CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF PROTECTING SPECIAL PLACES
update Spring 2019
Cobble Hill, Lake Placid. © Evan Williams, PureADK.com
O
ur adventure—a conservation organization focused on protecting farms, forests, vistas and other lands and waters important to the Adirondack region—began 35 years ago, on May 3, 1984, when the Adirondack Land Trust filed its certificate of incorporation. Our founders saw a need for a private land-saving group focused on places that make the Adirondack Park function not just as an intact ecosystem but as a landscape that supports healthy communities. Many individuals deserve credit for establishing the Adirondack Land Trust (ALT), chief among them George Davis, a forester and planner who was also instrumental in creating the Adirondack Park Agency. Davis was then program director of the Adirondack Council, and Frances Beinecke (a current ALT director) was its board chair. The Adirondack Council conceived the land trust as an on-the-ground resource for communities and landowners. ALT’s original board included other visionaries who are still working for a better Adirondacks today: Tim Barnett, Jim Dawson, Kim Elliman, John Ernst and Sally Johnson. The late Clarence Petty (1905-2009) was also a founding board member. Many others—far too
many to name here—supported the launch with financing, advice and partnership. George Davis was the first staffer, part time. Tom Duffus became associate director, ALT’s first full-time employee, in 1986. Today, 24,194 protected acres later, ALT is an independent, fiscally strong organization with eight staff, many valued contractors and volunteers, and 19 board members. It is time to celebrate what our supporters have made possible. In February this year, the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced that ALT has been awarded accreditation, a distinction signifying that we meet the highest national standards for conservation and nonprofit management. Inside, you’ll find a chronology of ALT projects plus news about recent accomplishments. We are grateful to everyone who has played a part in lasting land protection, and we are excited to work with a new generation of conservation heroes. Long-term, sustained effort at Adirondack scale is possible only with strong communities and committed supporters. It has truly been a team effort —a team we are beyond proud to be a part of. spring 2019