A Complex Patchwork

It was a pleasure to hear Phil Terrie speak about the complexity of land use in the park this past Friday. I had heard about many of these debates at a surface level but I felt it was valuable to hear him clarify the details despite a clear bias against NYCO and the Tupper Lake Resort. He was clearly very passionate about and involved in the issues he was discussing and has seen the development of the park for fifty or so years. The ongoing discussion and legal action in response to the Tupper Lake Resort was quite interesting considering the amount of support coming from the local community. Though the resort does meet density requirements, Terrie was arguing that the development will fragment backcountry forest. Terrie claimed that many people were afraid to voice their dissent due to the recent economic struggles in the area and the perspective development seems to have created a rift in the community. It took a quick search on google to find this article (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20141116/NEWS05/141118912) detailing the seven drug arrests made last thursday in Tupper Lake. Officials say that the increase in heroin and opiate trafficking in the region is apparent. The unemployment rate in Tupper (7.5%) is significantly higher than the national average (6.3%) and the same disparity exists in the median household income, which is about 39,000$. This resort, if successful, could provide the economic stimulus and jobs needed for the region to bounce back, but there is no guarantee that the plan will work effectively. It is difficult to say whether the environmental risk is worth the possibility of renewing Tupper. The development would also be about 3 miles away from the Follesby Pond tract, famous for being the local for Emerson's Philosophers' camp. The complicated patchwork and unavoidable human drama make this an unfortunately complicated and moral discussion. I am eager to see how the argument concludes and to see if a balance can be struck.