A 36,000-acre tract of lakes and forest in the Adirondacks is on the market for $180 million.
The tract known as Whitney Park was owned by Saratoga Springs philanthropist and thoroughbred racing owner Marylou Whitney, who died last year. Her widower, John Hendrickson, told the Wall Street Journal he plans to sell the estate, which includes the great camp Deerlands on Little Forked Lake near Long Lake.
Environmental groups have urged the state to acquire the land and add it to the permanently protected Forest Preserve.
"Whitney Park has been at the top of the land protection priority list of New York state for the last 50 years,” said Peter Bauer, executive director of Protect the Adirondacks. “The intact forests and beauty and sheer number of lakes and ponds set this property apart from all others."
In 1997, the state purchased another 14,700 acres of Whitney family holdings for $17.1 million to create the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, which is popular with canoe campers.
A Department of Environmental Conservation spokesperson said Thursday that the agency will work with the family if they reach out with any interest of selling to the state.
