International Paper

I was particularly interested in one of the companies that had shown up in the readings, International Paper.  Schneider brought up the point that the company is pretty noteworthy for having owned the most land (besides the state) in the Adirondack park at the time of the publication.  There are around 60,000 employees currently employed for the entire operation of the company, and operate on every continent aside from Australia and Antarctica.  It's estimated they own roughly 18 million acres of forested area worldwide.  It originated as a local paper mill in Corinth, NY, and since has acquired an international perspective through merging around the Adirondacks and the New England area and then globally.

The state also make a pretty historic land purchase from the International Paper Company in 2004 for around 260,000 acres.  Estimations point to the total amount that the deal brought in for the company was around 20 to 25 million.  This was slightly controversial for several reasons.  The land in question was not in any sort of danger from the cutting habits and it could be seen as the state picking up the financial burden for the company, who would still be able to cut on the land.  Similarly, there were some large donations from the company to the funding of the politician brokering the deal.  Regardless, the deal went through.  Interestingly enough, International Paper Company has noted that the New York Branch is their highest cost state of doing business.  Rightfully so, they are placed with a significant amount of environmental restrictions when cutting in the area.

This whole company struck me as being bizarre. Seeing as how the Adirondacks has an image of isolation, to see a private industry of that magnitude that was in the park is unsettling.  After reading the land ownership quote mentioned in my first paragraph, I was expecting a sort of "United Fruit Company -1954 Guatemalan coup" vibe to International Paper's (and similar companies) stake in the land, but it isn't as black and white of a case as that.  The legal ownership an enormous amount of land by one international company in the Adirondacks is questionable, but this has to counteract the grants they give to the Adirondack residents, the employment they provide the area (on the mills they have closed, several ghost towns have appeared) and interest that is generated in the Adirondacks from this.