Protect the Adirondacks manages a dynamic set of programs designed to enhance protections for the natural resources and rural communities of the Adirondack Park.
Protect the Adirondacks manages a number of programs designed to defend and expand protections for the public Forest Preserve, great open spaces, and rural communities of the Adirondack Park. This robust set of programs combine independent public oversight of state agencies, advocacy, scientific research, policy research, and litigation to defend the public Forest Preserve and natural resources of the Adirondack Park.
Independent Public Oversight
Protect the Adirondacks is a key watchdog for the environmental protection of the Adirondack Park and we work day-in and day-out to hold accountable those who are entrusted with the protection and stewardship of the public Forest Preserve and administration of New York’s environmental laws. Click here for more information about our Independent Public Oversight work.
Defending Forever Wild
The defense and protection of the 2.6-million-acre public Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park is at the heart of the work of Protect the Adirondacks. Click here for more information about our work to defend the “forever wild” Forest Preserve.
Advocacy
Protect the Adirondacks advocates for stronger environmental protections for the Adirondack Park. Protect the Adirondacks is currently involved in a number of advocacy efforts to change public policy and reform management of the Forest Preserve and Adirondack Park and pass legislation to strengthen New York’s environmental laws. Protect the Adirondacks sees advocacy campaigns as a way to educate the public, Adirondack and state leaders, and key policymakers about major problems facing the Adirondack Park and their possible solutions. Successful advocacy efforts not only raise public awareness about the extraordinary natural resources of the Adirondacks and frame these problems or challenges, but provide workable solutions and point the way forward. Click here for more information on our work advocacy work
Water Quality Protection
The protection of water quality is one of the top priorities of Protect the Adirondacks. Protect the Adirondacks is deeply engaged in water quality advocacy to strengthen existing laws and regulations to provide greater protections for one of the most important resources in the Adirondack Park — clean water. Click here for more information to protect water quality in the Adirondack Park.
Research
Protect the Adirondacks believes that successful grassroots advocacy is based on a foundation of excellent research and policy analysis. Protect the Adirondacks has long led the way on research in the Adirondacks. Click here for more information about our ambitious research agenda.
Adirondack Lake Assessment Program
Now entering its 22nd year, the Adirondack Lake Assessment Project (ALAP), is the largest, most professional, volunteer-driven water quality monitoring program in the Adirondack Park. ALAP is a partnership between Protect the Adirondacks and Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute, volunteers, and lake associations. ALAP was established to help develop a comprehensive and up-to-date database of water quality conditions in the Adirondack Park. Click here for more information about ALAP.
Climate Change
The changing climate of our planet imperils nearly every facet of modern life. Changes are evident across the Adirondacks in the populations, behaviors and patterns of wildlife and changes to the flora of the Adirondacks. Protect the Adirondacks supports state and federal action to confront the major impacts of climate change and build a fossil free economy and way of life. Click here for more information.
Cougar Watch
Cougar Watch is a project to record public sightings of cougars (Puma concolor) in and around the Adirondack Park. There are regular reports of cougar sightings throughout the Adirondacks, but there has not been a publicly available repository to record these sightings. Click here for more information on Cougar Watch or to report a cougar sighting.
Adirondack Research Library
The Adirondack Research Library maintains the largest collection of Adirondack informational materials outside of the Park boundaries. It has maps, periodicals, technical reports, photos, slides, video and audio tapes, and archival materials from prominent Adirondack conservationists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Adirondack Research Library is a partnership between Protect the Adirondacks and the Kelly Adirondack Center at Union College.
For more information on the collections, hours, directions, and a list of activities at the Adirondack Research Library click here.