Over a century ago, a group of visionary New Yorkers made a landmark decision to preserve upstate forests, primarily as a means to protect important fresh water resources.

Now a 6-million-acre collection of publicly protected lands interspersed with privately held property, the Adirondack Park is the largest and most unique park in the lower 48 United States. It is a place where small towns with Main Streets, schools, fire departments, and businesses all exist within a rugged and "forever wild" landscape.

A Changing History

Since the park’s inception, commercial forests have always occupied much of the landscape within its boundaries. Timber and paper companies typically held onto their tracts for decades, some for more than a century. 

All of that has changed in recent years: the largest timber tracts in the Adirondacks have been sold. With each sale, much was at stake, including the park's wild character, economic underpinnings and intact forests.

The Nature Conservancy’s purchase of 161,000 acres once owned by Finch, Pruyn & Co. marks a pivotal moment in the history of the Adirondacks. When those lands—prized for their bountiful forests, beautiful streams, and dazzling lakes—became available for purchase in 2007, their ultimate fate was the source of much speculation. Many feared the spread of damaging development in the central lake and tourist region of the Adirondacks.

Stepping Into the Future

The acquisition of the Finch property by The Nature Conservancy in June 2007 represents a giant step forward for the Adirondack region — a means to protect lands of immense biological, ecological and economic importance — and the continuation of a century-old vision.

And the deal is a continuation, too, of the Conservancy's innovative work to preserve forests globally:

• We brokered a deal to purchase 218,000 acres of forestland from International Paper in 2006 — one of the largest conservation transactions in U.S. history.
• We also helped in 2006 to complete the permanent protection of 20 million acres of forest in the Great Bear Rainforest of coastal British Colombia.
• We work on forest carbon and sustainable forestry projects that help reduce deforestation and empower communities — from Indonesia to Bolivia.  

Get the Full Story

The largest conservation and financial transaction in the history of The Nature Conservancy in New York did not happen by accident.  Read on to learn about the anatomy of the deal — and how you can be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime conservation opportunity.
 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Carl Heilman II (mountains); Photo © istockphoto/Suzann Julien(moose), Photo © Bill Silliker Jr. (bobcat).