Adirondacks

Caring for the birthplace of conservation

Why Adirondacks

While the Adirondacks have been a focus of the American conservation movement since the 1850s, work remains to protect and restore this region, which is home to the largest complex of wildlands in the eastern United States. 

We’ve been working in the Adirondacks since 1992, and have partnered with New York State, foundations, nonprofit organizations and private partners to safeguard this unique landscape.

The timber industry, which has so long been associated with forest threats, is frequently a valuable partner in stemming fragmentation of intact forestland through sustainable conservation.

The health of the Adirondacks also has implications for anyone living downstream of the five major water systems —the Hudson, Black, St. Lawrence, and Mohawk Rivers and the New York portion of the Champlain basin—that have their headwaters in the region.

And while 54 species of mammals make their home in Adirondack Park, staff are still working to re-introduce native fauna, including beaver, fisher, American marten, moose, lynx, and osprey.

Our Impact

Both directly and through loans and grants to our partners, we have:

• Protected the largest single addition to the Adirondack Forest Preserve in a century — the Finch, Pruyn Lands
• Acquired the 10,000-acre Tahawus Tract and opened two new trails on the property
• Preserved the historic village of Adirondac, where Theodore Roosevelt, after hearing that President McKinley was dying, boarded a train in 1901 for his “midnight ride to the presidency”
• Supported an innovative, local farming model, helping place young farmers on conserved homesteads, giving them sustainable land to launch their careers
• Added the Split Rock Wildway wildlife corridor to the Westport-Essex Hiking Trail by working with partners including Champlain Area Trails and Lake Champlain Land Trust
• Conserved more than 600 acres of the ‘Trembleau Mountain-Lake Champlain Shoreline’ property and added it to the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

In 2020,  in coordination with the Town of North Hudson, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Essex County, we developed recommendations for a new visitor orientation program focused on promoting outdoor recreational opportunities in the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Gateway at Upper Hudson report establishes a vision for developing an accessible and welcoming recreation and tourism destination in Upper Hudson, NY.