Anne LaBastille, Adirondack Woodswoman
It’s International Women’s Day, and we interrupt our regular programming to celebrate women of the Adirondacks.
Of the ADK Women we admire, and there are many, Anne LaBastille is near the top of our list. She was many things – an Adirondack-based environmentalist, conservationist and author of the acclaimed book series, “Woodswoman.”
Anne was a trailblazer who inspired women to take charge of their lives and pursue their own paths in an era when women were conditioned to limit their career aspirations to office work or nursing until they found a husband. Then they were expected to dedicate their lives to homemaking. Don’t get us wrong: we support all the women and men who choose to devote their lives to making a home and raising their families. It’s very important and hard work. But, the operative word there is “choose.”
From taking ballet and piano classes in upscale suburban New Jersey to earning a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology in the Ivy League.
Anne LaBastille, first female National Audubon Guide
Born in 1933, Anne's introduction to the natural world and love of the Adirondacks began at an early age. She spent her childhood summers at sleep-away camp as a Camp Fire Girl, exploring the woods and lakes of the Northeast and becoming close to local flora and fauna. In the 1950s, she studied ecology and conservation, earning a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources from Cornell University in 1955 when she also became the first female Audubon Society tour guide, a position in which she refused to conform to gendered dress codes (she said skirts got in the way).
Anne married C.V. “Major” Bowes, the owner of the Covewood Lodge on Big Moose Lake, New York. They spent summers from 1956 to 1964 managing the property. Her husband encouraged her to continue her studies, and she earned an M.S. in Wildlife Management from Colorado State University in 1958.
Building a home in the Adirondack Park.
In 1964, however, Anne LaBastille’s marriage dissolved, and following the divorce, she took the opportunity to move to the woods permanently. She purchased a narrow parcel of land along Twitchell Lake, north of Big Moose Lake and south of Stillwater Reservoir. “I wanted tranquillity and to be close to the wellspring of life,” Anne told The New York Times in 1977.
With the help of friends, Anne built a 12 x 12 log cabin in 1964 that was heated solely by a wood-burning stove. It had no plumbing or electricity. Interestingly, the cabin’s logs did not come from her property. Because the land was only accessible by boat, bringing equipment to log the property was not an option. Anne purchased 45 thick spruce logs from a local sawmill for $600 (about $5,790 in 2023). The mill delivered/dumped the logs into Twitchell Lake at the boat launch. She then hitched the logs to her motorboat and, with a 10-horsepower engine, she slowly towed them to her property.
Two local friends who were carpenters assisted in the cabin’s construction, rigging up a homemade, manually operated hoist to haul the logs out of the water and swing them up to the cabin site.
A Life in solitude juxtaposed with a global pursuit to champion conservation causes.
While living remotely, LaBastille remained very connected to the outside world. She was a contributing writer to several wildlife magazines, including Sierra Club and National Geographic.
“After spending several years married to an Adirondack innkeeper, with the hustle, bustle, and strain of managing summer guests, staff, eight cottages, a dining room, fourteen fireplaces, a dozen hotel rooms, horses, boats, salesmen, chefs, and bakers, I viewed moving into my tiny cabin with mixed fear and anticipation, It would be a tremendous change in lifestyle, albeit a therapeutic one.”
In 1969, she was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Cornell University.
In the 1970s, Anne became a licensed New York State Guide, providing guide services for backpacking and canoe trips into the Adirondacks. She gave wilderness workshops and lectures for over forty years, joined several New York Adirondack Mountains conservation organizations, and was on the Adirondack Park Agency Board of Commissioners for 17 years.
Anne LaBastille also continued to travel around the world and work with many non-profit organizations to study and alleviate the destructive effects of acid rain and pollution on lakes and wildlife. Yet, it was solitude in the Adirondacks she craved.
LaBastille was part of the Documerica Project developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From 1971 to 1977, the EPA hired freelance photographers to photograph areas with environmental problems, EPA activities, and the outdoors. Anne’s photos were mostly taken in upstate New York and show a variety of subjects, including natural beauty and wildlife, environmental problems, urban sprawl, and everyday life in small towns.
She also began capturing her experiences, observations, and meditations on living in the woods. Anne sat at her typewriter in her log cabin on Twitchell Lake (remember, no heat, plumbing, or electricity) and plunked out the first volume of the “Woodswoman” series.
Acclaim for “Woodswoman.”
Anne LaBastille's memoir, published in 1976, sold more than 100,000 copies. Although LaBastille tried to camouflage her location in the book, fans flooded her publisher with letters, and dozens of people managed to find her on Twitchell Lake.
“Sometimes I sit in my log cabin as in a cocoon,” she wrote, “sheltered by swaying spruces from the outside world. From traffic, noise, liquor, triangles, and pollution. Life seems to have no beginning and no ending. Only the steady expansion of trunk and root, the slow pileup of duff and debris, the lap of water before it becomes ice, the patter of raindrops before they turn to snowflakes.
“Then the chirp of a swallow winging over the lake reminds me that there is always a new beginning.”
Credit: Anne LaBastille
A life-long commitment to the Adirondacks and the environment.
In addition to being an author, Anne was also an activist throughout her lifetime. She fought for the Adirondacks and the conservation of its resources, helping to create national parks and preserve wildlife. Her work has led to numerous environmental protection laws, including the Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan Amendment, which she wrote in 1980.
Anne LaBastille passed away in 2011 at age 77 from Alzheimer’s disease. Her legacy continues to live on through her books and Adirondack environmental initiatives, inspiring women everywhere to explore their independence and positively impact the world.
The Adirondacks and Adirondack women owe an outstanding debt of gratitude to Anne LaBastille - she was an inspirational conservationist, author and trailblazer who made a lasting impact on us all. We will forever remember her courage, determination and love for the Adirondacks.
A legacy lives on.
In her will, Anne LaBastille sought to preserve the legacy of her original cabin. In 2015 it was moved log by log to the Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake. Check out the virtual tour of her cabin online. Beyond the preservation of her cabin and in accordance with her wishes, Anne LaBastille’s legacy lives on.
Anne LaBastille Memorial Writers Residency
Anne Bastille’s estate funds the Adirondack Center for Writing’s two-week annual residency for poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers at a lodge on Twitchell Lake.
Six residents are chosen, three from the Adirondack region and three from anywhere worldwide. Quality of written submissions is the primary consideration when accepting applications.
Interested? Check out the webpage for more information.
Anne LaBastille Women’s Writing Weekend at Great Camp Sagamore
Join a group of like-minded women for a reading and writing retreat at an iconic Adirondack Great Camp.
Activities include writing workshops, reflective paddling, arts-based activities, technical writing and experiential learning, and Adirondack-based readings to contemplate the role of sense of place in nature writing.
Visit Sagamore’s website for more information.
Associated Press
