In the summer of 2015, a tract of New York's Adirondack wilderness changed hands in a deal that drew attention far beyond the region. Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba, had acquired Brandon Park, a vast private estate of forests, rivers, ponds and wildlife habitat. Unlike a conventional luxury property purchase, Ma's representatives said the land was bought principally for conservation, although he also planned to use it as an occasional retreat. The purchase put a large privately owned landscape under the control of an entrepreneur known for environmental interests in China. It also raised a broader question about the role private ownership can play in conserving landscapes that are valuable for forests, freshwater and wildlife.
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