The Philosophers' Camp

Concord Massachusetts, despite its simple appearance, is home to some of America’s most famous authors and lovers of nature including Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I went to school in Concord and ran through the same woods near the same ponds that Emerson and Thoreau loved.  Emerson and Thoreau were transcendentalists and in accordance with transcendentalist philosophy, they believed in the redeeming power of nature.  Emerson brought this philosophy to the Adirondacks.

In 1858 Emerson established a so-called “Philosophers Camp” in the Adirondacks. The purpose of this camp was to develop a new idea about wilderness.  Nine other people went with Emerson to the camp. Along with Emerson brought with him another poet, a pair of doctors, a pair of lawyers, and a few other men.  The men constructed a small cabin and lived in it throughout the summer.

Despite their different backgrounds and views, all of the men came to appreciate nature in their own unique way. One of the members of the trip, discovered a new species of sponge. While the scientists appreciated nature in the way only a scientist could, the others also appreciated their surroundings. Through surviving in the woods, the men all developed a deep appreciate for the beauty and power of a simple life.

The Famous Philosophers’ Camp Painting by William James Stillman, 1858

Sources:

https://localwiki.org/hsl/Philosophers'_Camp

http://www.adkmuseum.org/about_us/adirondack_journal/?id=129

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/nyregion/19adirondacks.html?_r=0

Governors on snowmobiles

Governors on snowmobiles

"It has been a priority of the Cuomo administration to motorize the Adirondacks.” So says Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks. Bauer’s specific comments were in reference to the recently approved plan to clear a 22-mile-long snowmobile track in the central Adirondacks. the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) voted in favor of the land purchase, a move now under fire by conservation groups. According to Bauer this new plan will add onto the already approximately hundred miles of snowmobile track in the park this decade. Opponents of new snowmobile trails have brought a lawsuit to the New York Supreme Court, arguing that the state has violated the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System Act of 1972. According to the case that is currently sitting with the Court, if allowed to proceed, this action will, “for the first time, introduce public motorized recreational use into a narrow one-tenth-mile-wide sliver of Forest Preserve threading between lands classified as Wilderness on one side and Primitive on the other.”

The problems of such motorization on wild land, are obvious: intersecting rivers may be polluted, wildlife habitats fragmented, and human penetration of the Park will be again deepened. Where conservationists see the biggest problem however, is the precedent of such action. Because of the designated land being proposed to build on, this move represents totally unprecedented powers of the APA to increase its monetary tourist value. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration has come under fire, as he himself is sometimes seen as viewing the Adirondacks with opportunistic eyes.

 The governor has shown much interest in the Park. Through his latest budget, and even his escapades in the Park (going snowmobiling himself…). Many environmentalists however, are left wondering if his new interest is motivated by an appreciation for the survival of wilderness, or if the park represents only potential money to be made. At the end of the day the issue will never be so clear as one or the other – even as we see an increase in tourism, we must ask ourselves if preventing a flow of money into the park really is in its worst interest. While it doesn’t carry much weight, my own opinion is that the governor is a threat to the Park; Cuomo is a politician – (as we have heard so much recently from presidential candidates across the aisle) a balanced budget is the bottom line. A balanced budget sounds good, but can the Adirondacks remain “Forever Wild” AND be seen as a boon to New York’s economy? I’m not so sure.

 

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/memo-of-law.pdf

http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/State-sued-over-snowmobile-expansion-plan-for-6752113.php