All of us in the North Country live under the influence of a big and important wilderness.
Despite what past generations have attempted, the jury is pretty much "in" that the land dominates us, we don't dominate it. Whether you listen to country radio or public radio, your reception is relative to the mountains between you and the signal's source. Whether you sail the sparkling lakes or hunker down in a tiny duck blind on a pond, the water that got you to that spot has something wild about it. We live here because we like the wilderness that surrounds us.
In the best of cases around the North Country, there is a harmony between what's on the land and what we humans are up to. Adirondack Harvest and the Venison Donation program are examples. In the tougher cases, there is discord, anxiety and aggravation among the people while the land just continues its timeless wait for us to settle down and sort ourselves out.
I'd use last spring's heated debate over closing the school in my town as an example. Not much changed on the shoreline but we got started on a big bipolar conflict about whether staggering property taxes on the waterfront would force us to close the school. It's interesting to feel this push me, pull you about people and land and privilege and resources the way we do because so many other people in the world feel it under circumstances that are so profoundly not in the wilderness. It's a unique puzzle.
My interest in exploring the influence of the wilderness on North Country lives derives from my family's history. My ancestors came to Westport in 1838. Our property was bought at a land auction and was clear-cut at the time of purchase. Now it is a paradise. The story of the way the land has shaped me and my children has taught me more about life than any schooling I ever had. Now I make my living as an outdoor teacher and guide.
My column will track my outdoor explorations and the animal, plant and mineral occurrences that keep me going outside. In addition, I freely disclose that among my interests are fashion, footwear and food — like the search for an orange vest for my dog to wear in the woods, the dearth of comfortable low, waterproof hiking boots, and some questions about deer processing I have as a novice hunter. More soon.
Elizabeth Lee is a licensed guide who lives in Westport. She leads recreational and educational programs focused in the Champlain Valley throughout the year. Contact her at lakeside5047@gmail.com.
Outdoors
Under the influence of wilderness
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