SULLIVAN COUNTY — As of late afternoon on Wednesday, November 5, Sullivan County had cast 8,050 Yays and 6,236 Nays on Proposal Number One, an Amendment to Section 1 of Article 14 of New York State’s Constitution, which proposes to retroactively legalize land expansion of a winter sports facility near Lake Placid, in the Adirondack Park. This is a statewide vote that likely confused many voters that live nowhere near the facility in Essex County. 

The measure passed statewide with 45.7 percent of the vote.

Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980, has acquired approximately 300 acres of land over the years to accommodate expanding ski trails for competition and recreation. Because this is technically illegal (all land is protected within the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park), the proposal seeks to 1) legalize the expansion retroactively, and 2) require the state to acquire 2,500 acres of land for the forest preserve to make up for this development. 

This move requires an amendment to the state constitution which is why residents in Sullivan County and other counties seemingly removed from Adirondack politics saw this proposal on their ballots. Established in 1892, the Adirondack Park comprises 6.1 million acres, 46 High Peaks, 2,800 lakes and ponds, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and approximately 200,000 acres of old growth forests. According to Wednesday’s election results, Sullivan County just voted to protect 2,500 more acres of forever wild land within the Adirondack Park.