ABOUT THE MAP

The Adirondack Park Agency was established in 1971 to develop long-range land-use plans for both the public and private lands within the Adirondack Blue Line. This black-and-white print of the Adirondack River System map from 1975 names and locates the different rivers found in the Adirondack region and distinguishes the designated rivers from those that are proposed.

A key found at the bottom of the image names the different types of rivers: wild, scenic, and recreational. The main differences between these rivers are that a wild river is free of diversions, inaccessible to the general public, and free of any man-made development. A scenic river is free of diversions except for log dams; they contain limited road access and have little to no human activities in the area. Lastly, a recreational river is accessible by road, may have development in the river area, and may have undergone some diversion or impoundments in the past. By making these specific distinctions, the APA has put an emphasis on keeping the natural beauty of the Adirondacks while still acknowledging the public’s use of these rivers. The map itself has very few designated rivers in the region in comparison to the proposed rivers the APA highlighted. In the proposed river section of the map, all proposed rivers seem to be highlighted as scenic or recreational. This is because the APA wanted to appeal to the public, and with the growth of tourism in the region, the creation of these scenic and recreational rivers allows for both local inhabitants and tourists to connect and interact with the waters in the Adirondacks. -Henry Hart

 

Adirondack Park Agency
Adirondack Park Portion of the N.Y.S. Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers System, 1975
Black-and-white print on paper
Owen D. Young Library, Special Collections, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, Adirondack Collection, mss. 32.