Adirondack Mountain Club

Statement 

November 6, 2007

The Adirondacks Lose a Friend   

  

The Adirondacks lost a longtime friend with the passing of Peter Berle.

Berle, former commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, died Nov. 1 following an accident at his Massachusetts farm. He was 69.

Berle’s resume as a public servant and an environmental advocate is long and impressive. He served three terms in the state Assembly, where he was instrumental in the passage of the Adirondack Park Agency Act. In 1976, he was tapped by Gov. Hugh Carey to head DEC when the agency was confronting such issues as PCBs in the Hudson River and toxic contamination at Love Canal. For a decade, Berle served as president of the National Audubon Society, and he hosted “The Environment Show” on WAMC radio for several years.

Berle helped write the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and spearheaded the Ausable Club land purchase, which brought the summits of many High Peaks in the Great Range into the Forest Preserve.