Donate

2023 Spring Appeal

I think you know that Adirondack Wild has established well-deserved reputation for standing up and speaking out for wilderness values in the Adirondack Park and for holding public officials accountable to the laws protecting this great park.  

My family, including my grandson, wake up each morning in this Adirondack environment and realize how the quality of our lives have been changed for the better by this special place. Advocates working for Adirondack Wild take actions whenever and wherever needed to mobilize public opinion to protect these wild lands, lakes, rivers and wildlife that we treasure every single day. 

When speaking before or to our public agencies and state legislature, Adirondack Wild’s advocacy counts. Here are just a few examples:

  • In April, Adirondack Park Agency staff proposed steps to restrict public comments. After Adirondack Wild raised vocal objections and, noting that the Adirondack Park has a statewide constituency, the reasons why APA should expand, not limit, comments, four members of the APA raised similar concerns and one cited Adirondack Wild’s advocacy.
  • In March, State Supreme Court cited the Agency’s failure to hold a public hearing as one reason why it revoked APA’s permit for an experimental herbicide in Lake George. Adirondack Wild has been in the forefront in raising alarms about the Agency’s failure to hold a public hearing on any development project since the Adirondack Club and Resort – and that was in 2011.
  • In February, State Appellate Court vacated an APA permit for an expanded private marina on the shores of Lower Saranac Lake for failure to follow APA’s own wetland regulations. That court ruling also acknowledged Adirondack Wild’s argument (as a friend of the court) that the state failed to consider the marina’s impact on the recreational carrying capacity of this Forest Preserve lake, calling that failure “inexplicable.” We were represented in court by the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic.
  • Last year, the State Assembly passed a bill to require that the APA review all major development subdivisions using conservation design principles so that significant environmental impacts are reviewed and mapped fully and early in the review, and that new houses and roads are sited to have the least impact on Park resources and Forest Preserve. In his remarks, the bill sponsor cited Adirondack Wild’s testimony in favor. The bill is reintroduced this year.

View of Lake George

Lake George. Photo by Ken Rimany

I could go on. Suffice it to say that if Adirondack Wild did not exist, there would be far less effective pressure exerted on our state agencies and in the public arena to do the right thing and protect wilderness and Adirondack Park’s precious natural beauty. Our small team has a combined 60 years of experience in Adirondack Park wildland protection and stewardship. There are no better, more seasoned, or more passionate advocates than ours. Our board and advisory council have an equally deep bench, including former APA members, former APA staff, wilderness historians and Park ecologists.  

The continued success of Adirondack Wild is very personal to me because we have an obligation to pass on this Park enhanced, not degraded, to our grandchildren. That is why our cause is so urgent and why I so strongly support the work of Adirondack Wild. With almost 1000 donor-members, we struggle to meet our $200,000 budget. Knowing that every dollar donated counts as effective advocacy for the Park, the Forest Preserve and Article XIV of our State Constitution, I appeal to you today to give generously to Adirondack Wild. We are true Friends of the Forest Preserve – and we know you are also.

A generous donor has pledged $20,000 to this cause if we can raise $20,000 from all our donors before our fiscal year ends on June 30. I plan to give generously to meet this challenge. Won’t you please join me? You can respond in the enclosed envelope or via the Donate button at adirondackwild.org.  

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about Adirondack Wild or about helping us meet our goal. I can be reached at terry.jandreau@yahoo.com.

In advance, thank you so much for supporting Adirondack Wild.

In forever wild friendship,
Terry Jandreau, Chair
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve