“Adirondack Park is, arguably, the wildest landscape in the East, but it is not yet wild enough,” conservationist, adventurer, and author John Davis says. “It falls on our generation to finish rewilding it, so that it provides safe homes for all native species. The work may be hard, but the results can exceed our wildest dreams.”

Essex resident Davis and an all star cast of local artists have showcased the ecological importance, conservation value, and natural beauty of Split Rock Wildway in a new book, Split Rock Wildway: Scouting the Adirondack Park’s Most Diverse Wildlife Corridor. This accessible guide examines many of the charismatic and enigmatic wildlife thriving in the wooded hills and adjacent waterways that link Lake Champlain with the Adirondack High Peaks.

Split Rock Wildway is intended to help protect the lands and waters of Split Rock Wildway and the larger Adirondack Park. Residents and visitors will grow a little closer to their permanent or occasional wild neighbors, from salamanders to sturgeon to raptors to moose. Davis’s inspiring perspective is complemented with illustrations and photographs contributed by Bill Amadon, Sheri Amsel, Larry Barns, Steven Kellogg, Roderick MacIver, Larry Master, and Kevin Raines.

Book Signing at Christmas in Essex

Split Rock Wildway is published by Essex Editions. Copies will be available for sale at the Christmas in Essex event on Saturday, December 9^th where John will be present for book signing. He will be located in the CFES center from 10am-3pm. Books can also be purchased at Amazon. The book was generously underwritten by Eddy Foundation, and a portion of sales will benefit Champlain Area Trails, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and other conservation groups.

About John Davis

John Davis lives with his family in Split Rock Wildway, where he care-takes Hemlock Rock Wildlife Sanctuary when not roaming farther afield. He is a volunteer land steward for Eddy Foundation, which has secured and opened to the public about 3,000 acres in the eastern Adirondacks; a board member of Champlain Area Trails and The Rewilding Institute; and a co-founder of Wildlands Network. He is the editor of many conservation publications and author of Big, Wild, and Connected: Scouting an Eastern Wildway from Florida to Quebec—about his 7,600-mile traverse of the proposed Eastern Wildway in 2011. His 5,000-mile traverse of the Rocky Mountains from Sonora, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada, is featured in the film Born to Rewild.