About Philip Terrie

Philip Terrie is an Adirondack and environmental historian, and the author of five books on regional history, including Contested Terrain: A New History of Nature and People in the Adirondacks (2nd ed., Syracuse UP, 2008) and Seeing the Forest: Reviews, Musings, and Opinions from an Adirondack Historian (Saranac Lake: Adirondack Explorer, 2017).

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. JB says

    This was a very fascinating and level-headed account of how New York came to love recreation, often at all costs, bar none, full-speed ahead. I have often wondered why we diverged from our neighbors to the North, from mostly trailless canoe wilderness to summit trails and terrestrial lean-to circuits, for better or worse (obviously topography is a factor as well). As the famous quote from the ever-prescient Leopold goes: “But all conservation of wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, there is no wilderness left to cherish.” Histories like these allow us to wonder “what if (we did things differently)”.

    (And a man who chooses to casually include an archive.org link should be endlessly praised and cherished by all of mankind. Thank you, Mr. Terrie!)

  2. Phil Terrie says

    Thank you, JB! (By the way, there are two typos in my article, caught by the sharp eye of my friend Ted Comstock of Saranac Lake. Colvin’s first name is properly spelled Verplanck, and the publication of Lossing book on the Hudson is 1866.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *