All donations and membership contributions will be matched dollar-for-dollar until we reach $75,000. Every gift counts, every dollar counts. Please help today.
2025 has been a busy year for Protect the Adirondacks. Our work has taken us to all corners of the Adirondack Park as we’ve advocated for stronger protections and programs to protect wildlife, water quality, the “Forever Wild” Forest Preserve, Wilderness, and the Park’s small rural communities. Protect the Adirondacks identifies problems facing the natural resources, public Forest Preserve, and communities in the Adirondack Park and we find solutions.
The Adirondack Park is an amazing place, but it has not been protected by accident, and it won’t be sustained as a wild world apart without a steady, guiding hand and with all of us helping. Protect the Adirondacks plays a vital role in helping to keep the Adirondack Park wild and beautiful.
Click here to make make a donation.
Our work focuses on advocacy, education, research, independent public oversight of state agencies and local governments that manage the Adirondack Park, and legal action. That’s why we need your support and help to protect this great landscape, this grand experiment, and to help to preserve the Adirondack Park for all who will come after us.
2025 Has Been a Big and Busy Year for Protect the Adirondacks
This year, Protect the Adirondacks pushed for the State of New York to protect the 36,000-acre Whitney Park that is up for sale. These lands have been at the top of New York’s land protection priority list for 50 years and include 22 lakes and ponds. Whitney Park sits in the middle of the Adirondack Park, and is vital for habitat linkages, historic canoe routes, and open space protection. We’ve been working with many other groups to urge New York Governor Kathy Hochul to protect this tract. A developer from Texas is trying to buy these lands to build a major luxury golf course housing development. Our advocacy is paying dividends. In October, Governor Hochul said that she wants the State of New York to buy around 32,000 acres of Whitney Park for the Forest Preserve.
On Election Day, voters in New York State passed Proposal 1 to amend the State Constitution for Forest Preserve lands that are part of the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympics Winter Sports Complex near Lake Placid. This complex was a longstanding problem in Forest Preserve management as state agencies were not adhering to the letter or spirit of the “Forever Wild” clause of the State Constitution. It took years to clean up this mess, but Protect the Adirondacks worked steadily to craft a solution among all parties to amend the State Constitution and strengthen Forest Preserve protections. Then we advocated across the state for New Yorkers to support the public referendum.
Last Spring, we worked with dozens of partners in the Adirondacks to secure critical funding in the New York State budget that delivers critical investments in conservation, land stewardship, and environmental justice. The State budget also included $1 million for a “carrying capacity study of the Saranac Chain of Lakes.” Protect the Adirondacks had long advocated for this study, and we went to court in an attempt to force the State to comply with laws that required it. The study will assess sustainable use levels to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and visitor experiences.
Protect the Adirondacks stood up for Wilderness to oppose the State’s plans to expand motorized uses in Wilderness Areas and the State changed its plan and backed away from motorized uses. In the Legislature, we also led the effort on a new program for private forestland owners that rewards efforts for long-term carbon storage to combat climate change.
2025 marked the 28th year of the Adirondack Lake Assessment Program, where we partner with Paul Smith’s College to gather long-term water quality monitoring data on 80 lakes and ponds across the Adirondacks. The new New York State Open Space Conservation Plan, which guides state land protection efforts, will soon be released for public hearings and we will rally comments.
Nobody does Independent Public Oversight in the Adirondacks better. So far this year, we’ve commented on over 40 major projects proposed for the Forest Preserve, land developments, or public policy issues. Protect the Adirondacks is the top environmental watchdog in the Adirondacks!
Please Show Your Support Today!
Please make a membership contribution today.
We’re counting on your support! Thank you very much for taking a stand to protect the Adirondack Park and standing up for wildlife, Wilderness, a wild Forest Preserve, and our work to strengthen environmental protections across the Adirondacks!
