For Immediate Release
October 21, 2024
Contact: Dave Gibson,
518-469-4081,
[email protected]
Adirondack Wild 2024 Honorees
North Creek, NY – Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek played host this month to Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve’s annual meeting and 2024 award presentations.
The Paul Schaefer Wilderness Award, named after 20th century wilderness preservation leader Paul Schaefer (1908-1996), was presented to Neil Woodworth, retired executive director and counsel of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK).
Neil was recognized for making the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve and its legal defense, growth, and wise stewardship his life’s work. Among his many achievements at ADK, Neil successfully challenged the Olympic Authority and NYS DEC for failing to identify Adirondack public lands as Forest Preserve; secured a significant court affirmation of Article XIV, New York’s “forever wild” constitutional protection, at Balsam Lake; helped to secure public rights of navigation on the South Branch of the Moose and other navigable rivers; helped achieve Wilderness classification and management of Hitchens Pond and Lows Lake through court action; and advocated for acquiring many critical landscapes for the Forest Preserve, such as the former Champion International rivers in the northwest Adirondack Park. “These are just a small sampling of Neil’s many significant achievements over four decades on behalf of the public’s interest in the Forest Preserve,” said Adirondack Wild’s David Gibson.
In his acceptance remarks, Woodworth reminded the audience that wilderness remains fragile. From his Adirondack home he sees trails being turned into roads and expanded use of motors. We need wilderness advocates like Adirondack Wild, Neil told the audience, to help keep the wilderness wild.
The 2024 Wild Stewardship Award was presented to Sara Frankenfeld
and the Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development for their efforts to embrace the State Forest Preserve and its wilderness qualities as a net benefit and key to Warren County’s attractiveness for heritage tourism. Sara Frankenfeld personifies the County’s readiness to take advantage of public wildlands in their midst. Her three-year partnership with Cliff and Redfield Interactive (CRI) has resulted in the First Wilderness Story Collaboration in which historians, authors, explorers, and student interns produce stories and story maps that support and guide outdoor adventure, appreciation, understanding, and tourism dollars spent in Warren County. The historical surprises that result from the well-researched and revealing story maps are endless – enriching for County residents and visitors and rewarding for students. Sara’s skills in Geographic Information Systems, talent for collaboration in planning, and love for the area in which she lives and works play a crucial role in development of the First Wilderness Heritage Corridor.
In her remarks, Sara noted that her interest in public lands evolved from a professional one to also include a personal one. Through genealogical research, she learned that she is related to the Zahniser family. Howard Zahniser (1906-1964) was the chief author and lobbyist for the National Wilderness Preservation Act. With his wife Alice, Howard became a part-time resident of the Town of Johnsburg in Warren County where their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren continue to visit. Inspired by New York State’s “forever wild” Forest Preserve, Zahniser, executive with the Wilderness Society, devoted 18 years of his life to pass the National Wilderness Preservation Act in 1964.
Finally, Helen Chase was named Adirondack Wild’s 2024 Champion of the Forest Preserve. Residing in the Catskill Park, Helen Chase regularly reaches out to people in the Adirondack Park, helping both regions to learn from each other. As a planner, communicator, and consensus builder Helen reminds us of the crucial watershed values of the Forest Preserve, feeding our major rivers, cleansing the air and atmosphere, and serving as a clean water supply for millions. Helen has ensured that New Yorkers never take the Forest Preserve for granted but embrace it as vital to community life. She has chaired the NYS DEC Forest Preserve Advisory Committee and the Catskill Park Centennial Committee. Her experiences have taken her from the National Air and Space Museum, to Harvard Divinity School, to the Department of Geography and Planning at SUNY Albany, to the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, co-founded by her father Sherret, where she serves as vice president. “Thank you, Helen, for enriching our understanding of our watershed forests and for being a consummate champion of the Forest Preserve, unique on planet earth,” added Adirondack Wild’s David Gibson and Ken Rimany.
In her acceptance remarks, Helen spoke of how her family settled in the Catskill Mountains 100 years ago, and that “recreation is not an entitlement or an obligation. It is a privilege that comes from the Forest Preserve’s protected status, where recreation exists in a planned way that supports the forever wild preserve.”
From left to right, Helen Chase, Neil Woodworth, and Sara Frankenfeld at Adirondack Wild’s meeting. Photo by Ken Rimany.
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is a not for profit, membership organization devoted to the protection and stewardship of wilderness and other wild lands through advocacy and education. The organization protects wild lands from threats, holds officials accountable and proposes policy reforms. More on the web at adirondackwild.org.