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The Adirondack Park covers a 6 million-acre, predominantly forested region in northern New York State and is larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Olympic National Parks combined. The Park is made up of a complex patchwork of publicly and privately owned land. The Adirondack Region boasts over 3000 lakes, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and a wide variety of habitats, including globally unique wetland types and old growth forests.
The Adirondack Park was created by act of the New York State Legislature in 1892 to "be forever reserved, maintained and cared for as ground open for free use of all people." In 1894, the legislature increased protection of the Park by adding Article XIV to the State constitution, which declared that State lands acquired and held within the boundary of the Park (also known as the "Blue Line") would be held in the public trust to remain "Forever Wild." Since its creation in 1892, the Park has contained a mixture of public and private ownership. The State of New York owns approximately 43 percent, or 2.6 million of the 6 million acres of land within the Blue Line. The remaining private lands are devoted principally to forestry, agriculture, and open space recreation.
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Lands that were remote at the time the "Forever Wild" clause was added to the State Constitution are now more accessible due to the building of roads and highways. Construction of the Northway (Route 87) between Albany and Montreal in the 1960's brought access to millions of people. Increasing access led to concern for the consequences of private land development on preservation of the character and resources of the public lands within the Park. This concern eventually led to the Adirondack Park Agency Act by the State Legislature in 1971. One aspect of the APA Act mandated that the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan be created. This land use management plan divides the lands of the Park into 14 land use categories and describes the appropriate development activities for each land use type.
Because of the mix of public and private lands there are many state agencies, private organizations, research groups and concerned citizens representing many different viewpoints that are involved in the Park. It is hoped that this CD will aid these groups in gaining a better picture of their Park and encourage increased research in this globally unique place.
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