[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ew York State’s highest court will hear arguments in Albany this Thursday in a trespassing lawsuit filed against Explorer Editor Phil Brown after he canoed through private land near the William C. Whitney Wilderness.
Several organizations have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case, which could have statewide ramifications.
![By Detroit Publishing Company [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://flylifemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Screen-Shot-2016-03-22-at-2.51.40-PM.png)
By Detroit Publishing Company [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Adirondack Mountain Club and Environmental Advocates are siding with Brown in arguing for paddler’s rights. The Adirondack Landowners Association, New York Farm Bureau, Empire State Forest Products Association, and Property Rights Foundation of America are siding with the landowners.
The disputed waterway, about two miles long, connects two pieces of the state-owned Whitney Wilderness. Brown paddled it in May 2009 as part of a longer trip from Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila. He was sued the following year by the Friends of Thayer Lake, the main landowner, and Brandreth Park Association, which holds the recreational rights to the privately owned tract.
