The Evolving Relationship of Man and Nature in the Adirondacks

The relationship between man and nature is not constant and is always in flux. I saw this changing dynamic especially exemplified in the Adirondacks. Although white settlers only arrived in large numbers less than 500 years ago, the public opinion on the park has changed drastically during this time. I found it interesting that in each century people viewed the Adirondack differently than the last and that how we, as a society, view the wilderness is subject to change. This change gives me hope for both the future of the Adirondacks and the health of our planet as well. In many ways, I saw what happened in the Adirondacks as a model for the rest of America to follow, to bring us, once more, in touch with nature.


Paul Schneider notes how peoples views have changed in his book The Adirondacks: A History of America's First Wilderness. He writes that during its early history, the Adirondacks were mostly ignored by white settlers in colonial times because lands were more fertile in the surrounding lowlands. Even the Indians left the Adirondacks mostly devoid of people and although they trapped in the area they lived mostly in the valleys rather than the mountains. Later with the expansion of the fur trade, trappers began to move into the region and saw potential to exploit its richness of pelts. As speculation began in the area after the Revolutionary war, people bought large tracts of land in the park from the state of New York and people began to settle in the area. Following the early settlement came a period of larger scale exploitation of the Adirondack's natural resources, which were seen as virtually limitless. However, they weren't and the environmental impact became very visible in certain areas as loggers, miners and settlers cut down virgin forest and set up the machines of industry.


Today, the Adirondacks are still exploited for their natural resources. People still live, mine and log in the park; however, the opinion of the park has changed and many of the areas where human impact were present are starting to revert back to wilderness. People see the park in two ways now, both as a resource to be exploited and as something that is valuable to preserve. This duality reflects a fundamental shift in the way man relates to nature and offers a hopeful solution to follow in the future.


Works Cited:
Scheider, Paul. The Adirondacks: A History of America's First Wilderness. New York: H. Holt, 1998. Print.