A new preservation fight?
The list of Adirondack lands protected over the past two decades is long and impressive, but one choice property coveted by conservationists remains wholly in private ownership, its future uncertain: Whitney Park.
Situated in the central Adirondacks, this 36,000-acre estate boasts more than 20 lakes and ponds, including Little Forked Lake, and has enormous environmental value and recreational potential.
“The Whitney tract is the last major tract of ecologically sensitive, biologically important and recreationally important lands in the Adirondacks,” said Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks.
The death in July of Marylou Whitney, the 93-year-old family matriarch, has brought to the fore questions about what’s next. Will the family keep the land as it is? Will it be subdivided and developed? Will it be protected by conservation easements that prohibit development but
