On a relatively mild day in mid-January members of the Board of Directors of Adirondack Wilderness Advocates stood on the shore of a remote and wild pond. It was frozen enough to walk across, so we did. Surrounded by trees, and a few chickadees, it was not hard for any of us to appreciate the moment.
My close friends often say to me, “I wish I could come to work with you.” I’ll admit: I have a cool job. Aside from being on the Board of AWA, I am staff at Northeast Wilderness Trust, a regional land trust that focuses exclusively on rewilding and protecting Nature for Nature’s sake. I am part of a team that is responsible for the stewardship in perpetuity of upwards of 93,000-acres (to date). Needless to say, I am often out on some adventure. In the spirit of sharing, I brought fellow AWA Board members to Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve in the northeastern Adirondacks.
It’s not really a surprise that our Board at AWA enjoys spending time in the wildest places of the Adirondacks. Whether we are visiting a Wilderness area with a capital “W” managed by the State or lands managed by non-profit land trusts, it is always inspiring to be in nature.
Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve not only provides natural habitat, but it also a place for human recreation. A 4+ mile trail, maintained by Champlain Area Trails allows visitors to follow a designed footpath deep into the heart of this wild place.
A highlight of our trip was visiting Clear Pond, a 16-acre waterbody the trail loops around. Like much of the woods, it was quiet at Clear Pond but the landscape was alive with activity. We had seen fisher (Pekania pennanti) tracks, the work of some industrious beavers (Castor canadensis), and admired enormous Eastern white pines (Pinus strobus).
To the Wilderness Trust, “wilderness” means lands and waters protected are self-willed, free to evolve and flourish in a completely natural way. On the wilderness preserves and sanctuaries the organization has established across the northeast, it is acknowledged that wild Nature has a right to exist in its truest form.
Weighing in at 2,445-acres, Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve seems small compared to the “sexy” Wildernesses in the Park, but it packs a big punch. It is a keystone property that provides a vital link between the uplands near Lake Champlain and the interior of the Adirondacks. Large mammals, songbirds, and even flora need these connections and corridors. It’s location in proximity to the nearby Jay Mountain Wilderness is exciting for connectivity.
Although it is not part of the Forest Preserve, Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve is another chapter in the ever-evolving story of wildness in the Park.
