The Future Forest
Part 4 of 4 It has been a slow process, but it has been a privilege to observe these changes over a twenty-year period. Now instead of imagining the future,…
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Wilderness by Description or Proscription?
Part 3 of 4 When you walk through the woods for miles at a time, it stimulates blood flow throughout your body. The brain is often a passive beneficiary, and…
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A Wilderness of Roads
Part 2 of 4 The year 2000 was memorable for two reasons: I had met Barbara McMartin that winter and became her newest guidebook assistant, and in the summer DEC…
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Roads of Recovery
Part 1 of 4 – Introduction Recent news that the remaining portion of Whitney Park, one of the last surviving private parks erected in the 1890s, is on the market…
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Cathead Mountain: Where Public Safety and Wilderness Meet
The evening of Halloween 2019 brought strong winds and torrential rains to much of northern New York. The storm caused widespread damage over a vast region: significant flooding in communities…
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The Wilderness beyond Mohegan Lake
The snow before us was virginal, and it covered an entire road that extended for several miles into the backcountry. Beyond the mountainous snowbank that marked its beginning, the ribbon…
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AWA Proposes Adjustments to Wilderness Snowmobile Plan
The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced plans to construct a 4-mile segment of a community connector snowmobile trail through lands classified as the Blue Ridge Wilderness. Adirondack Wilderness…
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2B or Not to Be
In the grand scheme of things, the topic of wilderness preservation in the Adirondacks seems trivial. There are issues of social equality, stability, and toxic practices that, at face value,…
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Reaction to the Adirondack Park Agency’s Plan for Boreas Ponds
News that the Adirondack Park Agency plans to subvert another upcoming wilderness designation at Boreas Ponds with both motorized and mechanized access corridors is not just discouraging, it is frightening.…
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A Snowy Boreas Tea Party
It is satisfying to look back at historical fulcrums and say, “Right there. That’s the moment that changed everything.” From Caesar crossing the Rubicon to start the Roman Civil War,…
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Reasons Not to Open Boreas Ponds to Motorized Access
During the course of the last year, much has been written about why the Boreas Ponds Tract should be classified as Wilderness by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), but it…
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Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award Acceptance Speech
On behalf of Adirondack Wilderness Advocates, it is an honor to be presented with the Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award. We are thrilled that our efforts in the Boreas Ponds classification…
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