The Adirondacks and Biodiversity

The Adirondacks - An internationally recognized Biosphere Reserve

Ninety percent of the wildlife species in the northeastern United States are found here. Residents of New York and elsewhere, some 90 million within a day's drive, can recreate, explore, and marvel at the vast areas of northern hardwoods and boreal forests, peatlands, the 11,000 lakes and ponds, and 12,000 miles of streams and rivers.

A Natural Heritage - Why biological diversity is important to our social fabric

Humans innately feel an ethical responsibility to all life: we have strong aesthetic connections to natural environments, we derive direct economic benefits from biological diversity, and we benefit from the services provided by healthy and biologically diverse ecosystems. For these reasons, conservation of biological diversity in the Adirondacks is becoming increasingly important as issues related to air and water quality, climate change, land use and development, and invasive species continue to be threats.

Pathways to discovering life

An ATBI is essential to the long-term conservation and management of the Adirondacks, and citizens are critical to that outcome. Through an ATBI an increased connectedness of people to the environment can occur through citizen science efforts, inspiration from understanding the beauty of nature, increased public support for protected areas, and the potential for economically beneficial discoveries.