Brotherly Love

This chapter begins with detailing the argument of Peter S. Paine Jr. with Laurance S. Rockefeller, the younger brother and closest friend of New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller. It presents Paine's criticisms on a proposal Laurance made to turn the core of the Adirondack State Park into a national park. Both Paine Jr. and Laurance Rockefeller considered themselves environmentalists. But neither man belonged to the Association for the Protection of the Adirondack (AfPA). The chapter states that the Rockefeller family directed its giving toward several long-term goals, and one of them was improving public access to parks and open space. It then shifts to outline how Rockefeller's bond acts became major steps forward for the environmental movement and paved the way for federal legislation like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (passed in 1965), the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Ultimately, the chapter investigates how Laurence persuaded his brother, Nelson to appoint a task force to study the future of the Adirondacks, modeled on the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC), and see if they could maximize the “effective acres” of the Adirondacks through other means.