Over the past two years, there has been a lot of discussion about the issue of overuse in the High Peaks Wilderness. Articles and news reports have covered issues with congested trailhead parking lots, improper disposal of human waste, and an overworked ranger force responding to numerous rescues per day.

This year the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) stared the process of removing Marcy Dam. The dam suffered significant damage to the bridge and splashboards during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. DEC decided that the cost of repair was too great and that the dam itself did not conform with the wilderness land classification applied to the land upon which it sits. The gut reaction by many is disgust and anger. People feel that the DEC is needlessly removing and altering an iconic location within the High Peaks Wilderness.