Misguided Wanderings

Maybe due to its history being so intertwined with the Romantic Era, or maybe due to the human tendency to wax poetic about their environment, The Adirondack Park seems to inspire a great deal of literature. It seems impossible to discuss contemporary Adirondack writing without talking about Bill McKibben. A campus favorite, "Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape" is an enjoyable read about the recent happenings of the Park and where certain individuals who call the region home see their paths leading. In short, this piece serves as a window into a far quainter lifestyle than what many Hamilton students are used to.

While this creates a pleasant narrative with high entertainment value, it feels at times one-sided. Just look at an early established bit of repetition: practically every individual McKibben discusses fits the same profile. He himself describes the standard Adirondack resident as "tall, skinny, goofy, warm smile" and oftentimes having close ties to academia. These well meaning individuals also all seem to be dedicated to the development of a sustainable future in the Park. In only briefly mentioning those who see the Adirondack region as one fit for development, and in eliminating any real conversation on social ills in the region, McKibben does his home a disservice. By presenting such a limited perspective, he presents the region as one in safe, fully unified, and well intentioned hands, one that does not need saving. If there is little or no social ill in the region, why does it need saving? This alienates a large portion of the book's audience that would presumably be interested in conservation efforts in the region if they were not presented as widespread and largely successful as they are in "Wandering Home".

In presenting the Adirondack Park in such a manner, the book reads as a tourist pamphlet at points. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but feels inauthentic. My criticism of McKibben comes not from his dedication to the future of the region. In fact, I applaud his efforts to bring attention to the good occurring. Instead, I find issue with his limited view of who and what constitutes the region. Each profile he gives is of a man who came to the park with a certain degree of socioeconomic success. He seems to ignore those of lesser means, or even of different backgrounds, who still are very much residents of the park. Upon reading other works by authors with interest in the region, such as Paul Schneider's "The Adirondacks: A History of America's First Wilderness", which gives a historical understanding of the profiles of park residents, and Philip G. Terrie's "Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks" that supplies ample portraiture on the diversity in the Park, it seems to be a large oversight.

Bill McKibben is a man with high visibility in the environmentally concerned world. It is because of this position that I find his failure to adequately mention Adirondack residents outside of a few who all seem to fit the same mold concerning. In discussing the realities of the region, particularly in terms of economic diversity, an honest conversation that balances many perspectives can be started. To me, it is difficult to consider why only some residents are actively pursuing highly environmentally conscious lifestyles without first understanding the accessibility of these choices as they apply to a wider pool of residents.

While this appears to be a simple lapse in judgement, and may be an intentional choice in the name of concision, the omission of certain classes of Adirondack residents is problematic in terms of developing the environmental conservation movement into one that is accessible to those outside the realm of organic farm investors, college students, and small business owners.

Works Cited: 
McKibben, Bill 2014. Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape. St. Martin's Griffin
Schneider, Paul 1997. The Adirondacks: A History of America's First Wilderness. Henry Holt & Co. 
Terrie, Philip G. 2008. Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks. Second Edition. The Adirondack Museum/Syracuse Univ. Press