An aerial photo of the 36,000-acre Whitney Park estate in the Adirondacks.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is in discussions with a prospective purchaser of Whitney Park — a 36,000-acre expanse of largely undeveloped wilderness in the heart of the Adirondack Park — to acquire a state-owned conservation easement over the property. While an easement would impose some limits on future development, the land would remain in private hands and would be largely closed to the public.

A conservation easement would thus fall far short of the public’s long-standing expectation: that........

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