New York’s “Forever Wild” and the Chiefs

Three Chief Judges Opining on the State Constitutional Mandate

By E. Conor Graham

E. Conor Graham is a 2024 graduate of Albany Law School. He earned his bachelor's degree from Siena College, studying philosophy and international relations and affairs.

In law school, Conor was the Executive Editor for Lead Articles of Volume 87 of the Albany Law Review. He also interned at the United States Court for the Northern District of New York and at K&L Gates LLP.

Conor began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard K. Eaton at the United States Court of International Trade. 

Article XIV, Section 1 of the New York State Constitution, “the Forever Wild clause,” sets out that “[t]he lands of the state . . . constituting the forest preserve . . . shall be forever kept as wild lands.  They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed, or destroyed.” It is a unique provision, unlike any other found in the federal or another state constitution, and it protects nearly three million acres of state-owned Forest Preserve land in New York State.

The aim of this paper is to consider both the history and the trajectory of the Forever Wild clause as it comes before New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, through examining three important decisions related to the Forever Wild clause authored by three different Chief Judges of the court. Further, this analysis has the added benefit of focusing on the court’s leaders—the Chief Judges—presiding at the time of each case. Each section includes a brief discussion of the respective Chief Judge whose opinion will be discussed, followed by that judge’s opinion dealing with the Forever Wild clause.

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