Attracting young people to the Adirondacks and enticing local youth to stay or return after college is an economic and community necessity. Every Adirondack community feels the relative absence of residents in the key 25 – 45-year-old demographic.  

Schools feel this loss through declining student numbers. Another key impact is a shortage of staffing available to hospitals, businesses, schools, and the trades, and a reduction in business start-ups.  

This crisis built over years from the slow erosion of economic stability and population, and it will take years of focused attention to resolve. 

Three years ago, the Northern Forest Center launched the Attracting New Residents Strategy, a comprehensive approach for rural communities to assess their assets, identify areas needing investment, and take action following a step-by-step guide for implementation.  

The most recent year of implementing the strategy brought significant progress to many communities in the Adirondacks. Highlights from the year follow; details are available in our year-3 progress report.

• The Center helped secure new state and federal funds to support housing and community development projects, including downtown revitalization, historic preservation, enhancements at key institutions, and recreational connectivity.  

• We breathed new life into a 20-year-long effort to create a new municipal sewer system in Elizabethtown. When it is successful, the project will enable housing expansion, serve existing institutions and residents, allow business growth, and attract new families.  

• Center staff provided leadership to ensure the proposed rail trail improvements in Tupper Lake would serve the community effectively.  

• We supported a tri-town branding effort that will create a strong identity for the towns of Johnsburg, Chester, and Horicon to market their communities and develop trail and wayfinding signage.    

With the help of hundreds of stakeholders in the Adirondacks, we’re driving a new era of community and economic development that will attract and retain young people in this special place.