Whitney Park

Analysis: Whitney Park Largely Unsuitable for Development

December 15, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Protect the Adirondacks recently commissioned a desktop analysis of the 36,000-acre Whitney Park’s natural resources data. “The analysis shows that this remote tract faces severe constraints for large-scale residential and golf course development,” according to Protect.

The analysis found that Whitney Park is dominated by sensitive natural features, including wetlands, streams, steep slopes, and poor soils. “These features would make any intensive residential development exceedingly difficult and highly detrimental to the property’s ecological integrity,” according to Protect. [Read more…] about Analysis: Whitney Park Largely Unsuitable for Development

NYS Governor Commits To Protecting Whitney Estate

October 14, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul has made a commitment toward the permanent protection of the ecologically rich forests and waters of the 36,000-acre Whitney Estate.

One of the largest and most important intact forest landscapes in the heart of the Adirondack Park, the Whitney Estate has been recognized as a conservation priority since the 1980s. [Read more…] about NYS Governor Commits To Protecting Whitney Estate

Paddler Protest Calls for Adding Whitney Park to the Forest Preserve

September 25, 2025 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Several dozen paddlers from Protect the Adirondacks and Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter attended a water-based protest earlier in September. The Paddle for Wilderness at Forked Lake in the central Adirondacks, on waters bordering Whitney Park, was a floating protest calling for the protection of the 36,000-acre Whitney Park that is up for sale and threatened with development.

This tract has been at the top of the State’s land protection list for 50 years. Whitney Park includes 22 lakes and ponds, and over 100 miles of undeveloped shorelines. The tract has important natural habitat and is the missing link for re-establishing historic canoe routes that traversed the property. [Read more…] about Paddler Protest Calls for Adding Whitney Park to the Forest Preserve

Paddle for Wilderness ‘Floating Protest’ Saturday September 13th

September 9, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A Paddle for Wilderness is taking place on Saturday September 13th at Forked Lake in the Central Adirondacks in Long Lake at 10 am. The Paddle for Wilderness is a floating protest calling for the protection of the 36,000-acre Whitney Park that is up for sale and threatened with development. [Read more…] about Paddle for Wilderness ‘Floating Protest’ Saturday September 13th

Goodbye Wilderness: Whitney Park To Be Developed

June 4, 2025 by David Gibson 4 Comments

Adirondack Explorer’s writer Jim Odato recently reported a pending sale of 36,000-acre Whitney Industries lands and waters in Long Lake in the Adirondack Park to a Texas developer named Shawn Todd, known for constructing “high-end housing, golf courses, and resorts.”

Given its private land classification, any subdivision and development of Whitney’s current ownership, or their successor’s, will require a permit from the Adirondack Park Agency, or APA. [Read more…] about Goodbye Wilderness: Whitney Park To Be Developed

Calls for Governor Hochul to Protect Whitney Estate: A Historical Perspective

November 14, 2024 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Eight conservation organizations called on Governor Kathy Hochul this week to act swiftly to protect 36,000 acres of forests, lakes and rivers in the Central Adirondacks owned by heirs to the vast Whitney and Vanderbilt family fortunes.

The Whitney estate, a vast tract of some of the most ecologically sensitive lands in the Adirondack Park known as Whitney Park, contains 22 lakes and ponds with more than 100 miles of undeveloped shorelines, connected by navigable rivers and streams in the Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County. [Read more…] about Calls for Governor Hochul to Protect Whitney Estate: A Historical Perspective

Later Logging of Nehasane, Whitney & Brandreth Parks

November 10, 2023 by Noel Sherry 2 Comments

Nehasane, Brandreth and Whitney Preserves were three private parks in the Adirondacks that included logging railroads built to extract large stands of virgin timber in the late 19th century. This is the final part of a series of essays about the logging of these private parks in the 1900-1920 period. [Read more…] about Later Logging of Nehasane, Whitney & Brandreth Parks

A Short History of Logging Whitney Preserve in the Adirondacks

November 9, 2023 by Noel Sherry 2 Comments

Nehasane, Brandreth and Whitney Preserves were three private parks in the Adirondacks that included logging railroads built to extract large stands of virgin timber in the late 19th century.

The illustrious career of William Collins Whitney (1841-1904) was chronicled in a New York City social diary titled “The Gilded Age Billionaires”: “His political star rose right along with his business ventures … and he eventually entered national politics through Grover Cleveland’s Administration where he was Secretary of the Navy.” [Read more…] about A Short History of Logging Whitney Preserve in the Adirondacks

Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

November 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Residents of the Adirondack Park’s 130 rural communities voted overwhelmingly to approve the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act on Election Day.

The measure won approval by more than a two-to-one margin statewide. [Read more…] about Adirondack Voters Join Environmental Bond Act Approval Landslide

36k Acres in the Adirondack Park Faces Development; Advocates Seek Legal Protection

June 3, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

When John Hendrickson, the widow of recently deceased Saratoga civic and philanthropic leader Marylou Whitney, announced last July that the 36,000-acre Whitney Park lands were for sale an alarm was raised by advocates for wild lands concerned the sale would subdivide one of the largest privately held contiguous properties in the Adirondack Park.

Last week, Hendrickson said he will apply to the Adirondack Park Agency to do just that – fragment the tract into eleven estate lots for the uber-wealthy. [Read more…] about 36k Acres in the Adirondack Park Faces Development; Advocates Seek Legal Protection

Petition Circulating Calling To Make Whitney Park Forest Preserve

September 8, 2020 by Peter Bauer 2 Comments

The 36,000-acre Whitney Park is up for sale. This tract, which includes 22 lakes and ponds, and over 100 miles of undeveloped shoreline, has been at the top of New York State’s land protection priority list for 50 years.

Over the decades, the property has been lightly developed by the Whitney family, which maintains a large complex of buildings in a mountain estate called Deerlands on Little Forked Lake, and two inholdings totaling around 400 acres on Forked Lake and Plumley Pond at the south end of the tract. [Read more…] about Petition Circulating Calling To Make Whitney Park Forest Preserve

36,000 Acres of Adirondack Park for Sale

July 30, 2020 by Editorial Staff 7 Comments

The family of recently deceased Saratoga civic and philanthropic leader Marylou Whitney announced today that the 36,000-acre Whitney Park lands in the center of the Adirondack Park are for sale.

John Hendrickson, the husband of Marylou Whitney, stated in the Wall Street Journal that his asking price is $180 million. Whitney Park is located in the Town of Long Lake, in Hamilton County and is one of the largest privately held contiguous tracts of land in the 6.1 million-acre Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about 36,000 Acres of Adirondack Park for Sale

Whitney Park

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