It was such a treat to have the author of one of our course's central textbooks come in and talk to us about his personal Adirondack experience. Happily, Phil Terrie was as interesting in person as his narrative persona suggests. While his bias is detectable in Contested Territory's narration, it was refreshing to hear him speak openly about his activism in the park. I had no idea how closely involved he was in the issues we'd been discussing in class, such as the Tupper Lake resort, and hearing him talk about his experience added a more personal dimension to how I'd been thinking about such topics.
Something I found particularly interesting about the presentation was Terrie's mention of the DEC (New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation). Up until that point, my experience with the DEC had been limited to the friendly rangers I'd met on trips in the Adirondacks, particularly the ranger manning the station at the end of the Raquette River portage, who had proved particularly helpful in my encounters with him. This friendly ranger is equated with the DEC in my mind, and I hadn't given the organization much thought beyond that. As such, I was surprised to learn from Terrie that the DEC has a history of pushing the envelope in the Adirondack Park, in terms of encouraging logging and expanding access. Naively, I have supposed that a department with 'conservation' in its title would be concerned primarily with that. That one of the reasons for the Adirondack Park Agency's (APA) creation was to keep the DEC in check was news to me! This is an issue I would love to talk more about. Has the DEC's stance changed since the APA's creation? Are they pushing the envelope in similar ways in other parts of the state?
Steph I'm glad you bring this up because I definitely shared in this disheartening revelation. I guess it goes to show that everyone has their own agenda and sometimes those plans are incongruent with what we might think is better for the Park in terms of environmental conservation. Terrie mentioned that these governing bodies are only as good as the people appointed to serve them and so many of the rulings reflect personal goals for the park as opposed to a "greater good" approach. At least it is reassuring that community based organizations like the Adirondack Mountain Club and Protect the Adirondacks are there to advocate for environmental conservation even when the DEC might drop the ball.
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