The Related Histories of the Adirondacks and the National Parks Service

The second half of the 1800s was an exciting and revolutionary time for environmental preservation in the United States.  As all Adirondack enthusiasts are well aware, 1894 was the year that the Adirondack Park became “Forever Wild.”  However, in the roughly thirty years leading up to the declaration of the Adirondack Park’s official wildness, the Federal Government was also realizing the importance of protecting America’s natural wonders.  Even though the Adirondack Park and the National Parks were founded separately (one locally, one nationally), their founding documents, acts, and amendments are similar in concept and language.

           

The Adirondacks Park’s founding document is the fourteenth article of the New York State Constitution, which famously begins by stating, “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” (Article 14, NYS Constitution).   These introductory words have been shortened simply to state that the Adirondacks are “Forever Wild.”

In 1864, just 30 years before Article Fourteen, the first National Park was established by the Federal Government with the Yosemite Act.  As the name implies, this Act made Yosemite into land that, “shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time” (Yosemite Act, 1864).  Following the Yosemite Act were several other acts of federal legislation, designating tracts of land as the federally protected National Parks that we know today.  However, it was one law in particular which forever changed the American concept of a park: the famed Organic Act of 1916, creating the National Parks Service (NPS).  The Organic Act states:

The service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks… which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.  (The Organic Act, 1916)  

Within the Organic Act and the Yosemite Act lies the difference between the inherent goals of the NPS and the Adirondack Park.  The Adirondacks, as a partial forest preserve, aims to be wild, while the mission of the National Parks is to serve as the single greatest living classroom and vacation destination on the planet.  I can personally attest to the success of the National Parks in achieving this goal.  The week that I spent hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon National Park with a group of my high school classmates and teachers, was truly one of the highlights of my life.

Me, in March 2013, trekking through the Grand Canyon, taking in the sights of the Colorado River

However, while learning more about the governance and structure of the Adirondacks, I struggle with which approach to park conservation is more appropriate.  “Forever Wild” vs. “forever unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”  Ecologically speaking, it would be great if all of the National Parks’ territory were considered preserve lands, however as a result of the success of ecotourism, this is an unrealistic goal.

(For those interested in learning more about the history and governance of the National Parks Service, I highly recommend watching Ken Burns' The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.)

Sources:

1.     "Article XIV of the New York State Constitution." New York's Forest Preserve. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/55849.html>.

2.     "ORGANIC ACT, 1916." America's National Park System: The Critical. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/anps/anps_1i.htm>.

3.     United States. National Park Service. "About Us/History (U.S. National Park Service)." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/history.htm>.

4.     "YOSEMITE ACT, 1864." America's National Park System: The Critical Documents. National Parks Service, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/anps/anps_1a.htm>.