Forever Wild... or Temporarily Different?

After reading Bill McKibben’s Wandering Home, there was one quote that, for me, embodied the importance of studying the Adirondacks.  McKibben states, “’Forever wild,’ as the New York constitution puts it, even if ‘wild’ means a little less than it used to, and if ‘forever’ seems somewhat shorter” (McKibben, 104).  The term “forever wild,” both a commonly used term in Adirondack readings, and the namesake for this blog, comes from Article 14 of the New York State Constitution, which states, “The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.”

McKibben’s aforementioned statement alludes to a struggle that both he and many other Adirondack authors have attempted to answer, which made me begin to wonder: what exactly does it mean to be “forever wild”?  Can it have the same meaning since it was enacted 120 years ago?  As both McKibben and many of the other authors have explained, and I have come to realize, this question is anything but simple.  Jerry Jenkins, author of The Adirondack Atlas provides an insight into one of the major complexities regarding this question.  Jenkins states, “...the park now has three constituencies - those who see it as a home, as a playground, and as a wilderness - and each has a vision of the future that to some extent threatens and excludes the others” (Jenkins, 2).  Jenkins’ example addresses McKibben’s question of how long this ambiguous “forever” will last, as proclaimed by the New York State Constitution.

Even though Jenkins and McKibben suggest, through these two quotes, a more pessimistic opinion on what “forever” might mean, there is no real clarity for what it means to be “wild.”  However, I think that this ambiguity is fitting, not only for the law, but also for students, visitors, and residents of the Adirondack Park.  On my Pre-Orientation trip in the Adirondacks, I went canoeing on the St. Regis Lake.  This trip was my first time to the Adirondacks.  On our first day of paddling, it dawned on me that there was something intrinsically different about this place.  I cannot specify exactly what this “difference” is, as I was only there for four days, though even in that time, I was able to identify the uniqueness of the park, which McKibben along with so many others to write, revisit, and love this special park.

I am excited to delve deeper into these concepts throughout this semester, and hope that by the end of the semester, I will have formulated my own opinion of what it means to be “forever wild,” and to identify what exactly is so enchanting about this park.

Sources:

New York State Constitution Article 14: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/55849.html

McKibben, Bill. Wandering Home: A Long Walk across America's Most Hopeful Landscape. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2014. 104. Print.

Jenkins, Jerry, and Andy Keal. The Adirondack Atlas: A Geographic Portrait of the Adirondack Park. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse UP, 2004. 2. Print.