The Adirondack Park is well-known for its vast wilderness, breath-taking mountains and forests, lakes and rivers, and wildlife to explore. Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers of visitors to the park have been increasing in the search of nature and outdoor experiences they can enjoy. Of course, the increase in tourism plays a positive effect on the park’s economy and hence, sustaining its “wilderness”. For instance, in 2018, the park had about 12.4 million annual visitors generating about one billion dollars a year, which is an evident economical profit.

However, unfortunately, this is not necessarily good news for the “wilderness”, which the park is supposed to be conserving primarily. According to High Peak Wilderness’ research, visitor number have recently surged to 250% beyond capacity. Crowding leads to increase in demand, and the overuse in certain locations is putting pressure on the park and its natural resources.

Out of all New Yorkers and out-of-state visitors, 72% visit the park to enjoy the outdoor activities and 85% of those come for hiking, according to a regional tourism survey. The surge of hikers are raising some concerning issues in the Adirondacks, in which the trails in populated areas are being overused, resulting in erosion, damage on vegetation, and negative impact on wildlife.

To meet the increased demand in use, a new, sustainably designed trail is being built. However, implementing a new trail, and dealing with overcrowding in general, requires more resources, which is limited in nature. In addition, any newly made trail will degrade overtime, especially with current lack of staffing and maintenance level, leading to a damage on the entire ecosystem built around it.

Taking erosion as an example, it happens when the trail use becomes excessive, soileventually gets damaged and degrades. Eroding soil can then degrade the nearby waters’ quality and consequently harm the wildlife, plant life and the structure of waterbody.

Furthermore, to satisfy the increased hikers but maintain the feeling of solitude in the great wilderness, the trails have been rebuilt wider and wider and the long lines of cars overflowing from parking lots near trails are further disturbing the resources and wildlife, and hence, the beautiful “wilderness” of the Adirondacks.

The report released by the Leave No Trace Center recommends a better education for “leave no trace” policy and limiting crowd sizes in wilderness areas to combat the growing concerns. Some of the recommendations, such as placing capacity limits, reservations and user fees are already in place for campgrounds and areas used for the day, but interestingly, not in the protected wilderness areas.

Additionally, Adirondack High Peaks Strategic Advisory Group, consisting of 22 members (January 2020), was newly formed by the state to find solutions to overuse and overcrowding issues in the park. “Managed right, this park could welcome many more visitors than the 12.4 million who came in 2018,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.

Hopefully, the Adirondacks will find a way out of these rising issues by collaborating with the advisory group and the new policy to maintain the balance of conserving its beautiful wilderness and high quality of life for its residents.

Works Cited

Adirondack Council, n.d. Overuse in the Adirondack Park.
Available at: https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/overuse-in-the-adirondack-park-298.htmlA

New York League of Conservation Voters, 2020. Combating Adirondack Park Overuse.
Available at: https://nylcv.org/news/combating-adirondack-park-overuse/

Reisman, N., 2020. Adirondacks Face Crowding and Overuse Issues, Report Finds.
Available at: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/ny-state-of-politics/2020/08/25/adirondacks-face-crowding–overuse-issues

Sheehan, J. & Council, A., 2020. Leave No Trace Center Recommends 52 Actions to Curb Impact of Crowds on Popular Adirondack Wilderness Trails.
Available at: https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/press-releases-16/news/leave-no-trace-center-recommends-52-actions-to-curb-impact-of-crowds-on-popular-adirondack-wilderness-trails-1282.html