The Adirondack Council

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Tuesday, May 21, 2002

ELIZABETHTOWN, NY - Brian L. Houseal, a Vice President and Director of The Nature Conservancy's Mexico program for the past seven years, will take over as Executive Director of the Adirondack Council starting July 1. Houseal is a professional regional planner and landscape architect with extensive environmental experience.

"We are extremely pleased that Brian has accepted our invitation to lead the staff," said David Skovron, Chairman of Adirondack Council's Board of Directors. "He was at the top of a very long and impressive list of candidates for this position. My fellow board members and I had a difficult decision, but we are quite happy with the result. Brian's work with The Nature Conservancy has prepared him well for the Council's mission in the Adirondacks. He has an extensive background in watershed and wilderness protection, which is the backbone of Adirondack conservation work, and has spent a great deal of time in upstate New York."

"This is a tremendously exciting opportunity for me," Houseal said. "My family and I have been coming to the Adirondacks for recreation and renewal for the past 30 years. The Adirondacks already had my head and my heart. Now I get to put my hands to work for the preservation of one of the most important natural areas in the world.

Brian L. Houseal

"I have been working for the past two decades on protecting the largest wilderness areas in the Western Hemisphere," he added. "I have always used the Adirondack Park as a model of public and private land use in my work in Latin America and the Caribbean. It's quite clear that the Council's work is essential in protecting and enhancing that global model. Even though the Adirondack Park is over 100 years old, it still faces critical threats, many of which must be addressed at a national or international level. Whether it is acid rain produced by smokestacks in the Midwest, or the loss of tropical forest on a Caribbean island that is the winter habitat for the Adirondack Park's migratory birds, we have a lot of work to do to ensure the long term protection of this incredible natural area both inside and outside the Blue Line."

Houseal, 51, will move to the Adirondacks with his wife Katherine. Sons Ian and Patrick live in Maine and Colorado, respectively. Bernard C. Melewski, who has been acting executive director since the departure of Timothy J. Burke, will be retained as counsel. Burke served as the Council's top staff member from May 1991 through his retirement in July 2001. The national search for his successor began a few months later.

Houseal received his bachelors degree from Colgate University, in Hamilton, NY, and a masters degree in regional planning from Syracuse University. He also holds a masters in landscape architecture from the State University College of environmental Science and Forestry, in Syracuse.

After leaving New York, Houseal worked on establishing wilderness areas throughout Latin America, from southern Chile's Patagonia region to the Mexican border with the U.S. The U.S.Peace Corps, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank, UNESCO and a variety of park agencies have supported his work.

An avid outdoorsman, Houseal states, "I have had unique opportunities to live and work in some of the most remote and beautiful places in our hemisphere. I am especially pleased with the opportunity to return to the region and serve the Adirondacks and its communities."

Since 1987, Houseal has worked in various positions with The Nature Conservancy's international conservation programs, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. He has been regional director of its Mexico and Central America Program, and director of stewardship for Latin America, where he designed and managed the Parks in Peril Program, safeguarding more than 60 million acres of parks and reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean.

With his appointment by the Board of Directors, Houseal will become the Council's fourth full-time executive director since the organization was founded 27 years ago. Previous executive directors include Gary Randorf (1977-83, 1984-87, 1989-90), Charles Clusen (1987-89), and Burke (1991-2001). Staff planner George Davis and staff Counsel Bernard C. Melewski have each served as acting executive director. Davis served as acting director in 1983 and 1984. Melewski served as acting director in 1990-91 (between Randorf and Burke) and 2001-02 between Burke and Houseal.

Founded in 1975, the Adirondack Council has 17 full time and part-time employees in its Elizabethtown headquarters and Albany legislative/communications office. The Council is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the natural character of the Adirondack Park, as well as its human communities. The Council accomplishes these goal through research, education, advocacy and legal action.

National Geographic magazine has referred to the Adirondack Council as one of the two most effective regional environmental organizations in the United States. With more than 18,000 members, the Council is by far the largest environmental organization working full time to protect the Adirondack Park.

Houseal will meet the Council's general membership for the first time at the Council's Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, slated for July 13.