An Appreciation of the Nature Conservancy and Adirondack Mounatin Club

I hiked Algonquin Mountain yesterday. To read about the experience click on this link Bakers Outdoors Page. One thing that I would like to briefly mention here is my increased appreciation for the Nature Conservancy. Volunteering for the LGLC I see first had the effort and the commitment that the Nature Conservancy has for preserving out natural resources. On top of Algonquin Mountain they, partnered with the DEC and the Adirondack Mountain Club have worked to restore the extremely fragile alpine environment that exists on this and other mountains in the Adirondacks. What I like about the Nature Conservancy and Adirondack Mountain Club is they provide a conduit to channel many people's desire to help into action. Not only by directly reseeding and working on the top of the mountain, but even in the simplest of ways by asking hikers to bring up a couple of fist sized stones. These stones are then placed by the more experienced volunteers and professionals in critical locations to create barriers and paths, that direct people where to place their feet and stop the erosion of valuable soil. The Nature Conservancy and The Adirondack Mountain Club pay to have a Summit Steward hike up and stand on the top of that mountain to educate people about the alpine environment, the Adirondacks and to generally help people, while politely keeping people off the delicate alpine fauna. Simple but a task that is gargantuan in execution and impact.