was not then, nor is there now, consensus on what “forever wild” means. Nor is there agreement about how much, or what kinds of development and recreational use should be permitted on private lands within the Adirondack Park.

The balance between human needs and the preservation of wild places is difficult to maintain. While the Park’s natural environment faces threats from development and recreation pressures, acid rain and other types of pollution, the loss of traditional industries threatens the economy of its human communities.

The emphasis on environmental preservation in regional politics often leaves local residents feeling ignored, fueling tension between preservation interests and economic ones. The challenge is to reconcile human needs with the preservation of the unique landscapes within the Park.

What do you value most about this place? How will the choices you make affect the environment and landscape of the Park in the future? What will the Adirondack Park be? What should it be? What sort of history will the Adirondack Museum be telling in one hundred years?

The Adirondack Museum encourages informed discussions about the future of this wonderful place, and we invite you to join the conversation.

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