Department of the Interior

Siberia Bound

This September, the Adirondack Mountain Club’s education director, Jen Kretser, and former education staff member Julia Goren will journey to the Altai region of Siberia. Kretser and Goren will work with and train Altai park personnel and nature conservation advocates as part of an ongoing exchange.

A major goal of the Altai participants has been to develop a system of nature parks to protect their cultural and natural resources. As in the Adirondack Park, people live and work within the boundaries of the Altai parks, which are operated locally not federally. Due to a rapid increase in tourism, without legal protection and public education, the environment and the culture of these parks and the residents are threatened in much the way the Adirondacks were. Achieving balance between environmental protection and economic development is a strong focus of each exchange.


Working directly with the local people and our counterparts in the Altai, this project fosters cultural understanding and has the potential to create lasting, sustainable change. It contributes to the conservation of biodiversity, protection of the natural resources, and responsible action on the part of tourists and the tourism industry. In addition, it continues to further the Adirondack Park’s reputation as a model park for the world.  


—Jen Kretser, Education Director