APA@50 Symposium took place on on June 22 and the organizations were happy to host so many lively conversations on the legacy and future of the Adirondack Park Agency. We thank all who attended the live event for your thoughtful questions and input.

All three sessions of the symposium are now available for viewing on our Vimeo page. Links to each session as well as a link to the special preview of the upcoming Mountain Lake PBS documentary on the early years of the APA (based on Brad Edmondson’s new book, A Wild Idea) are below.

Session One: “The APA’s Early Years: Energy, Innovation, and Perspective” : https://vimeo.com/571637345

Featured speaker –
Richard S. Booth, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University, Former APA Counsel and Former APA Commissioner

Discussants –
Marilyn DuBois, Former Sr. Policy Analyst at New York State Assembly
Bill Kissell, Former APA Counsel
Liz Thorndike, Former APA Commissioner

Session Two:  “Trail Blazin’: Reconstructing Wilderness in the Public Mind”: https://vimeo.com/571642645

Featured speaker –
Elizabeth Vidon, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, SUNY-ESF

Discussants –
Heidi Kretser, Conservation Social Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society
Peter Paine, Member of Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks and former APA Commissioner
John Sheehan, Adirondack Council

Session Three: “Regional Planning Today”: https://vimeo.com/571646985

Featured speaker –

Frank Popper, Professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, and Visiting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University

Discussants –

Peter Bauer, Executive Director, Protect the Adirondacks

Bill McKibben, Environmentalist and author

Lani Ulrich, Former APA Chair

William Farber, Chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors

A Wild Idea documentary preview: https://vimeo.com/558573378/876340e7e8