 
Senate Resolution No. 2773
 
BY: Senator LITTLE
 
        COMMEMORATING  the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack
        State Park
 
  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  sense  of  this  Legislative  Body  that  the
continuing welfare of the citizens of this great Empire State is greatly
enriched  and reliably served by the good works and purposeful endeavors
of those municipal facilities which remain committed to the  educational
and  recreational needs of its citizens and visitors to the State of New
York; and
 
  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack State Park; and
 
  WHEREAS, Of all the natural wonders  about  which  New  Yorkers  can
boast,  the  largest and most breathtaking is the Adirondack State Park;
and
 
  WHEREAS, The boundary of the Adirondack Park, which occupies much of
northern New York, encompasses more than six million  acres,  making  it
the largest park in the continental United States, larger than Yosemite,
Yellowstone,  Glacier,  Grand Canyon and Great Smokey Mountains national
parks combined; and
 
  WHEREAS, About half of the Adirondacks  consists  of  homes,  towns,
camps,  farms,  timberlands  and  businesses  that are in private hands;
there are 120,000 permanent residents who live in  numerous  hamlets  in
the  Park;  the  rest,  an estimated three million acres, belongs to the
people of New York, and always will, thanks in part to the determination
of a man named Verplanck Colvin; and
 
  WHEREAS, In 1870, Colvin,  a  lawyer  and  naturalist  from  Albany,
challenged himself to make the first recorded ascent of Seward Mountain,
near  Lake  Placid; by the time he reached the peak, he was able to view
the damage being left by the  clear-cutting  practices  of  the  logging
industry; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Not  only  was the pristine forest being destroyed, but as
Colvin  learned  through  subsequent  explorations,  the   clear-cutting
threatened  the  viability  the  Adirondack  watershed;  this,  in turn,
threatened to disrupt the operations of the  Erie  Canal,  the  waterway
that was essential to the state's economy; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Verplanck  Colvin,  who  devoted  the  rest of his life to
mapping and preserving the region, argued for the creation  of  a  state
forest;  almost  two  decades  passed  before Governor Roswell P. Flower
established the boundaries of the Adirondack Park; and
 
  WHEREAS, On May 20, 1892, the Adirondack Park was created by the New
York State Legislature; a blue line was drawn around this massive  area,
and  now  the  Blue Line, synonymous with the park itself, encircles six
million acres of public and private land; and
 
  WHEREAS, Two years later, the  state  constitution  was  amended  to
preserve the purity of the Adirondack Park region in perpetuity; and
 
  WHEREAS, Today this remarkable achievement is visible for all to see
as  this  spectacular treasure encompasses 3,000 lakes and ponds, 30,000
miles of rivers and streams, vast forested lands and astonishing  peaks,
including Mount Marcy, the highest point in the state; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Furthermore,  there are 53 species of mammals in the Park,
including moose, bears, beavers, fox, skunks,  and  a  wide  variety  of
birds;  there  are  2,000  miles  of  hiking  trails,  10,500  miles  of
snowmobile  trails  and  ample  opportunities  for   fishing,   hunting,
trapping, boating, camping, skiing, bobsledding, and snow tubing; and
 
  WHEREAS,  In  an  effort  to  protect  and preserve Adirondack State
Park's Forest Preserve, a 20,758-acre Boreas Ponds Tract  was  added  in
2016,  the  final  transaction  which  completed the single largest land
acquisition to the Adirondack Forest Preserve in more  than  a  century;
and
 
  WHEREAS,   Throughout  the  seasons,  Adirondack  State  Park  is  a
destination much appreciated by the residents of northern New  York  and
visitors  who  seek the historical, cultural, and recreational resources
of the area; it is a source of pride and community heritage to  all  the
people of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
 
  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack State Park;  and  be  it
further
 
  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Basil Seggos, Commissioner, New York State Department  of
Environmental Conservation.
Commemorating the 125th Anniversary of Adirondack State Park

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