Paddlers will take to Forked Lake on Saturday to protest the potential development of a 36,600-acre private park in the Adirondacks.
Whitney Park was previously owned by the late John Hendrickson, the widower of Saratoga’s Marylou Whitney.
The land is now under contract by Texas-based developer, Todd Interests, which hopes to build a restaurant, golf course, and lodge on the land. Profits from the sale, which is valued at $125 million, will go to the town of Long Lake, unrestricted.
Claudia Braymer is the Executive Director of Protect the Adirondacks. She says the protest on the lake aims to encourage the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to step in and protect the land. Braymer says the property has long been on the state’s list to conserve and protect.
Braymer spoke with WAMC’s Samantha Simmons about the group’s hopes for the land.
The DEC says it does not comment on potential land negotiations and the Governor’s office did not respond to WAMC’s request for comment.
