James Townsend, a commissioner of the Adirondack Park Agency, presented a lecture titled "Six Million Acres, Six Million Stories," on the history of conflicting interests in the Park, addressing the problems within the park and possible solutions for solving those problems. The November 8 lecture was presented by the Environmental Studies department and in conjunction with the Adirondack Sophomore Seminar.
Townsend began by discussing the multiple reasons as to why people truly enjoy the Adirondack Park; "the park is special to you and me for different reasons," he said. One reason that many people enjoy the park is because of its vast size. The park itself is about six million acres, roughly the same size as the state of Vermont, the state of Massachusetts, and the country of Switzerland, he noted.
The sheer size of the park allows for both private and public space, as well as wilderness activities and mechanized activities. According to Townsend, the park is currently a little less than 50% public and 50% private; although this is one of the defining features of the park, this feature also causes most of the park's problems. There are no strict borders between public land and private land; "the only way you know that you have even entered the Park is by a small sign," Townsend explained. "There is no toll booth, unlike other national parks."
Some of the other defining features of the park include the location and the landscape. The Adirondack Park is within "a day's drive for 60 million people," as it is located near Boston, New York City, and Ottawa. In addition, the Adirondack Park is the home of "the largest continuing forest in the Northeast."
What truly separates the Adirondack Park from other national parks across the United States, though, is that people are allowed to live within the park, Townsend explained.
Townsend discussed at length the early history of the park, claiming that most of the park's early history encompasses "tales of conquest." He also explained the early conservationist movement of the 19th century, and how early timber laws and private land owning laws truly shaped how the Adirondacks exist today.
According to Townsend, the co-existence of public and private land in the park can be traced back to the late 1800s when wealthy citizens began to travel to the Adirondack Park to get away from the busy crowded industrial life in the city. "People would come for the sheer reverence," he said.
In describing the evolution of the Adirondack "camps," he told how important historical figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Teddy Roosevelt influenced how people regard the Park today.
Townsend explained how the Adirondack Park Agency tries to preserve and protect the park while allowing development and growth in certain areas where growth can occur. "These two ideas constantly but heads," Townsend admitted, but the Adirondack Park does its best to keep the two in balance.
The lecture was followed by a question and answer session; topics such as tax revenues, preservation, tourism, and the relationship between politics and the Park Agency were discussed.
-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05
