Update on future status of the VICs (the Paul Smiths facility anyway)

It’s been about five months since Governor David Paterson’s executive budget called for the closure of two Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Centers.

Since then, numerous leaders and advocacy organizations have come together to discuss ways of keeping the popular destinations open in some form.

So far, the efforts have largely been headed up by the Adirondack Park Institute. At this week’s annual Conference on the Adirondacks, an event staged by the Adirondack Research Consortium, officials showcased a conceptual design for what’s being dubbed the Center for Outdoor Life, an extension of the VICs that focuses on outdoor recreation, research and education.

Meanwhile, officials from the APA and Paul Smith’s College are working on a memorandum of understanding that would result in the sale of state-owned VIC facilities to the college.