Looks at Adirondack Park as a case study in conservation and development, featuring articles in which scholars, activists, and practitioners discuss the biological and physical foundations of the Adirondack ecosystem and economy, political institutions and management, and social and economic dimensions.

Connecting means and ends in the study of place / Herman E. Daly -- The cornerstones of conservation / Ross S. Whaley, Jon D. Erickson, and William F. Porter -- A dark spot in a sea of lights / William F. Porter -- Geology of the Adirondack Mountains : like an egg with its major axis to the North / James McLelland and Bruce Selleck -- Water resources : the unique Adirondack aquascape / Christopher P. Cirmo -- Soils of the Adirondacks : out of site, out of mind / Russell D. Briggs -- Upland forests of the Adirondacks : reflections of soils and a record of disturbance / Charles D. Canham -- Fish and wildlife communities of the Adirondacks / Roland W. kays and Robert A. Daniels -- Wildlife exploitation in the Adirondacks : from beavers to biodiversity / william F. Porter -- Mining the Adirondacks / James McLelland and Bruce Selleck -- Forestry in the Adirondacks : an economy built on a handful of species / William F. Porter -- Human impacts from afar : acid rain and mercury deposition in the Adirondacks / Charles T. Driscoll, Kimberley M. Driscoll, Myron J. Mitchell, Dudley J. Raynal, and Karen M. Roy -- Recreation and tourism in the Adirondacks / Chad P. Dawson -- Great camps and conservation / Craig Gilborn -- Development rates and patterns in the Adirondacks : Paradise Lost / Peter Bauer -- Wildlife for a wilderness : restoring large predators in the Adirondacks / Rainer H. Brocke -- The Park in perspective / Jon D. Erickson -- Cultural history of the Adirondack Park : from conservation to environmentalism / Philip G. Terrie -- Legal structure and defense of the Adirondack Park / Robert Malmsheimer -- Public and private land-use regulation of the Adirondack Park / William F. Porter and Ross S Whaley -- The early years of the Adirondack Park Agency / George D. Davis -- The evolution of the Department of Environmental Conservation / Stuart Buchanan -- A land not saved / Robert Glennon -- Top-Down regulation and local economic autonomy / John Penney -- Lessons from the Commission on the Adirondacks in the twenty-first Century / Ross S. Whaley -- A perspective from the forest-products industry / Roger Dziengeleski -- Reflections on the Adirondack Park Agency in the current era / Richard H. Lefebvre -- Visions for the Adirondacks and beyond / Ross S. Whaley -- Compromise, continuity, and crisis in the Adirondack park : shortcomings and opportunities in environmental protection / Philip G. Terrie -- Renewing Adirondack Park Mission through an educational forest preserve : shortcomings and opportunities in wilderness preservation / David Gibson -- The role of the people in wilderness preservation : shortcomings and opportunities in governance / Barbara McMartin -- Public opinion and public representation : strategies in bio-regional development / Jon D. Erickson, Graham L. Cox, Anne M. Woods, and William F. Porter -- The Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages : strategies in local governance / Dean Lefebvre -- The Adirondack North country Association : strategies in economic development / Terry Defranco Martino -- The Adirondack environmental nongovernmental organizations : strategies in conservation / Graham L. Cox -- Envisioning the future of wilderness : public demands and private lands / Elizabeth Thorndike -- Toward a new wilderness paradigm for Adirondack Park : the view from Bear Mountain / Rainer H. Brocke -- Can such a noble endeaver succeed? : Alaska and the Adirondack Park / Donald Behrend -- The Adirondack Park in global perspective / Bill Weber and Amy Vedder -- Conclusion : The Adirondack experiment in a full world / Jon D. Erickson, Willaim F. Porter, and Ross S. Whaley -- Afterword : living within limits / Bill Mckibben -- Adirondack chronology.