Adirondack Living Landscapes Program

The Adirondack Park is the largest park in the lower 48 states and the world's oldest example of formal coexistence between human settlement and wilderness protection. This six million acre combination of public and private lands in northern New York is constitutionally protected and includes the largest virgin old growth forest east of the Rockies.  More than 90% of the Northern Forest species are found in the Adirondacks. 

The Human Aspect
An extension of the boreal forest, the Adirondack Park is the southern habitat limit for many boreal birds and mammals and the northern habitat limit for several lowland species.  The resulting diverse suite of wildlife depends on the integrity of the park to survive.  Similarly, human communities, once dependent on resource extraction, are increasingly dependent on the park’s tourism and recreation industry. 

Threats
The Adirondack Park is within a day's drive of 70 million people. Throughout the region, residential development and recreational use are increasing.  Currently, there is a lack of information on the impacts of human activities on wildlife requirements and sensitivities, although many species are clearly impacted.  Large-scale threats, including acid rain and global climate change, could also severely alter the Adirondack ecosystem.     

WCS Activities
The mission of the WCS Living Landscapes Program is to develop wildlife-based strategies for conservation of large, wild ecosystems that are integrated into wider landscapes of human influence.  WCS is using this approach in the Adirondacks and elsewhere to identify groups of species to represent the diversity and functional health of complex landscapes, explicitly linking these with priority conservation issues.   The Adirondack Park Living Landscapes Program is using the WCS Landscape Species approach to identify where and why human-wildlife conflict occurs and to design and undertake conservation efforts to curb such conflict.  Designated Adirondack Park landscape species are black bear, marten, common loon, moose, three-toed woodpecker, and wood turtle.  WCS is involved in extensive loon research as a major partner in the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program and is also working on projects involving boreal birds, moose, and low density, exurban development.  The Living Landscapes Program is conducting analyses on each of the landscape species to integrate mapped data sets of wildlife and human land-use patterns and to identify primary conflict zones.  Finally, our community outreach efforts provide important information on wildlife issues.

Important Next Steps
• Use integrated mapping efforts to identify major threats to Adirondack
  landscape species and explore potential interventions.
• Continue field studies to document basic habitat and population parameters
  for selected landscape species.
• Continue to work with local communities to determine direct links between
  community and wildlife issues and possible actions or information needs.
• Explore potential partnerships with other regional organizations to promote
  landscape level planning and management in the park.

More Information

Visit the ecological research page for more information about active research projects.