For Release February 14, 2024
Contact: David Gibson, 518-469-4081
dgibson@adirondackwild.org
Adirondack Wild Hails Conservation Easements at Follensby Pond
The nonprofit advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve welcomes the announcement this week of new conservation easements at the historic Follensby Pond, providing public recreational access off the Raquette River, long-term ecological research, guided and managed visitation to the Pond, and stewardship which includes applied indigenous knowledge guided by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.
During the 1992 Adirondack Park Centennial year, Friends of the Forest Preserve founder Paul Schaefer exhorted all parties to support the conservation of Follensby Pond, site of the 1857 Philosophers’ Camp and the reintroduction to New York of the Bald Eagle.
Fearing the eventual subdivision and development of the lake’s shoreline, Schaefer worked with his associates to elevate the significance of Follensby Pond for protection. He helped to ensure that the tract was listed in 1992 as a high priority on the State’s Open Space Conservation Plan.
In 2008, conservationists hailed the Adirondack Nature Conservancy’s purchase of the 1000-acre Pond and its 14,000 acres east of Tupper Lake and west of the High Peaks Wilderness area.
“While we hope to eventually see a portion of this landscape added to the public’s Adirondack Forest Preserve, we see great advantages in the easements just announced for lake research, conservation of the threatened lake trout, and managed, guided public access to enable people of all backgrounds to eventually have the chance to gain first-hand experience with this magnificent place,” said Adirondack Wild’s David Gibson.
“We thank all the parties to this agreement and look forward to cooperating with them as long-term stewards of Follensby Pond.”
