Updated March 2026
This list is also published online with hyperlinks at The Adirondack Experience’s online catalog (theadkx.org, search for “Edmondson”). The online addresses of some sources are indicated in parentheses to give readers an alternate way of searching if specific links become outdated.
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Erratum
p. 88
Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC): the acronym is is mistyped as “ORCCC”
p. 135
no dissents were written: See William J. Foley, “Minority Report . . . With Reference To The Adirondack Park Agency Private Land Use and Development Plan,” In Richard Lawrence Papers, Box 8 folder 11, ADKX
p. 164
Stanley Steingut: he is mis-identified as “senate minority leader.” He was the assembly minority leader.
Abbreviations
ADKALM: Adirondack Almanack (adirondackexplorer.org/almanack)
ADKX: Adirondack Experience Museum (theadkx.org)
ADE: Adirondack Daily Enterprise, available at nyshistoricnewspapers.org
APA: Adirondack Park Agency (apa.ny.gov)
APASLU: Adirondack Park Agency Collection, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, (stlawu.edu)
DEC: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (dec.ny.gov)
HSL: Historic Saranac Lake Wiki (localwiki.org/hsl)
ARLUC: Adirondack Research Library, Union College (union.edu/adirondack-research-library)
NYSCD: New York State Conservation Department
NYSJLC: New York State Joint Legislative Commission on Natural Resources
NYSL: New York State Library (nysl.nysed.gov)
NYT: New York Times “Times Machine” online archive(timesmachine.nytimes.com)
WC: Wilderness Connect (https://wilderness.net)
Introduction
Page 2
blue ink: DEC, “Birth of the Blue Line”
passed in 1912 and other laws: DEC, “New York’s Forest Preserve”
collection of jewels: DEC, “Welcome To The Adirondacks”. Detailed information on Wilderness Areas and other DEC units in the Adirondack Park is available by clicking on their “destinations” tab.
Page 3
defines a wilderness: “Learn About Wilderness,” WC. The “Key Laws” tab has the full text of the 1964 Wilderness Act (wilderness.net). The “definition” clause states, “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.”
Page 7
Bill McKibben: quoted in Gary Randorf, The Adirondacks: Wild Island of Hope, p. xii.
“middle name is Crane”: Sophie Crane McKibben (sophie-crane.com)
Chapter One: Whose Woods These Are
Page 9
one million visitors: NYSCD, Annual Report, 1954. The annual number of visitors to State campgrounds stabilized at one million around 1954 and has remained near that level because the campgrounds are almost always full.
12.4 million people: Empire State Development Corporation Division of Tourism’s estimate for visitors to the Adirondack region in 2018. Their region is not coterminous with the Adirondack Park boundary. (esd.ny.gov)
84 million people: APA, “Population within 350 Miles of Adirondack Park”
Tug Hill: New York State Tug Hill Commission (tughill.org)
3.3 million overnight stays: Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) (roostadk.com)
Page 12
New York Central: “Railroads,” HSL
AfPA: “Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks Records, 1901-1973,” ADKX
“In the 1940s, a state agency”: David Gibson, “A Historic Defeat For Forest Preserve Exploiters,” January 4, 2016, ADKALM
Page 13
overflowed lands: Stefan Bielinski, “The Sacandaga Patent,” NYSL online exhibit
Village of Speculator: A People’s History of Hamilton County, “Village of Speculator” (hamiltoncountypeople.org)
Page 15
Bakers Mills: Warren County 200, “Hamlet – Bakers Mills” (warrenny200.org)
“180,000 acres”: New York Heritage, “Finch Pruyn and Company Maps” (nyheritage.org)
a large cyclone: Warren, John, “The Big Blowdown of 1950,” November 15, 2010, ADKALM
Page 19
Cranberry Lake: State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, “Cranberry Lake Biological Station,” (esf.edu)
he wrote in 1962: R.C. Thompson (1962). “The Doctrine of Wilderness: A Study of the Policy and Politics of the Adirondack Preserve-park.” Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (302083225)
Page 20
Stumpies: Meg Callaghan, “For ESF Students, Nickname Stumpy is Here To Stay,” The Daily Orange, 2012 (dailyorange.com)
Chapter Two: “A Three-Year Vacation”
Page 25
Start a salvage logging program: NYSCD Annual Report, 1954, p. 27.
Page 26
published articles: The series that came to be known as “The Big Blowup” ran in four consecutive issues of The Conservationist. The December-January 1951-52 issue posed four questions: “If our objective is the preservation of our forests, are forests best preserved by prohibiting cutting?”; “What is meant by “forever wild?” Does it suggest an abundance of birds and animals, and if so, does our present management policy support that objective?”; “Under this policy, are we making the most of the potential recreational value of the Forest Preserve?”; and, “How does the present management policy, as prescribed by the Constitution, contribute to the economic needs of state and nation?” Each question was answered in an essay by a Conservation Department official who argued for “scientific management” principles of selective cutting and stocking wildlife. The next two issues carried 14 solicited articles responding to these questions and ended with an exchange between Conservation Commissioner Perry Duryea Sr. and Wheeler Milmoe, chair of the newly-created Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources, which was expected to consider legislation arising from the debate. The fourth issue carried three pages of letters to the editor on the topic.
Page 28
William Avery Rockefeller II: Lawrence Gooley, Oliver’s War, p. 25
Page 29
one-quarter of the fires: Carl Jacoby, Crimes Against Nature, p. 74-75
Page 32
A forested dome of ancient rock: Barbara McMartin, The Great Forest of the Adirondacks, p. 7
Page 34
In 1957, Mauhs announced: NYSJLC Annual Report, 1957
a 1,000-word sketch: NYSJLC Annual Report, 1959, p. 103
Page 35
definition of wilderness: “The Wilderness Act,” The Wilderness Society (wilderness.org)
Page 36
Petty and Stout: Survey details in NYSJLC Annual Reports, 1959-1962
Page 39
December 5, 1961: NYSJLC Annual Report, 1962, p.46-47
Blue Ridge Wilderness: DEC, “Blue Ridge Wilderness”
Chapter Three: Quickening
Page 42
A Region of Mystery: Verplanck Colvin, Report on the Adirondack and State Land Surveys To the Year 1884,p. 31 (archive.org)
Page 43
ski binding: Edison Tech Center, “Irving Langmuir” (edisontechcenter.org)
Page 44
John Apperson: Anthony F. Hall, “Lake George Land Conservancy Honors John Apperson,” Friday, October 29, 2010, ADKALM
Schenectady Mafia: attributed to William Verner, curator of the Adirondack Museum (1960-1975)
Page 45
Paul Schaefer and John Apperson: Mark Harvey, Wilderness Forever
Page 48
Thomas Malthus: Pierre Desrochers and Christine Hoffbauer, “The Post War Intellectual Roots of the Population Bomb: Fairfield Osborn’s ‘Our Plundered Planet’ and William Vogt’s ‘Road to Survival’ in Retrospect,” Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, 1.3 (2009) (researchgate.net)
The need is for areas: Wilderness Connect, “Howard Zahniser” (wilderness.net)
Page 49
2,000 members in 1955: John P. Freeman, “The Adirondack Mountain Club: Its Programs and History,” Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies: Vol. 12 : No. 1 , Article 5 (2005) (https://arches.union.edu/ajes)
five options for the route: “Northway Collection,” ADKX
Page 50
A practical route: Paul Schaefer Correspondence, Box 2 Folder 17, ARLUC
$33 million less: Citizens Northway Committee Papers, Box 1 Folder 5, ARLUC
Page 51
Shall We Let Them?: The Saturday Evening Post, republished March 29, 2016, “Damming The Parks,” (saturdayeveningpost.com)
Page 52
Stewart Ogilvy: Oral history interview transcript in “Sierra Club Expansion and Evolution: The Atlantic Chapter, 1957-1969,” 1983 (digital.lib.berkeley.edu)
Page 54
Peter Ward: Paul Schaefer Correspondence, Box 2 Folder 17, ARLUC
Page 55
Resolution Two Passed: Vote totals in NYSJLC Annual Report, 1960, p. 154
Page 56
National System of nine million acres: US Forest Service, “Wilderness” (fs.usda.gov)
Page 58
Dollie Robinson: NYSL, Biography in “New York State Constitutional Convention: Delegates 1967,” p. 85; speech in Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York, (pp. 544-545)
Chapter Four: Brotherly Love
Page 61
the greatest good: See Char Miller, Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism. United Kingdom: Island Press (2001)
Page 62
for eccentrics: Henry Diamond, “Lessons Learned For Today,” Environmental Law Forum, March-April 2016, p. 44 (eli.org)
Page 63
he loved task forces: Jeffrey Frank, “Big Spender,” The New Yorker, Oct. 6, 2014 (newyorker.com)
a long-running survey: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, April 11, 2019, “Public Trust in Government” (people-press.org)
Al Smith: Robert Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974, describes how Smith, Robert Moses, and other politicians used spending on parks to gain power. See pp. 237-40.
Page 64
preserved in a film: New York State Executive Chamber, identifier NYSA_13700-83_mpf16_1964-11-aa,”Little Drops of Water” (film, 1964, NYSL,)
selling its radioactive byproducts: NYT, Decembr 24, 1964, p. 21
Pure Waters Bond Act: Nicholas Dagen Bloom, How States Shaped Postwar America: State Government and Urban Power. University of Chicago Press (2019), p. 272
Page 65
incessantly destroying the old: Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2010., p. 83
Page 66
KKK remained active: Michelle Ross, “When The KKK Was Heavily Present in the Southern Tier,” May 9, 2017 (mytwintiers.com)
report released in June 1964: NYT, June 29,1964, p. 1
Page 67
1,600 local governments: New York State Department of State, Division of Local Government Services, “What Do Local Governments Do?” (dos.ny.gov)
Page 68
owned one party and leased the other: NYT Magazine, Oct. 3, 1976, p. 18
younger brother, Laurance: American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, “Laurance S. Rockefeller,” (aapra.org), reprinted from John L,. Crompton, Twentieth Century Champions of Parks and Conservation: The Pugsley Medal recipients 1965-2007. United States: Sagamore Publishing, L.L.C., 2007.
Page 69
did not want to move: National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, “Stories,” (nps.gov/grsm)
Page 70
We’ve got to rebuild this place: NYT, October 12. 1965, p. 34
Page 71
Joe Penfold: Brent A. Olsen, “Paper trails: The Outdoor Recreation Resource Review Commission and the rationalization of recreational resources,” Geoforum 41(3):pp. 447-456 (May 2010)
Page 72
survey proved beyond a doubt: Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission, Outdoor Recreation For America, republished online in America’s National Park System: The Critical Documents (nps.gov/parkhistory)
grants of nearly $4 billion: National Parks Service, “Land and Water Conservation Fund” (nps.gov)
Page 73
nearly 30 million acres: Logan Yonavjak and Todd Gartner, “Gaining Ground: Increasing Conservation Easements in the U.S. South,” World Resources Institute Issue Brief #7, August 2011 (wri.org)
900,000 acres: DEC, “Conservation Easements”
“during the 1960s”: National Parks Service, “The National Parks: Index 2012-2016” (nps.gov)
Page 74
in 1961, Laurance had written: Robin W. Winks, Laurance Rockefeller: Catalyst For Conservation, p. 97
proposed amendment to the State Constitution: ADE, “Parks Council Supports New Wilderness Plans,” March 5, 1962
Page 75
journalist Anthony Bailey: Anthony Bailey, “Through The Great City – II”, The New Yorker, July 29, 1967, p. 35, (newyorker.com)
Page 77
The 23-Page Report: Conrad Louis Wirth, “A Report on a Proposed Adirondack Mountains National Park,” 16p. with illustrations, 1967, ADKX
“I didn’t know what I was doing”: “Comments of Conrad Wirth, Adirondack Park Association Meeting, September 20, 1967,” Temporary Study Commission papers, Box 1, ADKX
7,000 deer hunting licenses: “Assemblyman Harris Voices Objections,” undated newspaper clipping, Temporary Study Commission papers, Box 1, ADKX
disconcerted at lunch: Memo from Harold Hochschild marked “Private and Confidential,” August 10, 1967, Temporary Study Commission papers, Box 1, ADKX
Page 80
from a prepared text: Laurance Rockefeller, “The Adirondacks and the Future, An Address by Laurance S. Rockefeller before the Adirondack Mountain Club, Warrensburg, New York, October 28, 1967”, ADKX
an official reaction: New York State Department of Conservation, “The Adirondacks: New York’s Forest Preserve and a Proposed National Park,” 64pp., 1967, Harold Jerry papers, ARLUC
Page 81
what finally killed the proposal: “Forever Wild vs. National Park,” NYT, January 27, 1968
Page 82
conversation with Dave McAlpin: Temporary Study Commission Papers, Box 1, ADKX
Chapter Five: Going Rogue
Page 85
Harold Jerry was a good fit: “Harold A. Jerry, Jr., 81”, NYT, June 20, 2001; David Gibson, “Remembering Harold Jerry, April 10, 2012, ADKALM
Page 89
O’Brien was best known: SUNY Albany Archives, “Leo W. O’Brien Papers, 1939-1966” (archives.albany.edu)
Page 90
Fred O’Neal: New York Public Library, “Frederick O’Neal Papers, 1914-1991” (archives.nypl.org)
“Harold Hochschild”: “Harold K. Hochschild and His Legacy,” ADKX
Page 91
Watson Pomeroy: “Robert Pomeroy, 86,” NYT, January 10, 1989
James Loeb: “James I. Loeb,” HSL
Page 92
13 of them just in 1968: Connery and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York, p. 128
Page 93
complete objectivity: Harold Jerry Papers, Box 1, ARLUC
Page 94
first published the questions: Executive Chamber Press Release, January 26, 1968, in Nelson A. Rockefeller papers, Rockefeller Archives, Sleepy Hollow, NY
“The Gooley Farm dam”: David Gibson, “Fighting For A Wild Upper Hudson, 1968-2013,” June 20, 2013, ADKALM
Page 96
34 business meetings: Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks, p. 3
Page 97
scribbled on a legal pad: George Davis Papers, Box 1 folder 5, APASLU
Page 98
LUNR: Cornell University Institute for Resource Information Sciences (IRIS), “Map and Air Photo Repository” (iris.cals.cornell.edu/extension)
Page 100
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act: “Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 1968”, in Larry M,. Dilsaver (ed.), America’s National Park System: The Critical Documents (nps.gov)
Page 101
On January 31: Richard Lawrence Papers, Minutes of the Temporary Study Commission, ADKX
Page 104
Exceptionally good article: William Kissel, “Permissible uses of New York’s Forest Preserve,” Syracuse Law Review 19 (1967-68), p. 969-996
A report from George Davis: George Davis papers, Box 1, ARLUC
Page 105
at least half their paid time: George Davis papers, Box 8 folder 2, APASLU
Page 108
In 1954, Moses Denounced: “Mr. Moses’ Answer,” ADE, August 27, 1954
register at one popular trailhead: Papers of the Temporary Study Commission, ADKX
a clear, forceful writing style: George Davis Papers, ARLUC
Page 111
Robert Lindsay, President: Adirondack Park Agency Administrative Files on Establishment and Early Planning of the Adirondack Park Agency, Transcripts of Temporary Study Commission public hearings, NYSL
Page 115
Multiply and Subdue: Austin Hoyt (writer/producer), “Multiply and Subdue The Earth,” WGBH Educational Foundation for the Public Broadcast Laboratory of National Educational Television, 1969
Chapter Six: Order Must Be
Page 117
dark blue trunks, not tights: personal communication with Adam Hochschild
Page 118
a portable Victrola: Adam Hochschild, Harold K Hochschild 1892-1981. Private ed., 1982
Page 120
concerns were peaking: Science History Institute, June 2, 2017, “Richard Nixon and the Rise of American Environmentalism” (sciencehistory.org)
Nixon didn’t care: John C. Whitaker, Striking a Balance
Page 122
10 percent of towns and villages: Richard A. Liroff, G. Gordon Davis, and F. Frank Lyman, Protecting Open Space: Land Use Control in the Adirondack Park, p. 25
Page 123
it would be disastrous: George Davis papers, Box 1 (Nov, 28, 1969), ARLUC
Page 125
hates to lose: Records of the Temporary Study Commission, Box 1, unsigned memo to Harold Hochschild, ADKX,
Allagash River: Natural Resources Council of Maine, November 6, 2013, “Allagash Wilderness Waterway History and Timeline” (nrcm.org/programs)
Page 127
the deep apprehension: Records of the TSC, Box 1, ADKX
Page 128
such things happen: ibid.
Page 130
far more registered Democrats: Connery and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York, p. 41
Page 131
leaving far too much: Records of the TSC, Box 1 and Richard Lawrence Papers, ADKX,
Page 133
an easement is a tool: Jesse J, Richardson and Amanda C. Bernard, “Zoning for Conservation Easements,” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2011 (papers.ssrn.com)
Elk Lake: ADKALM, January 3, 2011, “Elk Lake: The First Adirondack Conservation Easement”
Page 134
these three bills are interdependent: Harold A. Jerry Jr. to Harry W. Albright Jr., “Commission Legislation,” February 24, 1971, Harold Jerry papers, Box 3 folder 10, APASLU
Page 135
the Adirondacks will become a slum: Richard Lawrence Papers, Box 4, ADKX
Page 136
never learned to write good English: Harold Hochschild Adirondack Park Agency Correspondence, Hochschild to Claude Boillot, December 29,1970, ADKX
Harry’s position may be summarized: ibid.
Page 137
He spent $6.9 million: Connery and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York, p. 58
by eleven points: ibid., p. 48
Page 142
public assistance or Medicaid payments: New York State Division of the Budget, Office of Statistical Coordination, New York State Statistical Yearbook, 1973, p. 232
Chapter Seven: “Pass The F*cking Thing”
Page 148
our own electrocution: Warrensburg-Lake George News, April 22, 1971
Page 149
Winifred LaRose: LaRose to Bayard Webster, Glens Falls Post Star, March 3, 1971
Page 151
landslide Harris: Interview with Beverly Sawaya Harris in Edmondson papers, ADKX
Page 152
just wasn’t true: Graham, The Adirondack Park, p. 245
didn’t spill the beans: Paine to Harris, June 16, 1970, in Richard Lawrence APA papers, ADKX
Page 153
absolutely key man: Peter Paine Jr. to Ronald Stafford, January 3, 1071, Hochschild papers on APA, ADKX
Page 154
spiked that iced tea: Harold Hochschild to Richard Lawrence, July 9, 1970, Richard Lawrence APA papers, ADKX
Page 155
cut $760 million: Connolly and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York, p. 101; Smith, On His Own Terms, p. 578
intending to ignore: Frederick Sheffield to Harold Hochschild, Quoted in Folwell, Betsy, “Present at the Creation: The APA’s Job Left Undone,” Adirondack Life, 1989, reprinted Wednesday, September 2, 2015, ADKALM
letter was signed by: Folwell, ibid.
DeZalia said: Warrensburg-Lake George News, April 22, 1971
Page 156
We shall do whatever we can: George Davis papers, ADKX
April 16, 2071: Adam Hochschild (ed.), Harold K Hochschild 1892-1981, p. 116
Page 157
“I’m a power broker”: Frank and Ada Graham, The Adirondack Park, p. 244
Page 158
counted 14,000 acres: Liroff and Davis, p. 24; Plattsburgh Press-Republican, May 27, 1971, in Richard Lawrence APA Papers, ADKX
Page 159
The Crying Indian: Advertising Council, “The Classics” (adcouncil.org), “The Crying Indian-full commercial” (youtube.com)
Page 163
“I would meet with Peter Paine”: ADKX, Peter Berle, comments at conference marking the 30th anniversary of the APA, Oct. 2003, Edmondson interviews, ADKX
Page 164
Rockefeller became enraged: Michael Kramer and Sam Roberts, “I Never Wanted to Be Vice-President of Anything! An Investigative Biography of Nelson Rockefeller, New York: Basic Books (1976), p. 80-81
according to Abbie: Abbie Verner to Margery Lamy, Hochschild Papers on APA, ADKX
Page 165
the APA Law passed: New York (State). Legislature., New York (State). Legislative Bill Drafting Commission. Laws of the State of New York passed at the sessions of the Legislature. Albany, N.Y.: [s.n.]. (1971) pp. 1853-1861. (babel.hathitrust.org)
Chapter Eight: The Big Map
Page 169
About the size of Connecticut: total acreage of privately-owned land in the Adirondack Park in 1971
Davis kept a wish list: Box 8, folder 7, APASLU
Page 171
We are the bullies: Ian McHarg, A Quest for Life
Page 172
a 40-Page pamphlet: Davis, George, Man and the Adirondack Environment, Blue Mountain Lake, NY, Adirondack Museum, 1977
an experienced town-builder: ADE, Sept. 20, 1971
Page 173
no more than 2,000: “Environmental Impact Statement, CIDCO Development,” George Davis papers, Box 8, ADKX
pulling strings: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADXK
Page 174
a false issue: Richard Lawrence records of the Adirondack Park Agency, 1971-1975, finding aid biographical note, ADKX (go to theadkx.org and look on “past perfect” site)
Page 175
“We moved rapidly”: Richard Lawrence, presentation at St. Lawrence University Summer Conference on the Adirondacks, June 12, 1981, APASLU and ADKX
Page 176
Leo Friedman: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADKX
Page 178
We are not going to desert you: Harold Hochschild to Peter Paine, Jr., August 28 1971, provided by Bill Kissel
Page 179
a web of hidden debt: Connery and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York
Page 180
Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet: ADE, September 20, 1971
Page 181
the work facing them: George Davis to RIchard Lawrence, November 17, 1971, George Davis papers, Box 6, ADKX
Page 182
Clean Water Act: US Environmental Protection Agency, “History of the Clean Water Act” (epa.gov)
Page 183
Paul Jamieson: “Paul and Ruth Jamieson Papers,” APASLU
Page 184
Illegitimi non carborundum: This is a mock-Latin phrase popularized by military figures during World War II.
Page 186
Cornell researcher Ron Shelton: United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey Inter-Agency Steering Committee on Land Use Information and Classification, “Land Use Classification Scheme For Use With Remote Sensor,” including Proceedings of the Conference on Land Use Information and Classification, June 28-30, 1971. (pubs.usgs.gov)
Warren County Airport at 3:15 pm: George Davis papers, Notebook B1, minutes of the Adirondack Park Agency, November 14, 1971, ADKX,:
“The route from Warren County Airport was Lake George to Tongue Mountain, circling the state islands off Tongue Mountain, thence Northwest over Brant Lake and Pharaoh wilderness area to Schroon Lake, crossing the Adirondack Northway near Hoffman Mountain, due west to the Boreas River at its confluence with the Hudson, up the Hudson River Gorge at a mean altitude of fifty feet past the Blue Ledge, the mouth of the Cedar River, and the Gooley Club to Newcomb, over the National Lead Industries property at Tahawus, the Flowed Lands, Lake Tear of the Clouds, over the shoulder of Mt. Marcy, thence due east past Haystack to Upper Ausable Lake, through the pass to Lower Ausable Lake and St. Huberts, then over Giant Mountain wilderness area past Rocky Peak ledge to Elizabethtown, then due East to the Village of Westport where the flight followed the shore of Lake Champlain and the proposed extension of the Blue line; Split Rock Point, the Town of Essex, Willsboro Point, Schuyler Island, Ausable Point campsite, and then, after circling Valcour Island, to the Clinton County Airport where a stop was made for lunch and refueling at 12:10 p.m.
“The flight departed Clinton County Airport at 1:20 p.m., proceeded Northwest over the State prison at Dannemora, past Chazy Lake, the ski development at Lyon Mountain with views to the Northern boundary of the Park at Lower Chateaugay Lake, then approximately south over Standish, Loon Lake, Kushaqua, Rainbow, and the Saranac lakes, past the Fish Creek campsite, turning to the southeast at Tupper Lake past Mt. Morris then over the Litchfield Park and the Whitney Estate, Long Lake, the Forked Lake campsite and Raquette Lake, then easterly to the Moose River plains, and the West Canada Lake wilderness area north of Piseco Lake, over Lake Pleasant, the Village of Speculator, south of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area, then south to the Sacandaga Reservoir and over Lake Luzerne, returning to the Warren County Airport at 3:15 p.m.”
Page 188
embezzling $360,000: NYT, July 20, 1978, p. 1
Chapter Nine: The Nature Business
Page 192
at least 14 newsletters: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADKX
Page 194
the hippy account: “Charles Reich,” The Washington Post, June 18, 2019
Page 195
At Loon Lake: Barbara McMartin, Perspectives on The Adirondacks, p. 28
All that is needed here: Paul JC Friedlander, “Blueprint for Leisure in the Adirondacks,” NYT, June 21, 1970
Page 196
107 local governments: Richard A. Liroff, G. Gordon Davis, and F. Frank Lyman, Protecting Open Space, p. 113
Page 197
Act 250: Vermont Natural Resources Board, “Act 250” (nrb.vermont.gov)
Page 198
Horizon’s sales tactics: Robert H. Boyle, “Buy Now And Cry Later,” Sports Illustrated, July 23, 1973
a chicken dinner: Memo to the Board of Directors of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, APA collection, Box 10 folder 3, APASLU
$100 to$150 million: Ogdensburg Journal, August 18, 1972, APA Collection, Box 10 folder 3, APASLU
Page 199
gradual dismemberment: “Adirondack Development Stirs Major Ecology Fight,” NYT, May 23, 1972
Page 200
a make or break project: ADE, June 19, 1972
The family-owned development firm: Buckmiller Thurston Mengacci Funeral Home, “Obituary for Louis H. Papparazzo” (buckmillerthurstonmengacci.com)
Page 201
“that’s what the courts are for”: “Environmental Chief Bars Adirondack Project,” NYT, August 2, 1973
Page 202
David Vanderwalker: ADE, December 20, 1972
Page 204
Arthur Savage: David Gibson, “Arthur Savage: An Adirondack Conservation Champion,” January 17, 2013, ADKALM
Page 205
a 35-person board: Adirondack Nature Conservancy, “A Look Back and Forward,” The Flicker, (in-house newsletter), Winter 1996
Mason Neck: Virginia Places, “Conserving Mason Neck” (virginiaplaces.org)
Page 206
Pat Noonan: “Business-Suited Saviors of Nation’s Vanishing Wilds,” Smithsonian, December 1978, p. 77 (retrieved from islapedia.com)
a 12,446-acre preserve: Robert Engel, Howard Kirschenbaum, and Paul Malo, Santanoni, pp. 160-83
Page 207
Hochschild’s $75,000: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADKX; NYT, “State Forest Preserve Getting A Tract the Size of Manhattan,” December 5, 1971
Page 209
99,473 acres: Dirk Bryant, ADK Nature Conservancy, personal communication, Aug. 13, 2020
“I don’t sleep nights”: Watertown Daily Times, June 20, 1972, in George Davis papers, ADKX
Chapter Ten: The Big Push
Page 213
had to create them: William Verner interview of George Davis, April 5, 1976, p.32, ADKX
Page 216
the Master Plan: Adirondack Park Agency, “Adirondack Park State land master plan, prepared by the Adirondack Park Agency in consultation with the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, submitted to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, June 1, 1972,” ADKX
David Sive contacted David Newhouse: Sive to Newhouse, September 8, 1970, George Davis Papers, Box 1, ARLUC
Page 217
wooden platforms with wooden sides: Mike Prescott, “Tent Platforms: A History of Personal Forest Preserve Leases,” Monday, November 25, 2019, ADKALM
Page 220
On March 23, Kafin & Needleman: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADKX
Page 221
684 letters: Connery and Benjamin, Rockefeller of New York, p. 151
In 2021, state-owned easements: DEC, “Conservation Easements”
an area the size of Pennsylvania: Rachel Ralls, “The Geography of Land Trusts in the United States,” paper submitted to Dr. Pomeroy, Geography-Earth Science Department, Shippensburg University, August 1, 2013. [Author’s note, March 2026: the acreage total is outdated. For current totals, see “Gaining Ground,” Land Trust Alliance (lta.org)]
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come in and condemn it: Plattsburgh Press Republican, December 7, 1971, George Davis papers, Notebook 1, ADKX
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Solomon-like operation: NYT, August 24, 1971
hurry-up laws: Harold Hochschild APA papers, ADKX
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left his old boss and mentor a note: George Davis Papers Box 3, ARLUC
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documentation is spotty at best: Liroff and Davis, p. 69
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On October 5: Minutes of the Adirondack Park Agency in George Davis papers, notebook K1, ADXK.
Chapter Eleven: Cashing The Chips
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THIS COULD AFFECT YOU: Anthony N. D’Elia, The Adirondack Rebellion, p. 52
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Loon Lake had been: HSL, “Loon Lake House”
“I fell in love”: The Adirondack Rebellion, p. 213
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slides of junked cars: ADE, December 22, 1972
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The Plan had three parts: Adirondack Park Agency, “Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan and Recommendations for Implementation,” submitted to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and the Legislature of the State of New York Pursuant to Section 805 of Article 27 of the Executive Law on March 6, 1973, retrieved from ADKX
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“like water or air”: St. Lawrence University, Second Conference on the Adirondack Park (Colton, N.Y.: St. Lawrence University, 1972), p. 49.. APASLU
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put in a dungeon: St. Lawrence Plaindealer, September 7, 1972
eight-page mailing: Harold Hochschild papers on the APA, ADKX
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An analysis of the hearings: Liroff and Davis, p. 127
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Phil Terrie, a curator: “Adirondack Park Agency Summary of Public Hearing Land Use and Development Plan,” p. 200, Richard Lawrence Papers of the APA, ADKX
John Hosley: Hosley to APA Commissioners, January 15, 1973, in Richard Lawrence Papers of the APA, Box 7, ADKX
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Massive, sudden shifts: Pew Research Center, September 8, 2020, “How the Watergate Crisis Eroded Public Support for Richard Nixon” (pewresearch.org)
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Finch Pruyn’s lawyers: Richard Lawrence Papers of the APA, Box 11, ADKX
“a red flag or a swastika”: Louis Papparazzo to James Bird, undated clip, ADE
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“we would go over the plan with them”: St. Lawrence University Summer Conference on the Adirondacks, June 12, 1981, APASLU
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anti-APA letters to Senator Ron Stafford: Papers of Ronald B. Stafford, Series 1, Box 1, folders 19-23, New York State Modern Political Archive, M.E. Grenender Department of Special Collections and Archives, SUNY Albany (archives.albany.edu)
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George Davis wasn’t happy: Richard Lawrence Papers of the APA, Box 8, folder 8, ADKX,
How were the density numbers derived?: Liroff and Davis, p. 69
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Bird explained his abstention: Richard Lawrence Papers of the APA, Box 23, ADKX
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A young aide named Michael Silverman: Michael Robert Silverman, “The Impact of Competing Pressure Groups on the Passage of the New York State Adirondack Park Land Use Bill of 1973,” New York University, Ph.D., 1976. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, #7705466 (proquest.com)
Proofread it: Richard Lawrence papers of the APA, ADKX
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Beamish wrote it: Richard Lawrence papers of the APA, Box 23, ADKX
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Among the most important changes: detailed in Silverman thesis, pp. 220-31
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An Adirondack Fable: ADE, June 1, 1973
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Never underestimate the survival potential: Shirley Delano Ryan, letter to the editor, undated clip, ADE
Conclusion: Convinced Against Their Will
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National Land Use Policy Act: Jayne Daly, “A Glimpse of the Past—A Vision for the Future: Senator Henry M. Jackson and National Land Use Legislation,” The Urban Lawyer, Winter 1996, V. 28 #1,pp. 7-39, (retrieved from jstor.com)
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The Quiet Revolution: David L. Callies and Fred P. Bosselman, The Quiet Revolution in Land Use Control. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972; Callies, “The Quiet Revolution Revisisted: A Quarter Century of Progress,” The Urban Lawyer, Spring 1994, 26:2, pp. 197-213
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in 1962, State Senator Eustis Paine: Records of the Temporary Study Commission, Box 1, ADKX
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Commission on the Adirondacks in the Twenty-First Century: Peter Adolf Augustus Berle, The Adirondack Park in the Twenty-first Century. United States: State of New York, 1990, ADKX, ARLUC, NYSL
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in 2020, the law allows: APA. “Land Use Area Classification”
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amenity migration: Gundars Rudzitis, “Public Lands, Place, and Quality of Life,” Headwaters Economics, June 2019 (headwaterseconomics.org)
an exhaustive 2019 analysis: Peter Bauer and James Long, The Adirondack Park and Rural America: Economic and Population Trends, 1970-2010, North Creek, NY: Protect the Adirondacks!, 2019 (protectadks.org)
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about 1,000 new houses per year: ibid.