Publications

Author Ken Burns saw the founding of the National Park System in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as “America’s best idea” (Duncan and Burns, 2011).This preservation ethic was mirrored in New York State during World War I by donations of five unique sites to the State Regents via the charismatic New York State Museum (NYSM) Director John M.Clarke. These eastern and central New York sites became “Scientific Reservations.” All were subsumed by the New York State Parks system in 1929 (Flick, 1929), but, inexplicably, the easternmost, smallest, and geologically most significant sites, the Stark’s Knob pillow basalt (Fig. 1) and Lester Park’s classic stromatolites, remained under the NYSM. Not maintained for decades, they were restored by Ed Landing with volunteers by removal of junk cars, garbage, overgrowth, and trees,and installation of interpretive signs (Landing, 2004). These “teach yourself geology” sites were designated State Geoparks in 2019 by the state legislature. Both Geoparks can be visited year-round. They must be seen as irreplaceable—do not damage or collect anything.