A friend recently brought up the idea of charging admission to the Adirondack Park, as other state and national parks do to help cover costs. This idea isn’t new.

However, one practical difficulty of charging visitors an entry fee is the unusual nature of the Adirondack Park. The size of the Park (one-fifth of New York state), the mixture of public and private land, and the 30 or so entry points around the Park’s boundary, all work against the idea. The cost of administering a fee system would likely be prohibitive, even if pay stations were limited to a dozen main access points.

There’s also the argument that New York state residents are already helping to pay for the Adirondack Park through their taxes, so they shouldn’t have to pay additionally to enter the Park. New York State already makes “payments in lieu of taxes” to local governments on the 45 percent of the Park that is public Forest Preserve.

Economically disadvantaged?

My friend wondered about extending tax reductions and other benefits to residents in exchange for “the social, economic and cultural disadvantages of living in the Park.” This echoes a long-standing complaint from local officials — i.e., we live in a region where nearly half the land is undevelopable Forest Preserve and the rest, which is privately owned, is subject to extraordinary development restraints. All of which imposes an unusual burden on Park residents.

Yet time has shown that the park-wide development restrictions, which were fiercely resisted at the beginning, aren’t really that onerous. There is still plenty of room for growth in the Park under the APA Act, as evidenced by the considerable amount of development since the law was enacted in 1973. If anything, it would seem that living in this kind of protected area, with its abundant lakes, forests and mountains, is more of an economic benefit than a liability. Studies have shown that other rural areas in the northern United States, including those near and adjacent to the Adirondack Park, tend to be worse off economically than we are.

Superb opportunities

The Adirondack economy is increasingly based on a range of superb recreational opportunities. An estimated 10 million visitors come here each year, and that number appears to be growing. In the years ahead, with more opportunities to earn a living through internet connections with the outside world, more young people will gravitate to the Adirondacks. It makes sense–this is a beautiful, uncrowded place to live, work, and raise a family. More people will also purchase seasonal homes here, another benefit to the local economy.

Global warming is an impending global disaster, but it is also a trend that should be of economic benefit to the Adirondacks. When things get uncomfortably hot and miserable to the south of us, more people will want to live and vacation here. Of course, the Adirondacks is heating up too, but relatively speaking we will be better off than most other places.

There’s no question that we have our problems, not the least of which is declining school enrollment throughout the region. But that same problem afflicts most rural areas and has nothing to do with living in a park. In the years ahead, school enrollment will likely pick up as the Adirondacks becomes an increasingly desirable place to live.

Adirondack Rail Trail

Here’s one of many developments that auger well for the future. In 2010, the Adirondack Explorer magazine ran commentaries by Tony Goodwin and Jim McCulley about the need to convert the little-used railroad line connecting Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake into a year-round recreational trail. The Explorer also ran an editorial (“World-class rail-trail envisioned”) that triggered a flood of letters to the editor. Next came the creation of a nonprofit group, Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, which promoted the idea with local and state officials.

The rail-to-trail conversion is scheduled to begin next spring. A study by the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy indicates that this 34-mile “Adirondack Rail Trail” has the potential to become a major tourist destination, attracting many thousands of bicycle riders annually to the Adirondacks. The rail-trail should benefit the local economy, as rail trails have done elsewhere. Equally important, it will add to the quality-of-life for local residents–and provide yet one more reason why the Adirondack Park is an appealing place to live and visit.

“It’s where I live”

When I arrived here in 1972 to join the staff of the fledgling Adirondack Park Agency, I saw bumper stickers that proclaimed, “It’s not a park. It’s where I live.” Another bumper sticker declared: “The APA–another name for tyranny.”

Back then, few local residents embraced the idea of an Adirondack Park. Fewer even called it that, though the name had existed since 1892. Now most folks here acknowledge with some pride that they live in the Adirondack Park. That’s real progress, though admittedly we still have a way to go to achieve a measure of prosperity, while at the same time ensuring lasting protection for the natural blessings that make the Adirondack Park unique.

This balancing act has worked pretty well so far. If we continue to preserve and nurture what we have, and if we work hard to encourage the right kind of development in the right places, the Park’s future looks brighter than ever.

Dick Beamish is a resident of Saranac Lake, founder of the Adirondack Explorer newsmagazine, and a board member of Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates.