Grant Ferris
Grey/Bruce Outdoors

Nestled amid the Adirondack mountain range with nothing but trees, peaks, rivers and lakes to be seen in all directions, New York State’s crown jewels, the mountains and lakes surrounding Lake George, are once again under siege.Lake George area residents are fighting to protect their beautiful area from the environmental damages that come with a rapidly increasing population. 

Just 376 miles as the crow flies from Port Elgin, their climate is significantly different and the surrounding forested mountain range provides a breath taking view in all directions.

Eight of us on four motorcycles drove the 900kms June 2, to attend Americade, the world’s largest touring motorcycle rally that began nineteen years ago. Approximately 50,000 motorcycles visit a town the size of Port Elgin for a week-long event that is so well organized it could provide a lesson for military leaders.

We attended social events, fashion shows, went on boat trips and a train ride alongside the upper Hudson River, shopped at a gathering of vendors selling motorcycle accessories and took test rides on brand new motorcycles.

During all the activities and fun of riding mountain roads, I continued to observe the natural state of the area. Comparing the effects of Ontario urbanization and industrial growth to upper New York State, it wasn’t long before some similarities arose. 

Much of the Adirondack area was logged off around the turn of the century, although the mountains appear from a distance to be covered with virgin forest. What lumber wasn’t sold for building purposes was made into charcoal to provide fuel that high temperature ovens used to extract tungsten from now-abandoned mines. It’s hard to imagine such a visual paradise as a clear-cut wasteland but strict State tree preservation laws have actually turned the forest clock back a hundred years. Residents, legislators and business interests have realized that billions of dollars in tourism spending annually can be lost in exchange for a one-time sell-off of millions of dollars in forest growth.

Other threats to the natural environment have been recognized as well and committees have been formed to study threats from water-pollution, zebra mussels, Eurasian milfoil, storm-water runoff, mercury pollution and the destruction of wetlands. Like in Ontario, self-serving lobby groups continue to lust after the state’s natural resources but having been down that road, the residents are forewarned and forearmed. 

Although outsiders often think of U.S. citizens as complacent supporters of free enterprise, the country is also the home of the world’s most active and militant naturalists and conservation groups. From Trout Unlimited to the Sierra Club, there are plenty of watchdog organizations dedicated to saving the American natural heritage. 

There is a coalition called the New York Caucus of the Northern Forest Alliance made up of nine environmental groups who have put together a wish list of properties they would like the state to protect in the Adirondacks through either purchase or conservation easements. These 734,000 acres would be in addition to what is already protected from exploitation. Other groups are fighting to prevent the erection of cellular phone towers on all the peaks of the Adirondack Park, something that would detract from the natural beauty of the scenery. Already 53 have been approved and more applications have been filed. 

Another major threat in the Adirondacks is mercury pollution caused by oil-fired and coal-fired utilities to the southwest, also the primary source of acid rain. With the general movement away from nuclear plants in some parts of the world, the effect on environmental health by burning fossil fuels is a serious threat. The state Department of Health has issued mercury advisories for 15 lakes in the Adirondack Park, restricting fish consumption to no more than one meal a month or less. Loons are particularly prone to mercury pollution and studies have shown that the problem worsens from east to west with the most severe damage showing up in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia where reproduction has virtually ceased. 

Overall the holiday was both entertaining and educational with some lessons learned about conservation issues faced by our cousins. It’s reassuring to see that by working together, our natural resources can be protected and even somewhat restored to their original conditions. Although the battle to protect our environment may never end, we can perhaps protect enough of this land to pass it on to another generation.