Forest Issues

The Adirondacks has a strong tradition of forest management.  Much of the land that is now in state ownership was once logged, and the forest industry has remained a strong (though diminishing) part of the landscape in recent decades.  WCS’ earliest activities in the Adirondacks focused largely on the region’s forest management, and its impacts on human and wildlife communities, as well as on forest health.

The Human Aspect

The region’s forestry tradition has shaped the landscape and the economy of the area.  Once a major employer throughout the Adirondacks, the forestry industry has receded from economic prominence, leaving some communities without their traditional economic base.  At the same time, there is a perception that the amount of land in state ownership, since it is constitutionally protected from logging and other forms of economic activity, is a detriment to land values and community viability in some towns.  Conservation easements have become a popular mechanism for protecting open space and preventing development, while still allowing for other human activities, such as logging and recreation.

Threats

Acid rain has traditionally been considered one of the primary threats to Adirondack forests, although decreases in sulfate and, more recently, nitrate deposition have begun to show improvement in acidity levels in Adirondack waters and soils. 

Climate change promises to be the major driver of forest composition and health across the Adirondacks over the next century.  A radically altered climate (perhaps akin, as may forecasters believe, to the Smoky Mountains of today) will affect the ecological processes and species dynamics of the Adirondacks in the future.  

The Adirondack landscape has the potential to be radically altered by changes in the forestry industry.  The potential for large shifts in land ownership to private individuals creates the potential for increases in low density, exurban development.  At the same time, the ecological value of protecting land through conservation easements is not well understood.

WCS Activities

Several of ACCP’s earliest Oswegatchie Roundtables in the Adirondacks focused on topics associated with forest management and forest health, and a recent Oswegatchie Roundtable focused on climate change.  One product of these discussions was a long-term study of sugar maple regeneration and how it is being impacted by acid rain.  The regeneration Working Paper is available from the Research and Publications page. 

The major current focus of the Forest Issues project is to assess the ecological value of conservation easements.  Easements have become the dominant vehicle for land protection in the Adirondacks and many other parts of the northeast, but there has been little research on how well they conserve biodiversity and other key elements of ecosystem health.  While easements, by definition, generally prevent development and preserve open space, their other requirements, such as sustainable forestry stipulations and biodiversity protection (only because there are a few studies out there on the sustainable forestry aspect but none and no conclusions on the biodiversity aspect), have not been assessed for their ecological value.  WCS is undertaking an assessment of these questions in partnership with the Open Space Institute.

Important Next Steps

• Complete an analysis of the biological value of conservation easements in selected forests
• Generalize the results of this analysis to other areas of the northeast, including the Adirondacks
• In partnership with land managers and owners, develop a set of best practices recommendations to ensure that conservation easements capture as much ecological value as possible
• Distribute the results of this process to key partners and easement authors throughout the northeast