During Phil Terrie's talk on Friday I was struck by the tension between the town of Tupper Lake and the environmental organizations that are suing the APA. Although I tend to side with the environmental organizations when it comes to the bigger picture, I struggled justifying myself against the town's concerns. Thinking back to our first readings about Adirondack history, the first explorers of the Adirondacks thought of the wilderness as, at worst, the home of the devil and, at best, a place to destroyed and manipulated by humans. The town of Tupper Lake's response was reminiscent of the pre-romantic view of wilderness as a place to manipulate for human gain. The romantic views of wilderness only stem from a certain amount of wealth. Owning the technology and resources to prosper elsewhere allow Adirondack conservationists to protect the land without concern for their own survival. I found it much easier to empathize with Tupper Lake citizens when I thought back to those readings that explained the pre-romantic conceptions of wilderness. Although I still support the Adirondack Club's position for "conservation design," I understand and empathize with Tupper Lake's position.
I agree that it is important to consider the economic concerns of those who inhabit the Adirondacks, even if they sometimes conflict with the environmental concerns. In his talk Phil Terrie alluded to the fact that his environmental group, Protect the Adirondacks, sympathizes with the locals, specifically those of Tupper Lake in this case. However, I have yet to see an example of a time when the economic concerns of the locals has actually changed the course of action that an environmental group had been planning to take.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Tupper Lake, though I also empathize with the town's position, I'm not sure that the resort is actually the best move. Based on our class discussion, I have gathered that the resort will probably end up raising taxes in the area, which could push the locals out of Tupper. Also, it will most likely be difficult to sell the Great Camp-like parts of the resort, as they will be extremely expensive, and lack waterfront which can be a big draw for many vacationers.