COMMENTARY: Chainsawing in wilderness? National Wilderness Act violated By Dave Gibson As an advocate for the “forever wild” Forest Preserve, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve periodically reviews NYS DEC work plans to ensure that activities such as trail maintenance on the public’s Forest Preserve are undertaken in compliance with Article XIV of the…
High Peaks Wilderness Visitor Use Management By Dave Gibson In 2019, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) sponsored a well-attended High Peaks Stakeholder Meeting in Keene Valley. All concluded that better data was needed to inform management decisions for this Wilderness. Questions posed to stakeholders that day included: “how many people are using the trails?…
The price we all must pay for the Adirondack Park The price we all must pay for the Adirondack Park In the aftermath of the 30th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks, David Gibson reflects on what more the state could do for the region Having returned from the 30th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks, hosted…
Thoreau, wilderness and our community of life A section from Ed Zahniser’s 2004 lecture explores the impact of Thoreau and the wilderness on communities “Henry David Thoreau” aired on PBS. This renewed focus, courtesy of Ken Burns films, on Thoreau’s life reminded me of a presentation by Ed Zahniser entitled “Wilderness and Our Community of…
COMMENTARY: DEC mobility device policy for state lands requires immediate oversight In a letter, the nonprofit wilderness advocate Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is asking the Adirondack Park Agency’s State Land Committee to immediately review and comment on the new Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) policy draft affecting the state’s wilderness areas and…
Coming of age in the Adirondacks Paul Schaefer grew to become a highly influential Adirondack wilderness conservationist. This chapter of “A Force for Nature: Paul Schaefer’s Adirondack Coalitions” reveals a truth: Family units often discover the healing and teaching properties of Adirondack landscapes and Adirondack people together. In the case of the Schaefer family, Adirondack…
The Legacy of Paul Schaefer Events A Force for Nature: Paul Schaefer’s Adirondack Coalitions (2025 by Syracuse University Press), my biography of Friends of the Forest Preserve founder Paul Schaefer will be featured at three events during the month of April 2026. 30th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks Wednesday, April 15th and Thursday, April 16th,…
By David Gibson Adirondack Fragmentation and the Illusion of Green At its January meeting, Adirondack Park Agency (APA) staff recommended approval of a seven-lot residential subdivision in a Rural Use zone off Route 73 in Keene, NY (the Aylward project). Staff noted that after several years of work with the applicant the subdivision had been…
Remembering Carl George By Dave GibsonDecember 28, 2025 Carl George, Professor Emeritus, Biology Dept., Union College, died earlier this month at age 95, leaving his wife Christine, and legions of friends at Union College, and around the world. Carl came from humble origins in Michigan and Ohio, farmed as a young man, and studied and…
Keeping the Wild in Wilderness By Chad P. DawsonDec. 11, 2025 Wilderness recreation management professor emeritus, and former Adirondack Park Agency member Dr. Chad P. Dawson came to Adirondack Wild’s 2025 Annual Members Meeting in Old Forge to present “Keeping the Wild in Wilderness,” a review of his text Wilderness Management: Stewardship and Protection of…