ADK Futures is a pro bono project by Dave Mason and Jim Herman on behalf of the Adirondack Common Ground Alliance (CGA). Until recently we were retired strategy consultants living in Keene, NY.  We launched this project to stimulate new, creative, thinking about the challenges and opportunities ahead and start a new conversation among a broad set of people that care about the Park. We have recently started a new consulting firm, Anthros Consulting Inc., to apply this methodology more broadly to problems of disruptive environmental change.  Our focus in the Adirondacks is now on helping the region respond to the threat of disruptive climate change.

We are using a scenario development approach in which we imagine six different, divergent outcomes for the Park 25 years from now. The broad range of ideas and possibilities envisioned in these six scenarios allow many points of view to be considered in the ongoing debate.

The workshop series was held between July 2011 and July 2012.  We have now created an online version of the scenario framework.  This Scenario Framework Navigation Tool allows you to explore the endstates and events that make up the framework and to cast your vote on various issues.  It also allows you to view and enter evidence about which events are happening based on current news.  NOTE: this software is still in beta test and any data you enter will most likely be discarded when we go to full release.  Please provide any feedback on the tool to Jim Herman at jim12942@gmail.com.

The workshop series is now complete and you can read about the workshop format, the materials used and reports on all 12 of them under the tab Workshop Series.

The results of the workshops have been documented in a proposed vision and strategy for the Adirondack Park over the next 25 years.  You can find this under the tab Vision and Strategy.

We are now trying to track progress, develop specific implementation plans in key areas, and encourage more cooperation and collaboration throughout the area.  Progress on this will be largely reported through evidence posts in the Scenario Framework Navigation Tool and in the blog which is now the home page of the site.  The tab Implementation Status is the place to look for how all this is organized and with links to different categories of events.

The original six scenarios are titled:

• 2037 A: Wild Park
• 2037 B: A Usable Park
• 2037 C: The Sustainable Life
• 2037 D: Adirondack County
• 2037 E: Post “Big Government” Solutions
• 2037 F: The Adirondack State Forest

If you wish to receive periodic emails with updates on the ADK Futures project, please send an email to Jim Herman (jim12942@gmail.com) requesting to be added to the email distribution list.