Big News! Part I – From Finch to Follensby

Okay, so maybe it’s not The Big Story, but one theme that evolved over the course of 2008 was the fate of the privately-owned Adirondack back-country.

The Nature Conservancy’s acquisition of Follensby Pond — the holy grail of Adirondack conservation efforts for thirty years — combined with the disposition of the massive Finch, Pruyn lands, literally redefined the playing field.

Even more interesting, for a wonk like me, is the fact that this land deal is so big that it has tendrils and facets everywhere.

The sour economy could affects private efforts to pay for the land deals; and the budget crisis in Albany could cripple the Environmental Protection fund, which is used to buy state forest preserve land.

Meanwhile, the final status of all that real estate — wilderness? forest preserve? limited timber harvesting? — will affect dozens of Adirondack towns for…well, forever.

And finally, there’s the personal and visceral part of the story. I spent a day trekking in a wilderness bog near Blue Mountain with Nature Conservancy staff — and another day paddling Follensby.

Those were tastes of pure Adirondack wildness that I’ll savor for a long time.

–Brian