Reprint from the Conservationist
Magazine January-February 1984
Watchdog of the Forest Preserve
by Edith Pilcher
The recent opening of the Adirondack Research Center at Union College in Schenectady has brought public attention to one of the oldest and most respected conservation organizations in New York State and indeed the entire nation - The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. Since its founding in 1901, the association has been involved and its influence felt in every controversial environmental issue during this century. Its own history is interwoven with the careful investigations and consequential stands its leaders have espoused over the years. At the heart of its existence - indeed its reason for being - is its determination to see that Article XIV, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution, the so-called "forever wild clause" be upheld wherever or whenever there is a threat to the watershed forest and pristine beauty of the Adirondacks. As a result, its members are called "forever wilders" or "preservationists" by both friends and critics to distinguish them from the more general conservationist label which includes a broad spectrum of views on uses of the Forest Preserve.
Founding of the Association A the turn of the century, private forestry interests in the Adirondacks were practicing large-scale clear cutting of privately owned lands throughout the entire region. Loggers would move into an area, cutting every available acre. Mountain slopes were denuded of trees to feed the insatiable demand for timber and pulpwood. When the loggers had finished in one area, they would leave heaps of drying brush and other material they considered useless. These often caught fire; huge forest fires were common at the time, burning everything in their path, including homes of inhabitants and resorts. In the fire's wake came rapidly-spreading erosion posing a danger to a watershed which fed all the major rivers in the northern and eastern part of the state.
Moreover, these same interests had built extensive dams on Adirondack rivers (notably the Beaver, Raquette, Ausable and Saranac Rivers) - ostensibly for purposes of flood control but really as a means of obtaining cheap water power or for moving massive quantities of logs downstream to the lumber mills during spring break-up. These dams also effected enormous changes in the mountain landscapes, flooding lowland areas, turning once beautiful valleys into reservoirs, killing millions of trees and creating unsightly and unhealthy swamplands.
At the same time the New York State Forest Fish and Game Commission was dominated by proponents of "scientific forestry," a concept espoused by Gifford Pinchot, chief forester of the United States Forest Service. In a 1900 report Pinchot had recommended to the commission that the trees on state lands be considered a renewable resource to be harvested periodically to produce income for the state and to "improve the condition of the forest." Indeed, in his report, Pinchot had said that " . . . lumbering of the softwood timber under forest management is safe, practicable, and can readily be made profitable financially; that lumbering under the rules to be incorporated in the working plan would tend to improve the condition of the forest; that such lumbering would remove over-mature trees which, by deterioration and decay, offset the production of the forest in sound timber; that by such lumbering, the productive capacity of the forest would be increased, and that all this may be accomplished wholly without interference with the water supply or with any of the other objects of the preserve."
The basic premise of this report and the subsequent recommendations of the commission were that the "forever wild" clause of the constitution would be overturned. Indeed, acting on Pinchot's recommendations, the Forest Commission had gone so far as to publish a plan to lumber state lands in the central Adirondacks, starting with Hamilton County's Township 40 - the area surrounding Raquette Lake. The lands involved were virgin forests adjacent to many of the large estates owned by private individuals and posed a danger to these lands.
It was in the midst of this "come and get it" attitude that the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks was formed. It had become obvious that the Forest Preserve needed a protector to halt the vast devastation taking place. Moreover, the lumbering of state lands might place the holdings of private landowners in danger because of the state's right of eminent domain. With the object of protecting both their own interests and what they perceived to be the best interests of the Forest Preserve, a group of property owners, under the leadership of Lt. Governor Timothy L. Woodruff met on December 12, 1901 in New York City. This first meeting was chaired by the Hon. Warren Higley, President of the Adirondack League Club.
In explaining the reason for calling the meeting, Judge Higley said "Questions that may naturally come up for consideration ... include whether lumbering should be done by the State, and if so, under what restrictions. How the game can best be preserved and improved. What protection the State shall give to owners of private preserves against the condemnation of their lakes, rivers, and trout streams for private and municipal purposes, lying well outside the Park area. Indeed there are many questions of this kind that are of first interest to all of us who own or are interested in these Game Preserves. Furthermore, questions of the greatest importance to the present and future interests of our Adirondack Forests will, no doubt, go before the Legislature for consideration at its next session and I am sure that these questions will be of special interest to all of us.
"In order, therefore that these interests, as represented by our Clubs and Private Preserves, may become influential with our lawmakers, and in order to secure the best administration of our Adirondack Forests, I think it advisable that we meet and associate ourselves to this end." And thus was born the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. By early 1902, they had obtained a charter, and had written a constitution and by-laws. Article II of their constitution stated their purpose. "The objects of this Society are the preservation of the Adirondack forests, waters, game and fish, and the maintenance of healthful conditions in the Adirondack region."
The founders were a group of distinguished and influential men. Among them were J. P. Morgan, William G. Rockefeller, Whitelaw Reid, F. Brandreth, W. G. deWitt, R. C. Pruyn, Henry S. Harper, James Mac Naughton, Edward H. Litchfield, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, William Seward Webb, Alfred L. White and William C. Whitney - all leaders of the business and industrial community. Also included were some important state officials including the aforementioned Lt. Governor Woodruff and Judge Higley. Not wishing to remain completely exclusive, however, they opened membership "to all true sportsmen and lovers of nature throughout the state."
It was not altruism alone which motivated these founding members. Most of them owned private estates or game parks in the Adirondacks. But their self-interest coincided, for the most part, with enlightened public interest. It was and has turned out to be a happy combination.
The earliest efforts of the association officials were successful in persuading legislators to uphold the constitution, thereby halting plans for lumbering on state lands.
Article VII, Section 7 of the New York State Constitution (now Article XIV, Section 1) the "forever wild" clause became the chief mechanism by which the association protected the Forest Preserve, at that time and on many ensuing occasions.
The tactics developed in those days have become established operating patterns for the association: when possible it cultivates cordial personal relationships with state officials, but it never hesitates to assert its considerable influence to counteract policies with which it disagrees. Sometimes it assumes a statesmanlike role, developing bi-partisan support for particular measures. At other times it resorts to bitter political fights and even legal suits to oppose projected state actions. Often the association has found itself pitted against powerful industrial interests as well as graft and greed.
Effective action against problems in the Adirondacks required extensive time and effort. Therefore, early in 1902, the association officers hired Edward Hagaman Hall as a full-time executive secretary at an annual salary of $1,500. Hall proved to be a human dynamo in the conduct of association affairs. His powerful personality emerges from the reams of correspondence, minutes of countless meetings, and mountains of reports he left behind. He was truly indefatigable, seeming to be everywhere at once. While maintaining extensive correspondence from the New York City office, he attended hearings and meetings throughout the state, conducted personal investigations of a variety of issues, and wrote lengthy, detailed reports of every significant conversation, meeting or trip.
A 1905 photo of Hall, taken during a two-week trip to the Adirondacks during the winter to investigate, photograph and document the extent of illegal lumbering on state lands, shows him standing on snowshoes, clad in heavy garments, against a background of snow-covered landscape. The 42- page report he compiled about this trip implicated local and state officials in timber theft, including connivance at the highest levels. As a result of the ensuing scandal, the chief game protector was fired and James S. Whipple, the forest fish and game commissioner, was eventually forced to resign.
In 1907 Hall wrote another scathing report concerning cycles of influence in Adirondack affairs, particularly dam- building. He cited specific personal and industrial interests as well as public officials who were profiting at the expense of the state. It contained photographs and verbal descriptions of the flooded lands: "... a forest cemetery ... the lands covered with ghastly skeletons of the noble trees which once made this spot a sylvan paradise." The association supported the Forest, Fish and Game Commission in obtaining an injunction against further operation of the dams, and bringing a legal suit for damage to state lands.
Hall remained as association secretary until 1929, working closely with officers and trustees; among them Henry E. Howland, the first president, and John G. Agar, the second. Also very active was Louis Marshall, one of the original forces behind Article VII, Section 7 in the 1894 Constitutional Convention and whose son Robert later formed the Wilderness Society.
After World War I an issue which received enormous attention was a successful effort sponsored by the association to create a State Park around Mount Marcy (the area was privately owned). Intended as a memorial to the war veterans, it was called "Victory Mountain Park" in the illustrated pamphlets printed to raise funds for land purchases.
The 1930's were years of unparalleled activity. The Hewitt Reforestation Amendment to the State Constitution was originally very controversial. Under its provisions all state lands could become potential timber-production forests except those within the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. Several members of the association, notably John S. Apperson and Louis Marshall, opposed the amendment until the Adirondack Park boundaries were extended by more than 1,500,000 acres. Some of the areas newly included were around Lake George, Lake Champlain, Sacandaga Reservoir and the mountains north of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
Another proposed constitutional amendment in the early 1930's produced similar controversy. Under the sponsorship of Robert Moses, it would have allowed any state, local or public authority to build closed cabin colonies anywhere in the Forest Preserve. The proposal was passed by two successive legislatures before association officials mounted a successful campaign against it, thus defeating it in a public referendum. To do so, the association enlisted the support of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Morgenthau Jr., Alfred E. Smith, Governor Herbert Lehman and the leaders of Tammany Hall - whose support ensured large scale opposition from the metropolitan New York City area.
At the 1938 Constitutional Convention many private interests again sought to weaken the "forever wild" provisions concerning the Forest Preserve. Preservationists throughout the state, including the association, pooled their efforts influencing delegates to retain the original wording of the 1895 Constitution. They were successful: only the number of the article was changed. It is now Article XIV, Section 1. Chairing the convention was Justice Frederick Crane of the Court of Appeals, highly regarded for his 1932 landmark decision which upheld constitutional restraints upon use of the Forest Preserve. This formed the basis for scores of later legal battles. Also influential at the convention was Lithgow Osborne, then conservation commissioner, who later became president of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks.
During World War II a hotly fought issue concerned construction of a railroad line across Forest Preserve Land to Tahawus to enable mining of titanium. In this instance, national security took precedence over the state constitution - one of the relatively few times in which the Forest Preserve was not held inviolate.
Following the war there were a succession of environmental battles over construction of additional recreational facilities in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. Robert Moses advocated "opening up" the Forest Preserve for use "by all the people." Many new campsites were constructed as well as facilities for picnicking, boat launching, skiing and hiking. Some feared that no true wilderness would be left.
Frederick T. Kelsey, Judge Samuel Ordway and Lithgow Osborne and Richard Pough led the association during the mid-years of the century. All of these men were vigorous preservationists who involved the association actively in the various challenges to development.
During these years another series of heated battles occurred over dam construction on the Schroon, Moose, Upper Hudson and Salmon Rivers (Gooley, Higley, Panther Mountain and Huckleberry Dams). The controversy over the Panther Mountain Dam was the most prominent of all these battles.
The association involved itself in seven of the 11 years of litigation, leading all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which finally rendered a verdict upholding the "forever wild" restrictions.
During the 1960's and 1970's, major issues included fluctuating water levels at Lake George, the building and choice of route of the Adirondack Northway and whether the Adirondacks should become a national park. This last, a proposal by Laurance Rockefeller served as a catalyst in forcing concerned persons to take a new look at problems and pressures in the Adirondack region. As a result, Governor Rockefeller appointed a commission in 1967 to study the future of the Adirondack Park.
After three years of hard work, the commission, which included several active members of the association, including Richard W. Lawrence and Chairman Harold K. Hochschild, recommended establishment of the Adirondack Park Agency to establish land use covering state lands and regulations governing zoning and enforcement procedures on private lands. Planning of the agency is aimed at maintaining the character of the Adirondacks in terms of both diversity and wildness. The association has firmly supported the APA since its inception in 1971.
Current Association Interests
REPRESENTATIVES of the association continue today to be active on environmental committees and commissions in the state, frequently testifying, at public hearings and participating, in conferences on particular issues. Problems of current concern include acid precipitation, enforcement of the Clean Air Act, aerial spraying of insecticides, preservation of historic sites, clear-cutting, conservation easements on private lands, and enhancement of the park-like character of the highway system.
The association works closely with other environmental organizations, especially the Adirondack Mountain Club and the Adirondack Council which in turn represents the National Resources Development Council, the Wilderness Society and the National Audubon Society. Arthur M. Crocker served as president and chairman of the association from 1963 to 1981. He continues as chairman of the board of trustees. Former state senator Bernard C. Smith is the current president and chief executive officer; his 10 years experience as chairman of the Senate's Committee on Conservation has proven to be a valuable asset, and together with the organization efforts of vice- president William Dunham has resulted in the near doubling of its membership. Former president Arthur V. Savage currently serves as a member of the APA.
During the past 10 years an offshoot of the association (known as the Couch- sa-chra-ga Association headed by Paul Schaefer) has been heavily involved in the production of 16 mm documentary films about the Adirondacks. In 1972 it produced a film about wild rivers, and another was completed in 1980 entitled "The Adirondacks - The Land Nobody Knows." The latter, which has won many national and international awards, highlights the priceless value and fragility of watershed forests. A third film concerning the relationships of people and the Adirondack Park is now in the making.
Thus in film, in print and by individual contact, the association has sought to further appreciation and protection of New York's wilderness preserves. It has remained steadfast and true to its original proposals. The people of the state owe a great debt of gratitude to the association for its unrelenting dedication to and support of the "forever wild" provisions of the State Constitution throughout this turbulent century. The association considers this constitutional clause its "Magna Charta" - the policy and programs of the association are based and will continue to be based upon its defense
The Adirondack Research Center
The reference collection of the Adirondack Research Center is located in the Schaffer Library on the campus of Union College in Schenectady. Its most important component is a complete working set of the Archives of the Association. The original materials were rescued from the trash collector by the association president Richard Pough who came across them while cleaning out the association's former offices in New York City. They were brought to Schenectady by then vice-president Paul Schaefer who upon examining them found that they constituted a veritable treasure trove of information on the Adirondacks.
Unfortunately, some of the materials were in very poor condition. In order to preserve their contents Harold Hochschild, founder of the Adirondack Museum, and a member of the association, arranged for the museum to finance copying the materials by photostat and microfilm. The originals are stored in the vault of the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake.
The copied archives were retained by Mr. Schaefer for some 15 years until the association could find a means by which they could be made available to a larger community. Finally, members of the association were instrumental in establishing the Adirondack Research Center at Union College, and the archives now reside in that location.
After three years of intensive work, the materials are ready for use by researchers and others interested in the Adirondacks. They presently consist of 80 volumes of correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports of investigations and lobbying activities, records of legislative and judicial hearings, legal briefs, news
clippings and many privately printed reports on specific issues. Virtually every problem occurring in the Adirondack and Catskill Preserves since their establishment almost 100 years ago is contained here, arranged in chronological order. Work on the archives continues with the purpose of updating, standardizing the listing and eventually cross-indexing them.
Some additional materials available are personal records of Paul Schaefer spanning over 50 years of conservation activity involving the Forest Preserve. These are arranged as subject matter, such as "The Closed Cabin Amendments of the 1930's" and "The 1950 Land Hurricane." They include photographs, news clippings, letters, records of hearings and other printed information.
Another separate collection is the complete legal file with pertinent maps and correspondence on the Panther Mountain Dam battle, compiled by Milo R. Kniffen, a Cobleskill attorney who represented the association. Also of related interest are the papers and photograph collection of the late John S. Apperson, a noted scientist who played key roles in helping save the High Peaks from being lumbered, combatting erosion of islands in Lake George, assisting in state acquisition of the Narrows at Lake George and founding of the Adirondack Mountain Club. His correspondents included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Robert Moses, Herbert Lehman, Alfred E. Smith and Robert Marshall. These papers were donated by the Forest Preserve Association of New York State, of which Apperson had been a founder.
Supplementing the services of professional librarians are nearly 40 committee members and consultants who are available as resource persons in various fields of expertise. The center sponsors public lectures, exhibits, films, courses, seminars and colloquiums. It has recently embarked on a publishing program of significant Adirondack manuscripts and a project of tape-recording informal recollections about noted conservationists and political figures important to Adirondack history. The center is already preparing to host a major celebration at Union College of the Centennial of the Forest Preserve in 1985.
Edith Pitcher is a regular contributor to THE CONSERVATIONIST, specializing in articles on the Adirondacks. A member of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, Ms. Pilcher was also active in the founding of the Adirondack Research Center at Union College. She and her husband live in Schenectady and have a vacation home on Big Moose Lake.