“John Davis is a legendary environmental activist and author. I wanted to support his efforts to create a wildlife corridor between Lake Champlain and the Adirondack High Peaks and was honored to create a short book trailer.” — Brett Essler
John Davis, the Adirondacks’ legendary environmental activist and Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute (rewilding.org), has authored a whimsical field guide inviting deeper discovery of the Split Rock Wildway.
About the Book:
Split Rock Wildway: Scouting the Adirondack Park’s Most Diverse Wildlife Corridor is a rambling look at some of the charismatic and enigmatic wildlife thriving in the wooded hills and adjacent waterways linking Lake Champlain with the High Peaks. Author John Davis and artist friends illustrate the ecological importance, conservation value, and natural beauty of the wildway and its many creatures. Residents and visitors alike will grow a little closer to their permanent or occasional wild neighbors, from salamanders to sturgeon to raptors to moose, as they stroll through the pages of Split Rock Wildway.
This user-friendly paperback is intended to help better protect the lands and waters of Split Rock Wildway and the larger Adirondack Park. It is generously sponsored by Eddy Foundation, with a portion of sales benefiting Champlain Area Trails, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and other conservation groups.

About the Author and Legendary Environmental Activist:
John Davis lives with his family in Split Rock Wildway, where he care-takes Hemlock Rock Wildlife Sanctuary when not roaming farther afield. He is Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute and volunteer land steward for Eddy Foundation, which has secured and opened to the public about 3,000 acres in the eastern Adirondacks; a board member of Champlain Area Trails; and a co-founder of Wildlands Network. He is the editor of many conservation publications and author of Big, Wild, and Connected: Scouting an Eastern Wildway from Florida to Quebec—about his 7,600-mile traverse of the proposed Eastern Wildway in 2011. His 5,000-mile traverse of the Rocky Mountains from Sonora, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada, is featured in the film Born to Rewild.
Learn more about John Davis here.
About the Video Producer:
Learn more about the creator of this video, Brett Essler, on his website. View his mention of the trailer and book launch here.
Editor’s Note: John Davis was not the Executive Director of The Rewilding Institute at the time of Split Rock Wildway’s release, but we have updated his biographical information to be current.