Senate Resolution No. 2773

BY: Senator LITTLE

COMMEMORATING the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack
State Park

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that the
continuing welfare of the citizens of this great Empire State is greatly
enriched and reliably served by the good works and purposeful endeavors
of those municipal facilities which remain committed to the educational
and recreational needs of its citizens and visitors to the State of New
York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack State Park; and

WHEREAS, Of all the natural wonders about which New Yorkers can
boast, the largest and most breathtaking is the Adirondack State Park;
and

WHEREAS, The boundary of the Adirondack Park, which occupies much of
northern New York, encompasses more than six million acres, making it
the largest park in the continental United States, larger than Yosemite,
Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon and Great Smokey Mountains national
parks combined; and

WHEREAS, About half of the Adirondacks consists of homes, towns,
camps, farms, timberlands and businesses that are in private hands;
there are 120,000 permanent residents who live in numerous hamlets in
the Park; the rest, an estimated three million acres, belongs to the
people of New York, and always will, thanks in part to the determination
of a man named Verplanck Colvin; and

WHEREAS, In 1870, Colvin, a lawyer and naturalist from Albany,
challenged himself to make the first recorded ascent of Seward Mountain,
near Lake Placid; by the time he reached the peak, he was able to view
the damage being left by the clear-cutting practices of the logging
industry; and

WHEREAS, Not only was the pristine forest being destroyed, but as
Colvin learned through subsequent explorations, the clear-cutting
threatened the viability the Adirondack watershed; this, in turn,
threatened to disrupt the operations of the Erie Canal, the waterway
that was essential to the state's economy; and

WHEREAS, Verplanck Colvin, who devoted the rest of his life to
mapping and preserving the region, argued for the creation of a state
forest; almost two decades passed before Governor Roswell P. Flower
established the boundaries of the Adirondack Park; and

WHEREAS, On May 20, 1892, the Adirondack Park was created by the New
York State Legislature; a blue line was drawn around this massive area,
and now the Blue Line, synonymous with the park itself, encircles six
million acres of public and private land; and

WHEREAS, Two years later, the state constitution was amended to
preserve the purity of the Adirondack Park region in perpetuity; and

WHEREAS, Today this remarkable achievement is visible for all to see
as this spectacular treasure encompasses 3,000 lakes and ponds, 30,000
miles of rivers and streams, vast forested lands and astonishing peaks,
including Mount Marcy, the highest point in the state; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, there are 53 species of mammals in the Park,
including moose, bears, beavers, fox, skunks, and a wide variety of
birds; there are 2,000 miles of hiking trails, 10,500 miles of
snowmobile trails and ample opportunities for fishing, hunting,
trapping, boating, camping, skiing, bobsledding, and snow tubing; and

WHEREAS, In an effort to protect and preserve Adirondack State
Park's Forest Preserve, a 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract was added in
2016, the final transaction which completed the single largest land
acquisition to the Adirondack Forest Preserve in more than a century;
and

WHEREAS, Throughout the seasons, Adirondack State Park is a
destination much appreciated by the residents of northern New York and
visitors who seek the historical, cultural, and recreational resources
of the area; it is a source of pride and community heritage to all the
people of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack State Park; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Basil Seggos, Commissioner, New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation.