This year marks the 50th anniversary of the federal Wilderness Act, which sets aside vast tracts of land for wild status and more than a few people have noted that the concept of protecting wild lands has its roots in the Adirondacks, which were protected as far back as the 19th Century through creation of the Forest Preserve.

That, as well as visits to the Adirondacks made an impression on some of the people whose activities led to the federal law, including Howard Zahnister who wrote the Act’s original draft in the 1950s.

Zahniser’s son, Ed Zahniser will be speaking Thursday evening at 5 p.m. in Niskayuna at the Union College’s Kelly Adirondack Center. Also scheduled to speak is Chad Dawson who was a professor of wilderness and recreation management at SUNY ESF who will discuss the significance of the Wilderness Act and its connection with the Adirondacks.

Here’s a monogram about Zahniser and other early environmentalists who were well known figures in the Adirondacks and whose work helped create the federal law: