Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program

With its unique mixture of public and private land, the Adirondack Park in northern New York State has strong voices supporting both conservation and community interests.  WCS involvement emerged in 1994 with the goal of bringing stakeholders together to advance the mutual interests of communities and conservation.

The Human Aspect
The Adirondack Park has approximately 130,000 year-round residents, and millions of seasonal and short-term visitors.  Both the park's designation in 1892 and recent development restrictions have protected the ecological resources of the area.  However, the human population has often been left feeling like a secondary concern in the eyes of economic developers and public policy-makers.  Strong ecological protection efforts have not always been matched by attention to community needs, creating tension between conservation and community interests and necessitating an effort to create common ground between these groups.

Threats
The park faces increasing rates of residential development and recreational use, while the loss of traditional industries threatens the economic viability of many communities. These changes have exacerbated tensions between preservationists and local residents.  Large-scale threats, such as acid rain and global climate change, also severely threaten the Adirondack ecosystem and local way of life.

WCS Activities

The Adirondack Communities and Conservation Program (ACCP) works to promote both healthy communities and wildlife conservation in the Adirondacks through an information-based and cooperative approach to research, community involvement, and outreach.  Our multi-faceted projects include:  

• helping communities better understand their relationship with the park through community exchanges, community planning, and Adirondack community information centers
• the Adirondack Atlas, a compilation of geographic information on a broad range of topics
• publications to inform a variety of discussions
• wildlife research, primarily through the Adirondack Living Landscapes Program and the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program
• education and outreach to abate negative human-wildlife encounters through the Black Bear Education, Awareness and Research Program 

Through its efforts, the ACCP strives to help people make informed decisions about conservation issues.

Important Next Steps

• Continue strengthening partnerships with stakeholders to advance the mutual interests of both communities and conservation.
• Continue our efforts to enable human communities in the park to better understand the links between their own well-being and the well-being of the natural environment.
• Through the BBEAR program, collaborate with partners to develop a network of bear smart communities within the Park.
• Expand research activities within our Living Landscapes Program to provide information about wildlife conservation.  
• Communicate research findings with community members, local government, and state agencies to help them make local and regional decisions based on science.
• Collaborate with partners in the northern forest to address regional threats.

Learn More

More about ACCP's Community Projects

Community Projects
Research and Publications
Contact ACCP
News & Events

Other regional Adirondack projects & activities

Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program
Black Bear Education, Awareness and Research (BBEAR) Project
The Adirondack Atlas