Research: Topics: Environment: Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources

Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources

Historical Records Repositories in New York State

Adirondack and Catskill Research Library

30 Roland Place
Schenectady, NY 12304

• Summary of holdings: Over 100 volumes from the Archives of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks with records of conservation concerns and controversies since 1901.
  

  Reports from other private conservation organizations: Adirondack Mountain Club, Forest Preserve Association, NYS Conservation Council, Constitutional Council for the Forest Preserve, Lake George Protective Association and Adirondac Council.
  Over 100 volumes of the late Paul Schaefer's Wilderness Archives including photos, letters and documentation on diverse subjects.
  Private records, books and correspondence from prominent conservationists: Vincent Schaefer, William K. Verner, Louis Marshall, Orra Phelps, George Davis, Harold Jerry, Dan Plumley and others.
  Voluminous files, photos and films from pioneering conservationist John S.Apperson.
  Forest Preserve historical materials compiled by Norman J. Van Valkenburgh (former DEC Director of Lands and Forests) and files on Forest Ranger History from Ranger Louis Curth.
  Rare maps by Burr dating from 1829 and 1839, old county atlases, historic survey and regional maps and modern topographical maps.
  A spectacular illuminated display by the late Vincent Schaefer of colorful Adirondack rocks.

  Other records concern: Controversy over route for the Northway in 1959; Low-level flight paths for training jet pilots over the Adirondacks; Dome Island in Lake George; 11 years of legal records concerning the Panther Mountain Dam fight, finally settled in the U.S. Supreme Court; N.Y.S. versus the U.S.in the Tahawus Railroad cases; Adirondack Land Hurricane of 1950 and the Great Blowdown of 1995; Controversy over Closed Cabins in the Forest Preserve in the 1930s; Adirondack Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers; Catskill Center Conservation and Development; Lake Placid Club Publications; Study Commissions on the Adirondacks.

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Adirondack Museum

Blue Mountain Lake, NY 12812

• Adirondack Mountain Club. Conservation Committee. Minutes, agendas, and policy statements of the Adirondack Mountain Club, Conservation Committee, 1968-71.
  1 notebook ; 22 x 28 cm.
  

  Includes minutes, agendas, and policy statements of the Adirondack Mountain Club, Conservation Committee, compiled by William K. Verner, Curator, Adirondack Museum.

• Adirondack Northway, 1959 Collection, 1959.
  100 items (ca.)
  

  Correspondence, brochures, reports, press releases, showing the work of the Citizens' Northway Committee in their opposition to the Adirondack Preserve route for the Northway and the requisite amendment to the New York State Constitution which would allow it. Also historical background on highways, material on relative merits of the Adirondack route which was ultimately chosen and the alternative Lake Champlain route for the Northway (I-87), and a few items relating to the Committee for the Adirondack Northway which favored the latter route. Papers relating to the attempt to merge with the Forest Preserve Association after passage of the Northway amendment and opposition to the Hunter Mountain leasing proposal. Local subject: Roads Environmental concerns.

• Adirondack State Fish Hatchery. Adirondack State Fish Hatchery records, 1866-1941.
  2 reels microfilm
  

  Reproduction note: Microfilm.
  Shipping records of the Adirondack State Fish Hatchery of the New York State Conservation Department.

• American Forestry Association. American Forestry Association records, 1882-1896.
  1 reel microfilm
  

  Reproduction note: Microfilm.
  Proceedings of the first, fourth, seventh, ninth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth meetings of the American Forestry Association, 1882-96; lectures covered forest fires, watersheds, forest quality, and forestry; articles by Verplanck Colvin; and information about New York State forests.

• Charles C. Adams. Charles C. Adams correspondence, 1925-1927.
  95 items (ca.)
  

  Dr. Adams was director of the Roosevelt Wild Life Station at the College of Forestry at Syracuse University until he became Director of the State Museum in 1926.

  Correspondence of Charles C. Adams with Hattie Woods, Wade Hicks, A.A. Saunders, and others interested in the possible acquisition of the Woods Farm in North Elba for a Field Station in Forestry and a wild game refuge.

• Citizens' Northway Committee. Citizens' Northway Committee records, 1955(ca.)-1960(ca.).
  0.6 cubic ft.
  

  Correspondence, bills, brochures, and ephemera of Dr. Newkirk, a member of the Citizens' Northway Committee.

• Clarence W. Matteson. Clarence W. Matteson papers, 1933-1959, 1933-1935 (bulk).
  Description: 1 vol.
  

  Notes: Clippings and photographs relating to the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Lake Pleasant, New York, compiled by Superintendent Clarence W. Matteson.

• Constitutional Council for the Forest Preserve. Minutes, agendas, and policy statements of the Constitutional Council for the Forest Preserve, 1968 1969
  1 notebook ; 22 x 28 cm.
  

  Includes minutes, agendas, and policy statements of the Constitutional Council for the Forest Preserve, compiled by William K. Verner, Curator, Adirondack Museum.

  Subject: Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks. Adirondack Museum -- History. Adirondack Forest Preserve (N.Y.) Environmental conservation -- New York (State) -- Adirondack Mountains -- History.

• Cuomo, Mario Matthew. Signed excerpt from an address made by Governor Cuomo on the occasion of the centennial of New York State's Forest Preserve, Albany, N.Y., on May 15, 1985.
  1 leaf ; 35.5 x 28 cm.
  
  
• Dan Brenan. Dan Brenan papers, 1870(ca.)-1960(ca.).
  1.0 linear feet (ca.)
  

  Photos and tear sheets from Verplanck Colvin's second report on the Topographical Survey of the Adirondack Wilderness, 1873-74, and drafts for the article entitled 'Verplanck Colvin, Father of the Adirondack Forest Preserve'; also printer's proof, manuscript, and notes relating to publication of THE ADIRONDACK LETTERS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON SEARS, edited by Dan Brenan.

• George Davis. George Davis papers, 1969-1976.
  4.0 linear feet, 5 v., 4 tapes
  

  Papers relating to the Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks, and on the Adirondack Park Agency.

• Harold Hochschild, 1892-1981. Harold Hochschild, 1892-1981 papers, 1936-1971.
  Description: 4.0 cubic ft. (ca.)
  

  Notes: Biography and photos of Hochschild; research materials and history of Township 34; recollections of Ike Robinson of Long Lake, 1957; notes on history of Eagle Nest and Blue Mountain Lake; materials of Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks, 1968-71; and materials of the Commissioner's Committee on Museum Resources, 1960-62.

• Mortimer Norton. Mortimer Norton papers, 1926-1963.
  146 v.
  

  Writer.
  Manuscripts of articles by Mortimer Norton on hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, hiking, and forest fires primarily in the Adirondacks; aricles appeared in FUR, FISH & GAME, HUNTER, TRADER, TRAPPER, WRITER'S MAGAZINE, and CONSERVATIONIST.

• New York State Conservation Department. New York State Conservation Department records, 1880-1967.
  44 reels microfilm
  

  Reproduction note: Microfilm.
  Field survey notebooks of the New York State Conservation Department, 1880-98; records of forest fires in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and part of St. Lawrence Counties, 1911-46, and 1952-67.
  

• Oneida County Forest Preserve Council. Would Panther Mt. dam stop floods? : vote no on amendment no. 7.
  1 leaf : ill., maps (some col.) ; 28 x 28 cm.
  Published: Oneida County Forest Preserve Council, ? 1900 1994
  

  Broadside.
  Subject: Environmental conservation -- New York (State) -- Panther Mountain Dam -- History. Adirondack Forest Preserve (N.Y.) Panther Mountain Dam. Moose River (Herkimer County, N.Y.)

• Paul Schaefer. Paul Schaefer papers, 1940(ca.)-1960(ca.).
  0.5 linear feet (ca.)
  

  Correspondence, reports, clippings, and miscellany relating to the Adirondacks, organized labor, the Panther Dam, land loss in the Forest Preserve, and legislative action.

• Warwick S. Carpenter. Warwick S. Carpenter papers, 1919-1923.
  1 vol.
  

  Carpenter was secretary of the New York State Conservation Committee.
  Correspondence and other materials relating to forest conservation in the Adirondacks; included is information concerning the acquisition of land by the State of New York and the early role of the Adirondack Mountain Club.

• William Henry Harrison Murray, 1840-1904. William Henry Harrison Murray, 1840-1904 papers, 1860(ca.)-1905(ca.).
  12.0 linear feet (ca.)
  

  Clergyman, author.
  Papers of the Rev. William Henry Harrison 'Adirondack' Murray, clergyman and author of religious works and works which helped popularize the Adirondack region. manuscripts and proofs of books of sermons and book on divorce; personal and business of Mr. and Mrs. Murray; pamphlets and bound volumes of Murray's works; photographs; scrapbooks; and diaries.

  Also an introduction written by William K. Verner for the 1970 reprint of Murray's 'ADVENTURES IN THE WILDERNESS', along with materials used in preparation of the introduction.

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