WHERE IT IS NOW

A deed restriction on the Whitney estate currently prevents New York State from purchasing the property for addition to the Forest Preserve. While state leaders signaled interest in acquiring most of the tract earlier this fall, any public acquisition would require the restriction to be removed or modified, or an alternative path to be negotiated. The situation remains fluid, and stakeholders are weighing conservation options that can secure durable public access and protection.

 

WHY WHITNEY MATTERS

Lands added to the Forest Preserve are protected by Article XIV (forever kept as wild forest lands), the standard for permanent conservation in New York. That status underwrites long term public access for hunting, fishing, camping, and paddling, consistent with DEC's Forest Preserve framework and the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP).

In 1997 to 1998 the state created the William C. Whitney Wilderness from former Whitney lands (Little Tupper, Rock Pond, Round Lake). That unit today facilitates angling access via shared trailheads and hand launches and designated camping, demonstrating how Wilderness designation, while non motorized, still supports high quality fishing and backcountry use.

 

HUNTING AND ANGLING ACCESS UNDER WILDERNESS

The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan, Wilderness framework, emphasizes non motorized, primitive recreation, but hunting and fishing occur throughout Adirondack Wilderness units subject to statewide game and fish regulations and unit level management plans. Access is by foot trails, hand launches, and designated campsites. The Whitney Little Tupper - Rock Pond complex shows how flat water hand launch access and camping can be planned to maintain solitude while providing practical access to fisheries.

Wilderness classification protects quiet use character with no public motorized access. Big woods hunting often features longer walk ins, lower encounter rates, and intact habitat. For anglers, paddle and portage loops and shoreline camps add multi day options. DEC notes that waters in the Whitney unit are open to fishing, with access co located at hiker and paddler points.

The constitutional Forever Wild clause prevents leasing, sale, or timber removal on Forest Preserve lands, giving hunters and anglers long term certainty that access and wild conditions will not vanish with ownership changes.

 

CONNECTIVITY: STITCHING A RESILIENT WILD CORE

Public acquisition would strengthen the central Adirondack wild core anchored by Whitney Wilderness, Round Lake, and nearby units, reducing fragmentation risk and securing riparian headwaters for cold water fisheries. These lands are also part of historic canoe routes that could be once again opened to the public if the lands are acquired by the State.

The Staying Connected Initiative (SCI) identifies Northern Appalachian and Acadian connectivity linkages where safeguarding permeability keeps wildlife and ecological processes moving across very large landscapes. The Green Mountains to Adirondacks linkage is a named SCI priority. Planning focuses on maintaining and restoring functional connections between Vermont's Greens and New York's Adirondacks, which is the kind of cross boundary resilience a conserved Whitney tract helps anchor.

SCI and partners work in the Adirondacks to Tug Hill planning area, and the adjacent Algonquin to Adirondacks corridor, both treat the Adirondack Park as a core that must remain permeable at its edges to sustain wide ranging species and climate adaptation. A Forest Preserve addition at Whitney shores up that core where it counts.

 

OUR POSITION

NY BHA supports adding Whitney Park to the Forest Preserve or conservation easements in keeping with our mission to increase access and opportunity on wild public lands and waters generally. If Whitney Park is added to the Forest Preserve and ultimately classified (likely Wilderness or a mix with Wild Forest corridors), hunters and anglers can expect increased opportunity for access to these wild lands and waters. For State acquisition or the conservation easement option, NY BHA will push for development of management plans that would include:

• Foot/hand-launch access to lakes and ponds
• Hunting and Fishing access
• Paddling/portage loops linking waters akin to Little Tupper/Rock Pond circuits
• Backcountry camping at designated sites (Actual uses depend on APA/DEC unit management plans post-acquisition.)

 

SOURCES

1) Reporting on deed restriction affecting potential state purchase of Whitney estate (Oct to Nov 2025).

2) Adirondack Daily Enterprise or Adirondack Explorer - State seeks to buy majority of Whitney estate (Oct 14, 2025).

3) New York Constitution, Article XIV Section 1 - Forest preserve to be forever kept as wild forest lands.

4) NYSDEC - New York's Forest Preserve overview of Article XIV protection and values.

5) Adirondack Park Agency - Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (APSLMP) - Wilderness framework.

6) NYSDEC - William C. Whitney Wilderness and Round Lake Wilderness unit pages, access and fishing information.

7) Staying Connected Initiative - Development of Spatial Priorities for Habitat Connectivity in the Green Mountains to Adirondacks linkage.

8) Staying Connected Initiative - Adirondack to Tug Hill Connectivity Project, Planning Phase.

9) A2A Collaborative - Connectivity overview (Algonquin to Adirondacks).