ADK Park Demographic Study

Thought some might find this interesting.

http://www.poststar.com/news/local/a...cc4c03286.html

Interesting facts include the ADK Park has the second oldest population demographics in the country. Remove Queensbury, Saratoga County, and all the numbnuts in upstate prisons here and the median population age goes way up. Also, the study compiled a first ever land use map for all land parcels in the park. Other interesting info is in the article.

A little background info. The ADK park is unique patchwork of public and private lands. It was created due to public shock to the environmental rape of the land. Massive clear cut logging ruined landscapes and created several major problems for those downstate. Primarily the fear of losing the Hudson River as a water source for New York City.

New England experienced the same clear cut logging. Without the forest and it's very deep loom soil to retain water, rivers and streams in clear cut areas lost large amounts of water flow. The Connecticut River actually went dry one summer. This sent shock waves thru NYC residents who feared the Hudson River would be next, depriving them of a major water source. You can have the biggest, richest city in the Nation, but if you don't have drinking water you don't have squat. A mass exodus would happen within days.

Fires were another issue. Brush and treetops logging left behind would catch fire and burn for months/years. These fires were large enough to fill NYC skies with smoke for very prolonged periods. Not good.

Tourism had increased in the area due to Adirondack Murray and his book. The rich and powerful had discovered the area and were building their Great Camps, etc. to summer in. The transportation of the day required close destinations and the ADKs were within reasonable travel distance of NYC. All these people saw first hand the destruction. Something had to be done.

The people who started the ADK Park were ahead of their time. They even had the foresight to incorporate the Park's protection into the State's Constitution with the famous " forever wild " clause. This makes it extremely difficult for those who would seek to change the Park's protected status. Good job.