Follensby Pond and the 14,600-property including and surrounding it were purchased by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy in 2008. Federal funds would support a sale to the State of New York so that Follensby could become part of the NYS Forest Preserve, fully taxable for all purposes. To date, the property remains in private hands, off-limits to the public and on the tax rolls. Follensby borders the Raquette River and, across it, the High Peaks Wilderness Area. The public has been supportive of the protection of this tract since 1990, and such state-wide support played a crucial role in the inclusion of Follensby Pond as one of just 75 high priority parcels on the original Statewide Open Space Conservation Plan of 1992. It has remained a high priority project in every Plan update since that time.

The historic and cultural significance of Follensby Pond can not be over-stated and adds enormously to its appeal. The “philosophers” – including Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Russell Lowell and Louis Agassiz – camped along its shores in 1858, and in their writings made that experience known throughout the world, contributing very directly to the late 19th century impetus to recognize the Adirondacks as a vitally significant landscape worthy of protection.

The large acreage, and 1000-acre lake itself and its outlet’s accessibility to the Raquette River presents great public recreational opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, photography, fishing, hunting and trapping as allowed by law. Beginning in 1983, the landowner permitted the Department of Environmental Conservation to reintroduce Bald eagle to the New York at Follensby Pond. The lake’s fish and large white pines provided food and nesting sites, affording an ideal location for a successful program of state and national significance which has contributed to the removal of the Bald eagle from the federal Endangered Species List.

Follensby’s outlet is a major feeder to the Raquette River and Tupper Lake downstream, from which the Town of Tupper Lake draws a significant water supply. Maintaining the 10-miles of shoreline and surrounding lands in an undisturbed condition in perpetuity is critical to the well-being of the Town’s residents, and the entire Region. The project immediately abuts the 200,000-acre, publicly-accessible High Peaks Wilderness Area, and perfectly compliments the State’s efforts to wisely manage Wilderness and in so doing provide numerous public benefits.

One of those benefits is the capture and long-term storage of carbon from the atmosphere. As the formerly harvested lands of Follensby Park revegetate, there will be significant carbon sequestration occurring. More importantly, its long-term protection of a shaded forest overstory will maintain cool forest soils and result in the storage of much of this carbon in the forest floor and soils.

The Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund was established in law in 1965, and has been responsible for protecting five million-acres of lands in the United States. Our congressional delegation is supporting a $425 million national appropriation this year. The Stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund is a matching program which supports local and regional parks and recreation areas, and supporters are seeking $175 million national appropriation this year. Forest Legacy was created in 1990 as a federal-state program to protect forest lands. Over 2 million acres has been conserved thus far. A $150 million national appropriation is being sought.