To the editor:

Dewey Mountain Recreation Center was founded in 1980 by the town of Harrietstown, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and many dedicated volunteers, all inspired by Lake Placid’s Winter Olympic Games.

For the past 37 years, Dewey’s trails have crossed a 13-acre parcel of private land under a cooperative agreement with the owning family. Upon the death of a family member in 2016, the land was offered for sale to Dewey Mountain. Also last year, the town of Harrietstown acted with foresight to acquire adjacent tax-auction lands to expand novice trails at Dewey, so it was not in a position to allocate funds for this central parcel.

We are grateful to the private individuals and foundations who responded generously to the opportunity to secure Dewey’s last private parcel: Cloudsplitter Foundation, Tom and Betty Boothe, the Knox Family Foundation, Fields Pond Foundation, Barrie A. and Deedee Wigmore Foundation, Mary and Mark Wilson, Dorothy and Jay Federman, Jennie and Jim Sausville, Sunita and Steve Halasz, and Lisa and Ed Weibrecht (Mirror Lake Inn Charitable Fund at Adirondack Foundation).

We are also grateful to town councilors and staff — especially town attorney James Maher for his efforts to close the purchase smoothly — to Adirondack Land Trust staff for technical assistance, and to Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation for its support and partnership. Because of this private-public effort, all of Dewey’s community trails will be protected for future generations as dedicated town parkland.

It is gratifying to Dewey Mountain Friends and Saranac Lake Rotary Foundation to see all of the ways the community supports affordable, healthy, in-town recreation, evident in how Dewey’s winter and summer youth programs have grown. Thank you, all, for supporting Dewey Mountain in so many ways.

Christopher Morris and Scott Stoddard

Co-Chairmen

Dewey Mountain Friends

Saranac Lake