ABSTRACT
The natural world of the Adirondack region has always been significant for economic purposes, whether for farming, logging, and transportation in the nineteenth century, or recreation and tourism in the twentieth century. This chapter outlines the significance of the Adirondack region. It describes the rationale for establishing both a New York State Forest Preserve and an Adirondack Park in the final decades of the 1800s. The chapter also describes the important reasons for enacting both a State Land Master Plan and a private Land Use and Development Plan in the 1970s. It details events surrounding the implementation of these planning activities. The chapter examines approaches for defining the Adirondack Park. It also outlines how permanent residents have perceived the Adirondack landscape differently from framers of legislative control. The chapter draws some forces of change that have affected the Adirondack Park. It documents how various organizations have responded to the changes.
