The Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971 (Chapter 706) to ensure the preservation of the Adirondack wilderness area that had been designated as part of a State forest preserve in 1885, and then as the Adirondack Park in 1892. The agency was directed to cooperate with the Department of Environmental Conservation to prepare master plans for managing State land for approval by the governor and to prepare an Adirondack Park Private Land Use Plan for presentation to the legislature. The legislation gave interim power to the agency to review and approve land development within the park to prevent activities that may have an adverse effect on the park's unique natural resources.
The master plan for management of state-owned land was approved by the governor in 1972; the land use and development plan for private lands was approved by the legislature in 1973. The 1972 New York State Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers Act (Chapter 869) placed privately owned land adjacent to designated rivers in a separate regulatory program administered by the agency. In 1975 the Freshwater Wetlands Act (Chapter 614) empowered the agency to review applications for permits to conduct regulated activities (such as draining, construction, or farming) within or affecting freshwater wetlands in the park.The agency opened visitor interpretive centers at Paul Smiths in 1989 and Newcomb in 1990. The agency is governed by an eleven-member board, including the commissioners of the departments of Environmental Conservation and Economic Development, the secretary of state, and eight others appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.
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The Adirondack Park Agency is responsible for preserving and protecting the natural resources of the Adirondacks. It establishes public policy for private land use in the Adirondack Park according to the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan (for private land) and a State land master plan, developed in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Conservation. The agency reviews and issues permits for land-use projects, holds public hearings on proposed projects, assists local governments in developing land-use plans, provides financial assistance to local planning boards, and issues permits for regulated activities on freshwater wetlands or adjacent to designated wild, scenic, or recreational rivers. The agency also operates two Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers at Paul Smiths and Newcomb, New York, offering interpretive walking trails, exhibits, and audiovisual presentations.
