Fire destroys 600,000 acres of Adirondack forest. The International Paper Company builds a dam and penstock at the Lake George outlet, replacing prior natural structures.
In response to public fears about the watershed, David McClure proposes a constitutional amendment to prohibit logging on State land. Article VII, Section 7, known as the "Forever Wild" amendment, is unanimously approved at the state Constitutional Convention and voted into the Constitution by residents later that year. John S. Apperson, Jr. enrolls in Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech).
Governor Roswell P. Flower proposes the "Cutting Law" allowing the State Forestry Commission to sell trees on Forest Preserve Land. A two-year-long drought hits the Northeast.
The Adirondack State Park is created. Originally 2.8 million acres, it included both private land and the state-owned Forest Preserve. It was meant to define the area where New York State should focus on acquiring more land for the Forest Preserve.
Verplanck Colvin is commissioned by the New York State Legislature to survey the Adirondacks and begins warning of dangers to the watershed posed by logging.
The Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, the first railroad in New York and one of the first railroads in the country, opens on August 9, running between Albany and Schenectady. As railroads expand in the next decades, the threat of forest fires from sparks and engine activity grows.
Apperson urges Lake George Association to engage in the Lake George water level regulation issue. Apperson urges Gov. Horace White to address squatter problem at Lake George.
Apperson begins employment at General Electric as an engineer. Apperson shares apartment with General Electric electrical engineer Claude W. Place at 118 Park Avenue in Schenectady.
The New York State Legislature votes to create the Forest Preserve, protecting state-owned lands in the region from being sold and keeping them as "wild forest lands." The State Forestry Commission is created to manage the Forest Preserve.
George Perkins Marsh publishes 'Man and Nature,' arguing that deforestation led to desertification. The best -selling book will raise awareness of environmental issues and fuel the conservation movement