The loggers are changing my opinions

After reading about the existence of the logging industry in the Adirondack Park, I started to draw a parallel between the loggers and our old friend Toby Edwards. These are people that were simply trying to make a living, just like Toby. Just like I had no problem with Toby trapping in the Park, I eventually didn't have a problem with the loggers chopping away at spruce. Why not use our natural resources to bring economic growth to the region? This sentiment brings us back to the overarching question, how will we define the Park going forward? Wilderness or not?

There are so many other places in the country that had natural value, which we destroyed. We were on our way to ruining a lot of the Adirondack Park. But we didn't because we decided we wanted to work to conserve it. It is important to realize before the notion of preserving the Park came about, none of the things done were viewed as "wrong." That is a moral perspective that we have brought into the equation of the future of the Park. The moral perspective that was created over 100 years ago is that same view many of us follow today. But what if you were one of those loggers, living in those camps and existing in that setting? It is no different than living in Manhattan working at a bank. It could be argued that every place we have urbanized could have been wilderness, but they aren't because progress was made before these moral compasses led us in a new direction. The conservation direction. 

I am going to play devil's advocate and say that after reading about people that made livings in the Park, I am for people continuing to do so, because who are we to not take advantage of our resources? It is only after social pressure and moral constructs that we stray away from this original attitude.