The Adirondack Forest Preserve, which the New York Constitution guarantees "shall be forever kept as wild forest lands," is the largest publicly owned natural area in the eastern United States. But, just what does "wilderness" mean today and how can the concept be untangled from the colonial implications of the term as it first applied to the Adirondacks? Part memoir, part New York history, and part meditation, Wild Forest Lands ponders the rhetorical and spiritual meaning of the Adirondack "wilderness." Drawing on primary sources as well as his experience as an expert witness in monumental litigation concerning the future of wilderness in the Forest Preserve, Terrie revisits the literature and history of the region, reckoning with how his passion for nature has changed over the years. Rich with detail, Wild Forest Lands grapples with the enduring power of the Adirondacks and the importance of preserving New York's wilderness.
Philip G. Terrie is a professor emeritus in American culture and environmental studies at Bowling Green State University. He is the author of Forever Wild: A Cultural History of Wilderness in the Adirondacks and Contested Terrain: A new History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks, Second Edition.
Redefining "wilderness" in the Adirondacks.
"Conversational in tone, the book invites readers to wrestle with the same contradictions Terrie has long understood 'wilderness' to represent and to join him in the important work of making meaning of this unique, as so far uniquely protected, landscape." - Kevin Sheets, author of Sources of America's History "The close reading of the debates surrounding the legal construction of the Forest Preserve and the Adirondack Park are worthy additions to the established history. The details on the Protect! court case are intrinsic to the story of the Adirondacks. (Jonathan Anzalone, author of Battles of the North Country: Wilderness Politics) Terrie's inspiring Wild Forest Lands succinctly recounts the tumultuous events that culminated in New York's 1894 'Forever Wild' constitutional amendment that is the inspiration and envy of wilderness defenders the world over. It details the relentless efforts to open the Adirondack Wilderness to renewed industrial exploitation and introduces us to many of the heroic defenders of the Adirondack's re-wilding forests. The moral of this epic story: the price of wilderness is eternal vigilance." - Jamie Sayen, author of Children of the Northern Forest: Wild New England's History from Glaciers to Global Warming
