"A Tourist Defends Her Adirondacks"

Earlier this week, an Adirondack Almanack article about the NYCO debate appeared in my email updates email newsfeed. It was entitled, "Don't Mine the Lichen: A Tourist Defends Her Adirondacks." Though the article is not a very comprehensive look at the debate, I thought that the article and comments highlighted some of the tensions we have recently discussed in class.

Mainly, it displayed enduring conflict between local and tourist interests. Really, the title of the article says it all. It unintentionally reveals the sense of entitlement that this tourist feels with regards to “her” Adirondacks. Though I don’t necessary disagree with the argument that the NYCO land trade sets a dangerous precedent (even though this might not really set the precedent, since Article VII of the constitution is riddled with such compromises), fails to defend her stance with evidence and logical arguments.

Instead, she relies on sentimentalism and disregards local interests. She even complains, “Life has taken me 3,000 miles away from my New York roots, to London, England, but my heart is still hiking through those forests and marveling at the lichen, trees, butterflies, beavers and flowers of the Adirondacks. When my family and I venture back to the region we spend money on recreation. We come for the wilderness, we buy the ice cream, we get no say.” Then she acknowledges that “Some residents of the area depend on the existing mine for their livelihoods,” but quickly states that “none of the residents of the area are dependent on mining the adjacent Wilderness.”

Persisting animosity towards tourists and perhaps the Park itself is evident in the comments. One commenter replied, “You live in London? Wow. That’sone of the nicest most expensive cities in the world. Nice that you have such pleasant childhood memories of Lewis New York where there are several mines, our county land fill, department of public works and our new prison. Come back soon. We can show you the old missile silo and there is a great view of the old Plattsburgh Air Force Base… In its day it was the largest slab of concrete in the world and is very impressive from Jay Mountain.” Clearly, this man rejects Devaney’s authority because she is a tourist and is unconcerned about the locals of the Park.