Mountain ranges typically don’t figure in viral political rumors, but last week in New York, one loomed large. A post claiming that Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor in New York, wanted to make the Adirondacks a national park blew up online.
There’s no actual evidence that Blakeman has supported this idea (and Congress, not governors, decides what’s a national park), but it speaks to a common misconception about this iconic mountain range. This area of New York is neither a national nor state park, and its unique land designation actually helps keep it wild.
How New York Preserves the Adirondacks
The conservation history of this area of northeastern New York stretches all the way back to the 1800s. In 1892, the state government designated 6 million acres of land as a Forest Preserve. The state owns 2.7 million acres, and in 1894, it classified them as “Forever Wild” spaces, meaning they’re preserved under the state constitution. They can’t be developed, logged, transferred, or sold.
The other portion of this land is privately owned, and includes homes, businesses, timber operations, and towns. The total expanse includes over 40 mountains, 2,800 lakes and ponds, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and 2,000 miles of trails. State management plans seek to strike a balance between recreation use and resource protection.
In 1963, the National Park Service (NPS) designated this area a National Historic Landmark (NHL) under the National Register of Historic Places. The agency states that NHLs should represent “an outstanding aspect of American history and culture.” The status allows for owners to apply for historic preservation grants and tax incentives. The Adirondack Park is the largest NHL.
What the Adirondacks Aren’t
National parks require an act of Congress and the signature of the president. Thus, these designations are often a matter of politics and money, not a reflection of how beautiful, special, or rare the land in question is.
The “national park” status can bring in lots of visitors and provide an economic boom; representatives and senators advocate for areas of their state to become parks in order to boost their local economies.
The last time the Adirondacks flirted with national park status was in 1967. Laurance Rockefeller and his brother Governor Nelson Rockefeller submitted a proposal to make 1.12 million acres of the area a massive national park.
According to reporting from the Adirondack Almanack, most New Yorkers hated the idea. There was concern that the status would lead to more highways and development, in order to make the area more accessible to tourists. It would’ve meant the state would relinquish its control of the land to allow the federal government to manage it instead. Hunters also condemned the idea, since most national parks typically have a blanket hunting ban. The Conservation Department objected to the idea, and the proposal died quickly thereafter.
Notably, the Adirondacks aren’t a state park either. There’s no entry gate or entry fees, and there are very few state-run campgrounds in the area. State parks located in the foothills are visitors’ best bet to camp near this outdoor recreation haven.
Why It Matters
The management of the Adirondacks shows how individual states can craft unique land use policies, like enshrining conservation protections in the constitution. The pushback to the 1967 proposal also shows how effective local opposition can be. Currently, residents in Wisconsin are hotly debating Congressman Tom Tiffany’s proposal to make Apostle Islands National Lakeshore a national park. Some worry that the designation would price out locals from housing, and that the bill doesn’t adequately engage with local Native American tribes.
