A New York State panel voted Friday to create a vast new 24,000 acre wilderness area along a remote stretch of the upper Hudson River, about four hours north of Long Island. The land had been owned by a logging company and environmentalists feared that remote stretches of the upper Hudson might be sold for resort or second-home development. This decision by the Adirondack Park Agency commission sets aside a sprawling area of wild rivers, pristine lakes, and forests where most human development will be banned.
NY approves largest land preserve in generation

AP Photo/Carl Heilman, II