With more than 70,000 acres of timberlands in the northwestern Adirondacks for sale, an environmental group is urging the state to buy most of it.
The Adirondack Council says that parcels owned by Lassiter Properties and Clerical Medical Investment Group contain forests and streams that are part of the northwest flow into the Saint Lawrence River.
The council is asking the Department of Environmental Conservation to acquire the sensitive parcels and all remaining development rights on other pieces to protect wilderness and wildlife.
The companies have held the parcels as managed timberland investments.
The DEC says it’s always interested in preserving working forests. Although the agency hasn’t committed to buying the land yet, the agency says it could in the future.