The 36,000-acre Whitney Park has been at the top of New York’s land protection list for decades.

Send a letter or an email today to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her to protect Whitney Park by buying these lands for the Forest Preserve or conserving them through a conservation easement. 

The 36,000-acre Whitney Park in Long Lake is up for sale. Following the untimely death of its owner this past summer, this historic tract in the heart of the Adirondack Park will be sold by his heirs and a Trust seeking to sell these lands in the months ahead. Protect the Adirondacks is urging Governor Kathy Hochul and the Department of Environmental Conservation to negotiate purchase of Whitney Park for the Forest Preserve, or as a conservation easement, or a combination of the two. It’s vital to the future of the Adirondack Park that Whitney Park is protected in perpetuity.

Read a group letter from PROTECT and seven other conservation groups calling on Governor Hochul to protect Whitney Park.

Whitney Park has been a high priority property listed in the New York’s “Open Space Conservation Plan” for decades. The latest version of this Plan described the tract as “a 36,000 acre property in Hamilton County that has been devoted to forest and wildlife management for over 100 years and contains enormous outdoor recreational potential.” Whitney Park’s interconnected waterways are not only part of a historic 19th century canoe route, they also provide great ecological connectivity through the central Adirondack Park. Whitney Park includes 22 lakes and ponds, over 100 miles of undeveloped shoreline, and is lightly developed with continuous high forest canopy.

 

In 1997, Governor Pataki purchased Little Tupper Lake and created the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area. Whitney Park has 22 beautiful lakes and ponds including Moose Pond (top right), Big Salmon Lake (bottom right), and parts of Forked Lake and all of Little Forked Lake (bottom left).

The 3-million-acre Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills is one of the great success stories in New York State. It has been built through a multi-generational, bipartisan conservation tradition from 1885 through today. Whitney Park has been eyed by generations of Adirondack conservationists and State officials as a cornerstone of a protected Adirondack Park, a missing link for historic public canoe routes that ran north-south and east-west through the property, and as a vital missing piece for the public Forest Preserve.

In 1998, Governor George Pataki purchased the northern portion of Whitney Park, 15,000 acres around Little Tupper Lake, from Mary Lou Whitney. These lands were combined with Forest Preserve lands around Lake Lila to form the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, which has grown to be one of the most popular Wilderness areas in the Adirondacks that provides timeless and wild outdoor experiences. It’s impossible today to imagine an Adirondack Park without public lands and waterways like Lake Lila and Little Tupper Lake.

Click here to read a letter from the Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve, Adirondack Wilderness Advocates, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, New York League of Conservation Voters, Protect the Adirondacks! and Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter.

Governor Hochul Must Protect the 36,000-Acre Whitney Park

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and challenge that the State of New York that Governor Hochul must meet head-on. Protection of Whitney Park would be a great accomplishment for her administration and, like critical lands purchases made by previous Governors, would stand the test of time for its immense public benefits, including boosting the Adirondack and North Country economy, quality of life, public recreation, clean air and water, GHG mitigation, and climate action.

Please send letters or emails to Governor Hochul:

The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor
Executive Chamber
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Send an email message by going to: https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form 

Leave a phone message for Governor Hochul at 518-474-8390

Talking Points for Letters and Emails to New York Governor Kathy Hochul

1. Whitney Park has been at the top of New York’s conservation protection target list for decades. 

2. Whitney Park has been eyed by generations of Adirondack conservationists and State officials as a cornerstone of a protected Adirondack Park, a missing link for historic public canoe routes that ran north-south and east-west through the property, and as a vital missing piece for the public Forest Preserve. It has 22 lakes and ponds, extensive forests, and over 100 miles of undeveloped shorelines.

3. In 1998, Governor George Pataki purchased the northern portion of Whitney Park, 15,000 acres around Little Tupper Lake, from Mary Lou Whitney. These lands were combined with Forest Preserve lands around Lake Lila to form the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, which has grown to be one of the most popular Wilderness areas in the Adirondacks. Now is the time to protect the rest of Whitney Park.

4. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and challenge that the State of New York must meet head-on. Protection of Whitney Park would be a great accomplishment for the Hochul Administration and, like critical lands purchases made by previous Governors, would stand the test of time for its immense public benefits, including your goals for the Adirondack and North Country economy and quality of life.

5. Whitney Park forests would offer carbon sequestration and carbon storage benefits, thereby contributing substantially to your and the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and removal goals.

6. Successful protection of Whitney Park will contribute substantially to the Hochul Administration’s commitment to protect 30% of New York State by 2030. 

7. The 3-million-acre Forest Preserve in the Adirondacks and Catskills is one of the great success stories in New York State. It has been built through a multi-generational, bipartisan conservation tradition starting in 1885. 

8. Thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to the Adirondack Park and the Forever Wild Forest Preserve.