234 



miles of land essential to fulfilling the requirements of a suitable reservation or 

 park, and the probable cost thereof, and to report also in regard to the other 

 subjects referred to in said message of the Governor." 



The concurrent resolution reported by the committee was passed by the 

 Senate, March 5th, 1890, and by the Assembly, April 4th, 1890. 



The commission of State Parks made a report in 1873, from which the following 

 is an extract, " It has b^en shown that the forests protect and preserve the springs 

 and streams among them ; and when we find individuals managing their 

 property in a reckless and selfish manner, without regard to the vested rights of 

 others, it becomes the duty of the State to interfere and to provide a remedy. 

 Here, by ruthless destruction of the forest, thoughtless men are depriving the 

 country of a water supply which has belonged to it from time immemorial and 

 the public interests demand legislative protection. The canal interests of the 

 State are very great, and are already suffering from this wrong. The water- 

 supply of the Champlain canal is entirely obtained from the streams of this 

 wilderness, and the Erie canal, from Rome to Albany, is almost entirely supplied 

 from the same watershed. In the Hudson, near Troy and Albany, navigation at 

 midsummer has become very difficult. The mill owners at Glen's Falls and at 

 other points find that their water supply is failing ; and the farming lands 

 throughout the State suffer from storms and droughts of increasing severity. It 

 is of no consequence, that, through ignorance of the natural law governing rain 

 and rivers, men have hitherto permitted without protest, the injustice which they 

 felt but the cause of which they did not understand. The State must apply the 

 remedy, and to protect their interests preserve the forest. The great Adirondack 

 forest has a powerful influence on the general climatology of the State ; upon 

 the rainfall, winds and temperature, moderating storms, and equalizing through- 

 out the year the amount of moisture carried by the atmosphere, controlling and 

 in a measure subduing the powerful northerly winds, modifying their coldness and 

 equalizing the temperature of the whole State." 



The commissioners say, in concluding their report : 



" There is no need for any expenditures save possibly in the improvement of 

 a few of the principal roads leading to the settlements. The forest is in itself a 

 natural park, and it would be improper to think of enclosing and fencing it for 

 it should be a common unto the people of the State. The question before your 

 Commission is one of great importance to the State, and requires their further 

 consideration. For the present we deem it advisable and recommend that the 

 wild lands now owned and held by the State be retained until that question be 

 decided." 



Under the resolution passed by the Legislature of 1890, the forest commission 

 found itself confronted by four main topics for its examination and decision. 



First Is the establishment of a State park in the Adirondack wilderness 

 feasible ? 



Second If it be, what shall be the area of the park ? 



Third What lands shall be embraced within the park ? 



Fourth How shall the lands that ought to be included within the park,, 

 and not owned by the State, be acquired ? 



A survey of the actual condition of affairs showed that the region popularly 

 known as the Adirondacks is diversely estimated at widely different areas. 

 Taking the most reliable data, the gross area of the Adirondack wilderness 



O ' ?5 



proper is shown now to be about 5,600 square miles, or 3,600,000 acres This 

 includes the area of water (lakes, ponds and rivers), overflowed lands, clearings, 

 farms and some villages, or settlements. This area is by no means a compact 

 tract, but lies in widely separated parcels, varying in extent from one-quarter of 



