Industrial pollution once ravaged the Adirondacks − decades of history captured in lake mud track their slow recovery

Scientist Aubrey Hillman, one of the authors of this article, extracts a core of mud from the bottom of Black Pond in June 2025. Patrick Dodson/University at Albany

Lush forests and crisp mountain air have drawn people to New York’s Adirondack Mountains for centuries. In the late 1800s, these forests were a haven for tuberculosis patients seeking the cool, fresh air. Today, the region is still a sanctuary where families vacation and hikers roam pristine trails.

However, hidden health dangers have been accumulating in these mountains since industrialization began.