Very few structures conform to the rigorous restrictions imposed on Adirondack wilderness areas – unless you are talking about dams.
Largely a remnant of the region’s logging industry, structures that impound the headwaters of scenic and wild rivers dot the park’s most remote corners. While no new dams can be built in wilderness areas, existing ones can be maintained, one of the few structures considered conforming.
Despite management plans that suggest the state should maintain its most remote dams, some have fallen deep into disrepair, while others have succumbed to storms in recent years (see Duck Hole and Marcy dams).
Discussion time: Wilderness dams
The Explorer has been running a series on the 500+ dams that can be found within the Adirondack Park boundary. (Click here to see all the stories in the series) One of the articles specifically looks at dams that are in Wilderness areas. Marcy Dam is now gone and same with the dam that once made Duck Hole a celebrated paddling destination. Lake Colden is the only remaining dam.
The question remains: Do dams have a place in these protected areas? Should the state maintain the ones that remain? The article points to Lows Lake and the Boreas Ponds tract as examples of dams the state is willing to maintain. Weigh in here with your thoughts.
Photo at top: Debris from the old wilderness dam at Duck Hole. Photo by Mike Lynch