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Adirondacks
"From its geologic origins to its contentious conservation history, the Adirondack Park has occupied a distinctive place among the world's great natural areas."
-Bill Weber, Former Director, WCS North America Program
From the Preface, The Adirondack Atlas
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Click here for a larger map of the Adirondack State Park. |
The Adirondack Park, located in northern New York State, is the largest protected area in the continental US. At six million acres, it is larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined. Known for its mountains, lakes, and rivers, the region is home to many northeastern wildlife species, and a variety of rare habitat types. New York created the Adirondack State Park in 1892, and the park's public land is protected under the state constitution, to be "forever kept as wild forest land."
Today, the park is characterized by an uncommon mosaic of public and private lands. Just over half of the land in the park is privately owned, and the area has more than 130,000 full-time residents. This land use structure makes the Adirondack Park one of the country's oldest experiments in conservation.
In the mid 1990's, WCS established the Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program in response to a need for an information-based, cooperative approach to research, community involvement, and outreach. The Adirondack program has since evolved to encompass several interrelated projects that work to promote healthy human communities and conservation in the Park, with a guiding philosophy that these are compatible goals.
Regional projects
 Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program
The Adirondack Communities & Conservation Program strengthens ties between communities, brings together stakeholders, and provides biological and socioeconomic information to establish common ground between conservation and community development interests.
Adirondack Living Landscapes Program
The Adirondack Living Landscape Program is implementing WCS's Living Landscapes Approach to conservation planning in the Adirondacks, modelling and mapping the habitat needs of a complementary suite of wildlife species and identifying relationships with human land use patterns.
 Adirondack Loon Conservation Program
The Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program is a collaborative research and outreach effort focusing on the natural history of the common loon (Gavia immer), and the effects of contaminants and human interactions on loon populations in the Adirondack Park. ACLP seeks to minimize anthropogenic impacts on loon populations and their habitats by increasing public awareness about conservation issues affecting loons and aquatic ecosystems in North America.
Black Bear Education, Awareness, and Research (B-BEAR)
The B-BEAR project works to reduce conflicts between humans and black bears in backcountry and frontcountry regions of the Adirondacks.
Forest Issues
The Forest Issues project examines key threats to the health of the forest throughout the region, as well as solutions for maintaining healthy forests. Currently, a major forcus of the Forest Issues project is to examine the extent to which conservation easements protect ecological health.
The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park.
The Atlas is a comprehensive compilation of maps, charts, and graphics that create a striking visual portrait of the Adirondack region; these are reinforced by a wealth of information and concise text depicting the factors at work in the Park.
Other regional pages
News and events Upcoming and recent events, press releases, newsletters, and more - including sniffing out Adirondack moose, and the 2008 loon census.
Research and publications Summaries and links to a broad array of social and ecological resources.
Contact us
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