The reds, yellows, and oranges jump out at me. They are unappealing blotches on a fruit-salad map of speckled green. The Adirondack Park is mostly green and yet undeniably industrial and civilized.

It feels impossible to find a solution to a massive problem: how humans and nature can live together harmoniously. The Adirondack Park, while flawed in its execution and demonstrably imperfect, represents a valiant attempt at balancing the needs of humans and nature.

Robert Glennon, in his reflection on the APA focuses on perceived negatives – the times when the APA failed to protect nature (Glennon). Alternatively, these may be moments for optimism – moments when the needs and wishes of the people of the park, and other outside stakeholders, were heard. While I personally believe that the park should include more protected land, and protection should be more rigorously supported, I recognize that conservation only works with the support of the general public. The APA’s regulations mean nothing if people are unwilling to actually abide by them. As a public agency, the APA is ultimately (albeit indirectly) responsible to voters; as a result, it must balance its conservation efforts with maintaining some support in the Adirondack and statewide community.

Adirondack conservation efforts began over a century after settlement began and during a period of intense desire for use of Adirondack lands (Terrie). As a result, it quickly became impossible for the Adirondack Park to be a continuous tract of unbroken wilderness (Terrie). Nonetheless, the fruit-salad map is mostly green. Significant portions of the park are protected – through easements, state landholding, private hunting clubs not developing for their own use, various levels of state wilderness, and other arrangements. For all of its failures the APA did and does protect the Adirondacks.

Yes, far more houses were (and are) built than would be ideal for the environment (Glennon). Yes, highways, tourist attractions, downtown areas, increased trail use, prisons, and manufacturing facilities negatively impact ecosystems. And yet – the park is mostly green. It still contains some of the largest tracts of unbroken forest left in the world. Its lands (although mostly privately held) are far more protected than the vast majority of other (even theoretically-protected) lands in the United States (Terrie).

And 130,000 people live in the Adirondacks year-round. And there are 200,000 seasonal residents. And the Park hosts 12.4 million visitors every year (Adirondack Council). The Adirondack Park is mostly green, has some of the healthiest and largest forest ecosystems in the world, and supports a huge human population. A human population, many of whom view the Adirondacks and leave with an increased sense of purpose to protect other ecosystems and the planet as a whole.

I pause for a moment in class. When we talk about the Adirondacks, I hone in on the negatives. The traffic, the overused trails, the kitschy storefronts, the condos along once-pristine lakes. I fail to ponder what all of that green really represents.

At least some of that green represents trees (an unfathomable number of them) and ecosystems miles from the nearest tree or railroad. Places where humans almost never are. Forests either at or near (depending on how long ago they were logged – so much prime wilderness was logged) their climax successional stage. Flourishing ecosystems that exist hardly anywhere else in the world.

The Adirondack Park is imperfect. In so many ways, it fails both its people and its ecosystems. But in so many ways, in attempting to balance the two, it is an unprecedented success – a success story unlike that of any other region in the world.

It’s a cause for optimism. Or at least a cause to avoid the doomsday depression rational environmental thinking usually brings.

Works Cited

“About the Adirondack Park.” Adirondack Council, 2021, www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/the-adirondack-park-19.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

Glennon, Robert. “A Land Not Saved.” The Great Experiment in Conservation: Voices from the Adirondack Park, by William F. Porter et al., Syracuse, Syracuse UP, 2009, pp. 265-81.

Terrie, Philip G. Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks. 2nd ed., Blue Mountain Lake, Adirondack Museum, 2008.

“Wolves … change rivers.” I had been trying not to doze off as the bright October sun flooded into my Earth Systems classroom, my friday-afternoon-brain already enjoying its weekend respite. How. How can wolves change rivers? I sat up. Looked at the projector – rushing Yellowstone water and a munching moose – as George Monbiot carefully explained wolves’ ability to change ecosystems. To change abiotic features, not just biotic interactions.

That class carried me to Middlebury–ecological research and wild spaces–where my eyes absorb the vast High Peaks wilderness. Could wolves live there? Wolves are ecosystem engineers with vast impacts on ecological communities; wolf-reintroduction could contribute to rewilding the Adirondack State Park.

The foundations of Adirondack other discourses shape conversations about wolf-reintroduction in the Adirondack State Park. Adirondack disputes over ecological facts, property rights, and beliefs about nature’s role within a mostly-domesticated planet provoke intense debates regarding all conservation efforts in the area, including wolf restoration (Enck & Brown). These discussions often involve questions over the State’s right to institute high-impact (ecological and economic) policies without resident input. The delocalized model of management has caused conflict since the Park’s formation in 1892. Wolves manipulate large swaths of territory – in the park, they would do so irrespective of official land designations. Official land designations, specifically the minute differences between different classifications of wild lands (e.g. primitive area vs wilderness), although they might effect the expectations of human visitors. Wolves would impact human activities as they passed between parcels of land. The DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) claims that a decision to reintroduce wolves would require an “‘awful lot of analysis and evaluation and public engagement,’” (Lynch) making it impractical to consider given staff shortages and a focus on protecting already-present species.. 

Community views of wolf reintroduction may be more moderate than the DEC forecasted. A 2002 study found that 41.3% of the Blue-line population would be opposed to a wolf reintroduction program (Enck & Brown). These results reflected the general trend that “nearness of residents to a proposed restoration site” affects their willingness to consider wolf reinstatement. The study found 60.2% of state respondents in favor of restoration (Enck & Brown). Respondents outside of the Blue Line focused on conservation benefits rather than human-community impacts. These data are surprisingly favorable to wolves, given that only 50% of study respondents knew that wolves do not kill livestock and pets when they have access to abundant wildlife prey (Enck & Brown). There are an estimated 60,000-80,000 white-tailed deer in the Adirondack Park (Adirondacks Forever Wild) – an abundant food source for wolves – meaning wolves wouldn’t kill domesticated animals. Instead, they would stay in wild areas, hunting deer and shaping ecosystems. As they were always meant to. An education campaign highlighting wolves’ non-interference in society could improve willingness to consider reintegration.

While wildlife experts hope wolves may return to the Park (Lynch), data suggest that they could not make a return without human facilitation. The Park meets wolf habitat requirements and limitations as determined by peer-reviewed study of wolves and their niche, and could potentially become a “core habitat” of Eastern Timber Wolves (Harrison & Chapin). The landscape, with their presence, would return to a form closer to the original, natural version. Lake Champlain, the Saint Lawrence River, and expanses of agricultural and urban land separate the Park from existing wolf populations. Wolves often die when they cross highways and move through non-wilderness; there are no suitable wildlife corridors between wolf populations in Canada or the (fledgling) Maine population and the Park (Harrison & Chapin; International Wolf Center). Human assisted reintroduction would likely be based on the Yellowstone model of reintroduction which involved radio collars for tracking and an acclimation period.

Fostering the return of wolves would return the park to a more organic state (wolves roamed the park until ~1900). Opinions on the positivity of that change depend on the relationship between individuals and the biological community. Wolf reintroduction would boost local economies– tourists visit other parks specifically for the opportunity to see and hear wolves (Lynch). For others, perceived moral and environmental obligations justify the minimal risks of reintegration.

Any wolf return would be complex and require the agreement of and participation by numerous stakeholders with varying perspectives. Wolves may change rivers, but human communities and opinions may have to change first.

Source

References

Enck, J. W., & Brown, T. L. (2002). New Yorkers’ Attitudes toward Restoring Wolves to the Adirondack Park. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 30(1), 16–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784631

Harrison, D. J., & Chapin, T. G. (1998). Extent and Connectivity of Habitat for Wolves in Eastern North America. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 26(4), 767–775. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3783550

Lynch, M. (2015, March 16). Will Wolves Return To The Adirondacks? Adirondack Almanac. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/03/will-wolves-return-to-the-adirondacks.html

Maine at a glance. (2021). International Wolf Center. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://wolf.org/wow/united-states/maine/

Mammals of the Adirondacks: White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). (2021). Adirondacks Forever Wild. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-mammals-white-tailed-deer-odocoileus-virginianus.html

Monbiot, G. (2014, February 13). How Wolves Change Rivers [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

My boots grip into hard rock. Basin Mountain summit. The wind rushes over my head. I reach out to stop my hat from flying over the cliff.

“Imagine how much power we could generate if we had even just one windmill up here,” ponders my socialist sister Sarah. A student of the environment, in search of a Masters Degree in Environmental Education, she tends to fixate on sustainable energy and the elimination of fossil fuel consumption.

“F**kin’ metal towers would wreck the entire scene. Forever wild, baby,” grunts the wizened mountain man chowing on a PB&J sandwich, uninvited to the conversation, but joining it nonetheless.

The debate over wind power in the Adirondacks is not new; its complexity and corresponding debates reveal nuances of environmentalism and Park politics.

The Forever Wild Clause of the New York State constitution makes development within the Adirondack State Park a formidable challenge (Adirondack Council). Nonetheless, per the Adirondack Explorer, “locals are finding ways to go green despite the extra layer of zoning protections on public and private lands in the park” (Craig). 

The Adirondack Park Agency’s (APA) guidelines for structures over 40 feet, such as cell towers, have not been updated since 2002 and are intensely restrictive of mountain-top structures (Craig). So my sister’s dream of a palisade of power on the ridges isn’t likely to come true any time soon.

That is an oversimplification of my sister’s complex opinion. Her point is that we must find a way to both protect the immediate wilderness, wildlife, and spiritual nature experiences while also recognizing the long-term benefits that could be achieved through the construction and use of windmills. Windmills would prevent fossil-fuel combustion and help limit global climate change – as well as reduce power costs for local communities in the long term.

Some residents of the Park, such as Luke Dailey of the Concerned Citizens for Rural Preservation group, argue that wind power would “have many negative health, environmental and economic impacts” (Dailey). Other residents, such as Forest Gaillan, argue that windmills “would forever scar the landscape and beautiful views of the Adirondacks” (Gaillan).

That windmills would change the aesthetic value and appeal of the wilderness is effectively universally accepted – both my sister and Bill McKibben ( proponents of windmills in the park) acknowledge the reduction of natural beauty they would cause. However, while for some the potential change reflects a reason to avoid the mills, for others it supports windmill construction. In a 2005 article, McKibben writes: the Adirondacks “​​led me to fall in love with the world outdoors. Which is precisely why I hope those wind turbines rise on the skyline, and as soon as possible” (McKibben). He expands on the idea, saying that wind power is one way to limit the global climate catastrophe; protecting the environment and people at-large is more important than the visual appeal of this one specific slice of wilderness. While one might have to sacrifice some precise beauty, the protection of the wider outdoors and planet is more important.

I understand the worries and arguments of anti-windmillers. I understand the worry about the impact on the wilderness experience, the fear of birds being trapped in the blades, the nerves about renewable energy changing local economies.

But I also know that the leaves changed later this fall. That each fall seems to get warmer and warmer – noticeably. I know that Thanksgiving skiing is a question this year – it never used to be. I’ve read climate science, heard the predicted impacts of climate change, and feel the effects myself. And the effects of global climate change are so much bigger than when I’ll be able to ski. Whole nations may flood, refugee crises may overwhelm international relations. People will continue to starve – but at far greater scales.

Given that, I am willing to have my Adirondack vista interrupted by a large, spinning fan, generating power without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

While I recognize that I’m not a park resident, and my role as a stakeholder is less-than-obvious, in a globalized world facing global climate change, we’re all universal stakeholders.

Literature Cited:

“Constitutional Amendment Process.” Adirondack Council, 2021, www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/new-york-state-constitutional-amendment-process-153.html. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

Craig, Gwendolyn. “Climate goals meet green energy in the Adirondacks.” Adirondack Explorer, September/October ed., 2020.

Dailey, Luke. “Wind, solar farms would scar the Adirondacks.” National Wind Watch, 30 Nov. 2018, www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/11/30/wind-solar-farms-would-scar-the-adirondacks/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

Gaillan, Forrest. “Wind turbines will ruin the Adirondacks.” National Wind Watch, 12 Jan. 2017, www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/01/12/wind-turbines-will-ruin-the-adirondacks/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

From my bikepacking campsite in the Breadloaf wilderness, I gaze across the Champlain Valley and into the Adirondack High Peaks region. It’s easy to understand the early Romantic thoughts about the region. In an early 1880s poem from the Adirondacks entitled Old Bear Mountain, poet Cornelius Carter pondered the range and commented:

“‘And as I stand upon this mount

And view the broad domain

I would that I could linger here

As long as life remain’”

(Gooley)

The power of the wilderness is not unique to the Adirondacks, however. I’m a passionate New Hampshirite (“Live Free or Die” stickers adorn my beat-up burgundy Honda Pilot) – and my White Mountains hold that same appeal.

Tramping through the snow to the summit of February Osceola, an owl’s journey fans the flaps of my hat. There is something spiritual about the tranquility; the night’s dark shades cover the highway far below, and I feel like I’m on an island.

The highway supports local tourism and allows for the small manufacturing economy in the region, as well as providing more reliable access to key features of life like hospitals and schools. It allows civilization to exist in the central wilderness of New Hampshire.

But its brief absence from my reality makes the wilderness feel more special – more absolute. I believe in accessibility to the wilderness. I want local areas to thrive and economies to be strong.

But I also want moments like this to be preserved – even in the daylight.

Henry Conklin, writing in the late 1800s as his poor farming family set off for the Adirondacks, wrote that he was happy about “going to [his] new home in the wilderness” (Terrie 31). Conklin wrote in a literal sense – he was attempting to establish a full time farming lifestyle in the Adirondacks. But many modern tourists, travellers, seasonal residents, and yearly pilgrims comment that they feel most at home in a particular wilderness. Perhaps there is something innately comforting about the woods in a time when so much of modern American life is sterilized, polished, and covered in linoleum tiling.

I write this blog post deep within the halls of Battell, my bare feet grazing the cool floor. This is not natural. My feet belong buried in dirt, sleep is most restorative when interrupted by a spine-scratching root.

The restorative power of nature is known not just anecdotally, but also analytically. Per studies from the European Centre for Environment & Human Health at the University of Exeter, “’Nature is not only nice to have, but it’s a have-to-have for physical health and cognitive function’” (Robbins).

I’m running along the TAM, my feet bouncing from root to root – the collegiate version of hopscotch. It’s not quite the beauty, respite, or healing to be found from a month in the Adirondacks. Unlike the boy Murray mentions, I don’t have that kind of time. But it’s healing nonetheless. I scan the horizon, taking a bit of strength and tranquility from each peak.

I don’t linger, I up the pace, quickly shower, and head to the Davis library to work on my Ecology and Evolution Skill Builder. The Adirondacks will still be around come Saturday afternoon.

Literature Cited:

Gooley, Lawrence P. “Cornelius Carter: Poet of the Adirondacks.” Adirondack Almanac, Adirondack Explorer, 2 Feb. 2015, www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/02/cornelius-carter-poet-of-the-adirondacks.html. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.

Robbins, Jim. “Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health.” Yale Environment 360, Yale School of the Environment, 9 Jan. 2020, e360.yale.edu/features/ecopsychology-how-immersion-in-nature-benefits-your-health. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.

Terrie, Philip G. Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks. 2nd ed., Blue Mountain Lake, Adirondack Museum, 2008.

The Adirondacks remain on the other side of Lake Champlain, tantalizingly out of reach. My hands tightly grip a highlighter as I meander through Robert Mullin’s discourse on Christianity, so I couldn’t grab those mighty mountains even if they were within reach. But here’s the thing – they’re a solid three-hour bike ride away from here (even if I zip along, feeling strong on my Cannondale Synapse whose color matches the leaves that are too green for this time of year). McKibben says that this whole region should be called the Verdacks – one region containing the Champlain Valley, and the lower reaches of the Adirondack peaks – I disagree.

A region, the way McKibben defines it (one group of people), should be defined by the places a quick lad can reach on a gravel bike in an hour and a half. However far I can ride in an hour and a half defines my region. Beyond that, places are probably not worth going to for just a few hours – therefore, they’re not in my region. I could drive I guess – but that would go against my environmental ideals. It seems oxymoronic to drive an hour and half to Keene Valley for a pretty view and a vegetarian meal when I could just not. And still eat a salad and look at mountains.

The Upper Valley, where I call home, is a true region. It’s narrow, defined by a river in the center, two state highways (one on each side), a bridge at each end. My home is in the middle. It’s a Bencentric reality. I identify with everyone within it. Yeah – that’s my region. Home of rolling hills, Connecticut River sunsets, terrible and muddy high school football. The best diner north of Crockett’s Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Four Aces. Can this even be a region if it doesn’t have Four Aces Breakfast Diner? Do they even have plate-sized maple donuts with special whipped butter, served in an old train car? The bike shop mechanic doesn’t even know my name. I can’t even tell where I am based on the chips in the pavement. This can’t possibly be a region.

Perhaps a region is defined by simply the area which is one’s home. For me, the Upper Valley is the area which I call home, and it meets the gravel bike definition I set out earlier. For McKibben, the Verdack area is his home, so it is his region. He knows it well, and loves it.

Regions, the way I view them, are personal constructions. The woods behind my house are my dog’s region and the 8’x10’ shaded region it creates is my maple tree’s region. So McKibben and I don’t disagree at all – I concede that the Verdacks are his region. They just ain’t mine. Yet.

Unloved regions are not homes. Therefore, they are not regions. And yet, we classify every square foot of land on the planet as part of a region. Taking an optimistic view of the world, perhaps this means that every square foot of land is loved. And if that’s true, we better start working harder to save the planet. The earth is a region that McKibben and I share – we both love it.

McKibben’s region (roughly).

My region (roughly).

My dog, Z, in part of his region.

The region that McKibben, my dog, the maple tree, and I share.

Works Cited

NASA’s Earth Observatory. The western hemisphere of the Blue Marble. 2002.

     NASA Global Climate Change, NASA, 8 Dec. 2014, climate.nasa.gov/news/

     2206/earth-from-space-15-amazing-things-in-15-years/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2021.

Wolves are ecosystem engineers. Wolf reintroduction could be successful in the Adirondacks and contribute to restoring the Park to a more wild state. 

George Monbiot, in his influential presentation, “How Wolves Change Rivers,” explains wolves’ ability to change their ecosystems and environments. Monbiot specifically analyzes Yellowstone’s reintroduction program – but the concepts are universal. 

The same factors that determine much of the discourse in the Adirondack State Park shape conversations about wolf reintroduction. Disputed knowledge about animal behavior and “larger issues of property rights and the way people think about nature” (Enck & Brown) tend to shape opinions. A serious consideration of wolf reintroduction takes place within broader conversations about the State’s right to make conservation decisions with park-wide impacts. Wolves tend to manipulate large swaths of territory – in the fragmented park, their movements would likely take them beyond ‘wilderness’ land limits. Residential, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors within the park could be affected. A representative of the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) explained that a decision to reintroduce wolves would require an “‘awful lot of analysis and evaluation and public engagement,’” (Lynch) making wolf reintroduction a complicated task. The official defended the agency’s decision to abstain from consideration, citing staff shortages and focus on protecting organisms already in the park. (Lynch) 

Community views of wolf reintroduction may be more moderate than the DEC expects. Evidence suggests that park residents are receptive to the idea of wolf reintegration; a 2002 study found that 42% would be in favor of a wolf reintroduction program (Enck & Brown). Results were reflective of the general trend that “nearness of residents to a proposed restoration site” affects their willingness to consider wolf return, with 60.2% of state respondents in favor of restoration (Enck & Brown). Individuals further from restoration sites focus less on possible negative impacts. These data seem surprisingly favorable to wolves, given that only 50% of study respondents knew that they do not kill livestock and pets when they have access to abundant wildlife prey (Enck & Brown). There are an estimated 60,000-80,000 white-tailed deer in the Adirondack Park (Adirondacks Forever Wild) – an abundant food resource for wolves. This datum further suggests that an education campaign on the realities of wolves’ non-interference in society could improve willingness to consider reintegration.

While wildlife experts hope wolves may return to the Park (Lynch), data suggest that they could not make a natural return – reintegration would require human transport. The Park meets the habitat requirements and limitations determined by peer-reviewed study of wolves and their niche, and could potentially become a “core habitat” of Eastern Timber Wolves (Harrison & Chapin). However, it is isolated from other areas with wolves by Lake Champlain, the Saint Lawrence River, and expanses of agricultural and urban land. Wolves often die when they cross highways and move through non-wild lands and there are no suitable wildlife corridors between wolf populations in Canada or the (fledgling) Maine population and the Park (Harrison & Chapin; International Wolf Center).

The reintroduction of wolves to the Adirondack State Park could make the park wilder. Wolves roamed the park until 1900 (Harrison & Chapin); fostering the return of wolves would return the park to a more ‘natural’ state – closer to its condition pre-European settlement. Opinions on the desirability of that change depend on the relationship between individuals and the biological community. There are strong economic reasons to consider a reintroduction – tourists visit other parks specifically for the opportunity to see and hear wolves (Lynch) – along with a perceived moral and environmental obligation to preserve and remake ecosystems.

Any wolf return would be complex and require the agreement of and participation by numerous stakeholders with varying perspectives. Wolves may change rivers, but human communities and opinions may have to change first.

References

Enck, J. W., & Brown, T. L. (2002). New Yorkers’ Attitudes toward Restoring Wolves to the Adirondack Park. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 30(1), 16–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784631

Harrison, D. J., & Chapin, T. G. (1998). Extent and Connectivity of Habitat for Wolves in Eastern North America. Wildlife Society Bulletin (1973-2006), 26(4), 767–775. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3783550

Lynch, M. (2015, March 16). Will Wolves Return To The Adirondacks? Adirondack Almanac. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/03/will-wolves-return-to-the-adirondacks.html

Maine at a glance. (2021). International Wolf Center. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://wolf.org/wow/united-states/maine/

Mammals of the Adirondacks: White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). (2021). Adirondacks Forever Wild. Retrieved September 30, 2021, from https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-mammals-white-tailed-deer-odocoileus-virginianus.htmlMonbiot, G. (2014, February 13). How Wolves Change Rivers [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

The Adirondacks contain vast amounts of publicly-conserved wilderness, privately-owned protected and “camp” land, logging land, industrial centers, and more residential areas. The people who live, work, and own these parcels each have different interests and relate to the park in a different way. However, it is primarily the “regular” people of the Adirondacks – the people that work its 1,300 small farms (Adirondack Harvest 2021) and 14 correctional facilities (Grant), among other industries – that use and interact with its public education system. Education in the Adirondack State Park reflects the dynamic, complex nature of the park’s population and relationship to New York State.

The towns of the Adirondack State Park derive significant portions of their income (through taxes, to support budgets) from property taxes paid by people and entities that do not reside full time in the park. Land purchases by NY State to preserve large sections of the wilderness can have huge monetary implications for towns and often influence the quality of the education provided. In 2003, the State proposed buying 6,300 acres of land in Newcomb, which was estimated to bring in an additional $10,000 “for the town, county, and school district.” (Melewski 2021) Despite the fact that state land purchases may limit economic exploitation, increase the taxable value of the land, “allowing local governments to collect more tax,” (Melewski 2021) because the State does not receive various tax exemptions granted to private landowners. Higher spending per student is often believed to correspond to better education (as a result of lower student : teacher ratios and better access to resources). In the park, the highest spending per student is found in small schools in central towns (Jenkins). Small schools in central towns also tend to be located near forest preserve lands (which pay high taxes to the town as mentioned above), suggesting that State taxes paid to towns may impact educational quality. The following land designation map from the Adirondack Atlas (Figure 1) shows the locations remote towns (orange, red, and yellow) surrounded by protected land (green), which may have better school systems as a result:

Figure 1. Land use designations in the Adirondack State Park (Jenkins). Each color represents a different land use allowed by NY State law.

While the Park has lower student : teacher ratio than the rest of the state, the percentage of adults with a high school degree was 74% (14% of which hold college degrees), while 25.8% and 21.6% of adults in New York State hold high school diplomas and college degrees, respectively (Duffin 2021). This may suggest that Adirondack schools graduate high percentages of students without giving them the tools to move onto college, or that students are economically disadvantaged and so join the workforce instead. However, I believe that it is more likely that the New York state statistics are impacted by the number of immigrants that enter the U.S. through, or find themselves in, New York City – and that these people impact the data of the entire state. Adult immigrants that arrive in the state do not pass through its public education system. As a result, their college matriculation rate is not reflective of the state’s public school system. While schools within the Park tend to spend more per student than the State as a whole (based on analysis of school district data from Breidenbach 2020 and NY State data from McMahon 2020), the education system of the rest of the state may still outperform the Park’s system. This hypothesis is supported by statistics that suggest that spending per student is not correlated with the percentage of students going to college, despite its positive impact on educational quality (Jenkins). 

A further complicating factor in the park’s education system is enrollment decreases – a phenomenon seen state-wide. As enrollments decrease, funding-cuts and school closures may be called for, as has been occurring in Vermont (Russo-Savage 2021). This could further complicate the funding situation, as well as impacting educational resources and quality. One further worry of conservationists is that Adirondack politicians may “focus [blame] on environmental protections” (Bauer 2020) causing higher emigration and lower immigration from and to the park.

References

Bauer, P. (2020, February 2). Statewide, Adirondack School Enrollment Declines. Adirondack Almanac. Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/02/statewide-adirondack-school-enrollment-declines.html

Breidenbach, M. (2020, June 9). NY school budgets 2020: How much does each district spend per student? (Lookup). syracuse.com. Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://www.syracuse.com/schools/2020/06/ny-school-budgets-2020-how-much-does-each-district-spend-per-student-lookup.html

Duffin, E. (2021, September). Educational attainment distribution in New York in 2019 [Chart]. Statistica. https://www.statista.com/statistics/306988/educational-attainment-new-york/

Farming in the Adirondacks. (2021). Adirondack Harvest. Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://adirondackharvest.com/farming-in-the-adirondacks/

Grant, R. (Ed.). (n.d.). Upstate New York Prisons & Adirondack Correctional Facilities Directory. Adirondacks.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021, from http://www.adirondacks.com/corrections.html

Jenkins, J., & Keal, A. (2004). The Adirondack atlas: A geographic portrait of the Adirondack Park. Syracuse University Press.

McMahon, E.J. (2020, May 11). NY school spending hits new record. Empire Center. Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/ny-school-spending-hits-new-record/

Russo-Savage, D. (2021). Merger Activity. State of Vermont Agency of Education. Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://education.vermont.gov/vermont-schools/school-governance/merger-activity

Tahawus Tract State Land Purchase: Tax Implications for the Town of Newcomb [Review Tahawus Tract State Land Purchase: Tax Implications for the Town of Newcomb, by B. C. Melewski, Dir., D. M. Gahl]. (2003, August). Retrieved September 24, 2021, from https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/vs-uploads/special_reports_archive/1341942651_Tahawus_Tract_State_Land_Purchase.pdf

Poverty in the Adirondack State Park reflects a unique set of circumstances and dynamics. While data are gathered on the park as a whole, it is important to recognize the major categories of people that call the park home: lower-income permanent residents (who may work as small farmers, or in the service and manufacturing industries), wealthy permanent residents (large estates and mansions), vacation home owners (“old-money” camps, “new-money” new constructions), and tourists.

From 1970-2010, towns within the Adirondack State Park resisted poverty increases more effectively than NY as a whole and the U.S, as per census data compiled by Peter Bauer:

Table 1. U.S. Census data regarding poverty. Park Towns are defined as towns falling completely within the blue line, while Split Towns include land outside of the blue line.

State park towns and split towns poverty increases were roughly ⅓ and ½ that of the state and nation, respectively. They were roughly on pace with other rural NY towns, suggesting that there is no advantage to being a park town.  While it may seem that split towns would fare better than park towns, as they have to contend with fewer environmental restrictions,; the data indicate that towns with “a large proportion of protected public lands … are not at an economic disadvantage.” (source) This may be due to tourism.

The Adirondack State Park relies heavily on support from the New York government, which may be an issue in the future. According to the Adirondack Park Agency, “[s]ince 2011, over 2.05 5 billion in State financing has been directed to the greater Adirondack region.” The funding hints at a broader state interest in protecting the park and its inhabitants; the resistance to poverty of the park may be tied to outside assistance rather than economic resilience. The U.S. and New York state governments are volatile systems – specifically regarding budgeting. The ARISE (Adirondack Residents Intent on Saving their Economy) organization states that “dependency on government [assistance] continues to rise, with no guarantee that [it] will continue” as a major concern for the well-being of park residents.

Although in 2010 only 12.3% of park residents (source) lived below the U.S. poverty threshold, far more park residents should be considered impoverished. The poverty mark is generally considered to be too low; a survey conducted by the American Enterprise Institute (a conservative think tank) and the Los Angeles Times found that the average respondent thought the poverty line should be “34 percent higher than the current poverty measure.” The following tables display U.S. poverty guidelines and data (gathered by the NY departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation) on income levels in the park:

Table 2. U.S. poverty guidelines (2015), as set by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Census Bureau.

Table 3. Income data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau on towns within the Adirondack State Park.

If the poverty line for four-person households were to match the average response for what Americans thought it should be ($32,293 – source), more than 24% of Adirondack households would be considered impoverished.

Poverty and economy must also be considered in terms of population; the Park faces worrying demographic trends. The Glen Falls, NY newspaper notes that Park residents have “an average age just younger than 43 years” making it the “second-oldest region in the country.” Japan also faces an aging population problem (although more advanced, a bellwether for the Park’s future), leading the International Monetary Foundation to caution that it may “hamper(ing) growth.” 

This paints a pretty bleak picture of life in the Adirondacks; however, the economy and wealth are not the best measure of quality of life in a holistic sense. In 2014 The New York Times published data on the hardest places to live in America. Hamilton and Essex counties, which both fall completely within the park and are often used as surrogates for the park, have rankings of 853 and 628 out of 3135 (with lower numbers corresponding to easier/better lives), respectively.

Figure 1. The New York Times data map of the hardest places to live in America, with Essex and Hamilton counties identified.

References

Adirondack Residents Intent on Saving their Economy. (2021). ARISE of Northern New York, Inc. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://adirondackeconomy.com/

Bauer, P. (2014, July 2). Report: Adirondack Living Easier Than Most Places. Adirondack Almanac. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/07/report-adirondack-living-easier-than-most-places.html

Bauer, P. (2019, June 4). 40 Years of Poverty Rate Trends in Rural America. Adirondack Almanac. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2019/06/40-years-of-poverty-rate-trends-in-rural-america.html

Department of Transportation and Department of Conservation, Draft Generic Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan for State Highway Corridors in the Adirondack Park, A. 1 (N.Y. ).

Flippen, A. (2014, June 26). Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/upshot/where-are-the-hardest-places-to-live-in-the-us.html?rref=upshot

Fremstad, S. (2016, September 13). The Federal Poverty Line is Too Damn Low. Talk Poverty. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://talkpoverty.org/2016/09/13/poverty-rate-just-dropped-way-measure-poverty-wrong/

Keal, Andrew and Wilkie, David (2003) “Do Public Lands Constrain Economic Development in the Adirondack Park?,” Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies: Vol. 10 : No. 1 , Article 8.Available at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/ajes/vol10/iss1/8

Lehman, D. (2009, October 20). Surprising statistics: Study discovers that average age is high in Adirondack Park. The Post Star. https://poststar.com/news/local/surprising-statistics-study-discovers-that-average-age-is-high-in-adirondack-park/article_e64e111e-bd30-11de-9ff1-001cc4c03286.html

Walia, S. (2019, November 19). The economic challenge of Japan’s aging crisis. Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/11/19/commentary/japan-commentary/economic-challenge-japans-aging-crisis/

Welcome to the Adirondack Park: 102 Communities Open for Business. (n.d.). Adirondack Park Agency. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.apa.ny.gov/Economy/index.html