The Northern Forest Center, communities, and partners made good progress in year two of implementing the Attracting New Residents Strategy, a comprehensive approach rural communities can use to assess their assets, identify areas needing investment, and take action following a step-by-step guide for implementation. The goal is to position communities for success with a focus on recruiting and retaining younger people needed to build the workforce and address our lopsided demographics. 

“We’re working with towns and partners in the Adirondacks to bring attention to key issues and share best practices and solutions,” said Leslie Karasin, Adirondack Program director. The Center is also taking direct action by developing housing units, supporting recreation projects, and engaging directly with multiple towns.  

The Center facilitates affinity groups and presents webinars to share ideas across communities and the full Northern Forest region. Community leaders are implementing the strategy locally and have asked for our support to identify priority projects that would catalyze change. The Center has also begun raising capital – through both investment and donations – to provide ready financing for some of these projects.  

Addressing Regional Housing Crisis 

The need for more quality housing in our communities is a top priority in all discussions about attracting and retaining young people. Over the past year, the Center has directly invested in housing projects and community revitalization and has worked with partners such as Adirondack Foundation to create resources to help towns manage their housing challenges.

Convening regional conversations and sharing knowledge: 

We hosted nearly a dozen virtual discussions focused on housing and downtown revitalization, with more than 350 people including town supervisors, local planning officials, housing developers, non-profit leaders, business owners, and residents from dozens of towns attending.  

Advancing community-based recreation initiatives 

We’ve continued to strengthen community-based recreation by providing grants and assistance to local organizations and projects through our Adirondack Community Recreation Alliance, a collaborative of stakeholders advocating a new approach to the recreation economy. Since the inception of the Alliance, we have invested more than $60,000 in recreation activities benefiting almost 20 communities.

Supporting communities with direct strategy implementation 

Center staff help advance community projects. Over the last year, this work has included writing grant applications to state, federal and foundation sources to raise funds for community-driven revitalization projects. In Elizabethtown, Center staff have facilitated a renewed effort to fund a new municipal sewer system to enable new housing, serve existing residents, allow business growth, and attract new families.  

Building community among young professionals 

Recognizing that building a sense of community and welcoming is important to new and prospective young residents, we host events to bring together young professionals throughout the region. Recent events have included skiing, trivia, bowling, and events in collaboration with other regional non-profits.  

You can read details of year-two progress of the Attracting New Residents Strategy in this report. 

“We are committed to the long-term success of the Attracting New Residents Strategy and to proving that the investments we’re making now will result in a discernible change by 2030,” said Karasin.