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LAKE PLACID NY—Thank you, Rocci and Sarah. I am thrilled to stand here, in the heart of the Adirondack Park, to accept the Conservationist of the Year award on behalf of the staff and board of Northeast Wilderness Trust. The entire team is immensely grateful for this honor, and for your—the Adirondack Council’s—commitment to and defense of the wilderness idea and forever-wild conservation.
The Adirondack Park is nothing less than a roadmap to an ecologically sound future in the modern context. Article 14, the “Forever-Wild clause” enshrined in the New York State Constitution a full 70 years before the Wilderness Act of 1964 was passed, remains one of the most important conservation laws in existence. The Park’s creation, and the commitment of New York’s prescient lawmakers over a century ago, to what at first was for watershed protection but which has since evolved toward a forever-wild ethic and ideal, was a groundbreaking moment in the history of rewilding. It also commenced a grand experiment testing and refining our ability to share the Earth with the whole community of life.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of stalwarts like the Council, that experiment has so far been a resounding success. It ought to be replicated the world over.
But search the constitutions of all the states in the Northeast and you will find no equivalent. Northeast Wilderness Trust exists to close this gap.
The Wilderness Trust’s founders’ chief inspiration just over two decades ago was right here; it was the Adirondack Park and the principle that underpins it: trust in wild, untrammeled nature. This ecocentric worldview drives every decision we make, animating every dimension of our work.
Given the Park’s primacy in the Wilderness Trust’s history, it is fitting that our very first conservation project was here. We established our first conservation easement in the Park’s Split Rock Wildway in partnership with one of the Park’s great rewilding advocates, my friend, and Adirondack Council staff member, John Davis.
Since then, the Wilderness Trust has protected over 10,000 acres of forever-wild land in and around the Adirondack Park. These privately protected holdings include a thousand-acre inholding in the Five Ponds Wilderness, the 2,400-acre Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve, additional parcels in the Split Rock Wildway, and most recently, 1,700 acres in Moriah and 1,400 acres in Russell.
Prior to their protection, these places endured decades of extractive use. But acquisition by the Wilderness Trust started a new chapter of rest, recovery, and healing for these forests, streams, wetlands, meadows, and the myriad wild creatures who call these places home. This trajectory mirrors that of the Adirondacks at large: a story of healing land, of the scars of an exploited industrial landscape fading and ecological health blooming in their place by the simple act of showing restraint and humility—trusting nature to recover. To be wild, forever.
But alongside our shared successes, we must remain attuned to the challenges we face. It is a perilous moment for wilderness and, by extension, for wilderness advocates. A long list of interests seeks to reverse the wild progress that the Park represents. Our response must be untiring dedication to the cause of expanding wilderness conservation as well as its relevance to diverse audiences. We must also remain vigilant in our defense of those places already protected. I urge you, everyone here today, to remain steadfast in your historic commitment to the Adirondack Forest Preserve—and to the hopeful expansion of wilderness in the Park and even outside its boundaries. In the face of rapid climate change, our wild relatives need room to roam.
We at the Wilderness Trust feel this imperative too. Our acceptance of this award reminds us not only of our responsibility to the wild, but also of the opportunity to demonstrate that wilderness works. It is a powerful remedy to the twin crises of climate chaos and extinction, as well as the related decline of human well-being. Wild landscapes store vast amounts of carbon, helping to mitigate the worsening effects of climate chaos. Wildlands harbor and support a wealth of species, helping to counteract biodiversity declines. And, as the pandemic laid bare, they provide people with desperately needed solace and spiritual rejuvenation.
For these reasons and more, wilderness needs to be generously expanded, not just defended, if humans are to thrive on this planet into the future. We at the Wilderness Trust are inspired by the devotion of dependable partners like the Adirondack Council, with whom we work to forge a wilder, healthier world.
In closing, I wish to again express our sincere gratitude to Adirondack Council for this tremendous honor. Your recognition fuels our passion and commitment to wilderness protection, rewilding, and forever-wild conservation in the Northeast. Thank you for this award, and for your unyielding service to wilderness in the Adirondacks. Your efforts enrich our lives and inspire not only us at the Wilderness Trust, but people across the United States and the world.
Photography by the Adirondack Council, Nicie Panetta, and Janelle Jones.
From Left to Right: Adirondack Council (AC) Rewilding Advocate John Davis, AC Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre (AC), NEWT Board Member Emily Bateson, NEWT Conservation Director Bob Linck, NEWT President and CEO Jon Leibowitz, NEWT Board Chair Brian Tijan, NEWT New York Land Steward Janelle Jones, NEWT Vice President of Advancement Nicie Panetta, NEWT Senior Fellow Tom Butler, and AC Board Chair Sarah Hatfield.
