6 September 2008
Reactions From Ground Zero
Posted by Ivory under: General .
On 9/3/08, a new visitor to this site sent in a comment to my article about "Why This Site is Here ". He’s granted me permission to re-post it here as an article. Below is a direct copy of what "Since1984" said about his reactions to visiting Cedarlands this summer for camp.
I have excitedly visited Cedarlands since 1984 only missing two years, what I experienced this year (2008) appalled and greatly saddened me.
The fresh cool breezes around base camp of untouched forests that enchanted me since the first moment I visited them were missing. All around me was the smell of spilled petroleum, wide logging paths, scarred trees, trampled plant life; most every large tree removed leaving a hot and sunny faint shadow of a once unspoiled wilderness.
The land managed by Boy Scouts should follow basic principals taught by Boy Scouts; has any Boy Scout managing Cedarlands ever heard of the Boy Scout Forestry Badge or Leave NO Trace? I really thought the objective of Scouting is to empower people, spreading a higher level of knowledge of our environment; now it seems they must save us from the dangerous trees and dangerous people.
There are extremely valid fire safety and expansion arguments to clear designated sections of the forest but not using most every inch of land they “protect” as a cash crop. The forest will grow back but without its natural look and original ecosystem; trees, plants, animals, soil, water and rocks have all been altered by man in a manner that can not be undone within anyone’s lifetime. Forest fires and natural events can wipe a forest clean but on nature’s terms, most plants and animals having built in responses to natural events. What impact does man have on an environment when rearranging every aspect of it?
Great care should be taken to responsively develop and encourage more visitors to this Adirondack jewel in a manner that follows the Boy Scout principles, not mismanaged need for money betraying the very principals they teach. The Scouts have done their best in past years but have all but abandoned Scout principals with the current rearrangement of the forest they manage, even betraying the motto of the Adirondack Park “Forever Wild”. My only hope is that the damage apparent to anyone that visits this land can use what they see all around them as an example of what NOT to do!
"Since1984" was kind enough to also provide photos of what Cedarlands looked like in August , which I’ve posted on the main Cedarlands News site.
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