For Immediate Release
May 2, 2025
Contact: Dave Gibson,
518-469-4081,
[email protected]
A Force for Nature: Paul Schaefer’s Adirondack Coalitions
The nonprofit advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is pleased to announce that a biography of its founder, Paul Schaefer, has just been published by Syracuse University Press. To quote Syracuse University Press, A Force for Nature: Paul Schaefer’s Adirondack Coalitions “is a testament to that lifetime of advocacy, community, and life in the Adirondacks.”
The book “traces the impact of a man who helped ensure the continued integrity of the largest protected parkland in the contiguous United States. Drawing on Schaefer’s own writings, as well as interviews and family narratives, the author paints a vivid and comprehensive portrait of the icon and the Adirondack Park that serves as his legacy. The book sheds light on the storied life of a dedicated conservationist and examines how environmental devotion has contributed to the Adirondacks remaining forever wild and protected for future generations to love.”
Author and Adirondack Wild managing partner David Gibson says that “I was happy the publisher chose to publish this first biography of Paul Schaefer during the 80th anniversary year of Friends of the Forest Preserve, a group Schaefer began in 1945 to embrace wilderness and expand New York’s ‘forever wild’ state constitutional protection of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve.” The book is dedicated to “all Friends of the Forest Preserve, 1945 – Present.”
“The three-million-acres in the public’s Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve continue to distinguish New York because of their crucial role in watershed protection, climate mitigation, wildlife habitat preservation, free-flowing rivers, wild lakes, and vast recreational trail networks and opportunities. Without Paul Schaefer’s contributions and coalitions during the 20th century, many of these wilderness benefits would have been lost or compromised.”
“Also, Schaefer’s work in New York directly inspired the drafting and passage of the National Wilderness Preservation Act of 1964. I hope the biography sheds light on these and many other contributions he made, and inspires us all to carry on his work today,” Gibson said.
Adirondack Wild’s staff partner Ken Rimany said, “Paul Schaefer believed we each carry a book within us. Dave not only believed that – he wrote it. His new biography, the first ever about Paul Schaefer, carries forward the ‘forever wild’ legacy Paul devoted his life to. Through these pages, Paul’s spirit walks with us – guiding, teaching, and calling us to care.”
The book is available from Syracuse University Press (https://press.syr.edu/supressbooks/8089/force-for-nature-a/), for purchase at local bookstores, or from Amazon.
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is a not-for-profit, membership advocate acting to safeguard wilderness and to promote wild land values and stewardship. More is found on the web at adirondackwild.org.