Action
Alert
DEC Poised to Allow Motorized
Vehicles in Sensitive Boreal Habitat
Letters Needed to Protect this Fragile Area
Comment Period Ends - Friday, October 20th
The New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is accepting comments on
its Draft Unit Management Plan (UMP) for the Raquette Boreal
area in the northwestern portion of the Adirondack Park. Unfortunately,
this Draft UMP disregards the need to protect the sensitive Boreal
habitat and promotes the use of motorized vehicles in this area
of the Park. We need your help to convince DEC that this is unacceptable.
Time is of the essence; the public comment period ends Friday,
October 20.
The Draft UMP Violates the Spirit and Intent of the Law
This draft UMP considers a proposal
to build a bridge across the Raquette River to allow motorized
access to lands east of the Carry Falls Reservoir – an area
of intact Boreal habitat. Dubbed the “Bridge to Nowhere”
because it would not link to any existing roads or trails, it
would open the Raquette Boreal Forest to motorized vehicle use,
including snowmobiles, and encourage illegal ATV use.
The Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (SLMP), which has
the power and force of law, states that public use of motor vehicles
will not be encouraged in Wild Forest areas and no new roads
will be constructed in these areas unless essential to the protection
or administration of an area. Increasing motorized vehicle use
in the Raquette Boreal area is unwarranted and illegal and will
ultimately destroy a very unique and sensitive ecosystem.
The Boreal Forest Needs More Protection
The subarctic of evergreen Boreal Forest found in the northwestern
sector of the Adirondack Park is a healthy remnant of the Canadian
and Siberian taiga. It is home to many rare and
| sensitive
plant and animal species including the Spruce Grouse, Common
Loon, and several dragonflies which are on the state’s list
of Species of Special Concern. This outstanding ecosystem is
the most fragile but least protected area of the Park. The Council
has recognized the ecological importance of the boreal forestlands
and has been advocating for their preservation for years. In
1988, we identified the need for the creation of a Boreal Wilderness
Area in the second volume of our 2020 Vision series “Completing
the Wilderness System.” |
Spruce Grouse |
This fragile area needs
more protection, not to be opened up to potential damage from
motorized vehicles.
We Cannot Allow the
Boreal Forest to be Destroyed
DEC needs to hear from you!
Please write or e-mail a letter
to DEC and tell them in your own words that:
- They cannot allow the “Bridge
to Nowhere” to be built. It would increase motorized vehicle
use and cause irreversible damage to very sensitive Boreal habitat.
- Increasing motorized uses
in this area violates the State Land Master Plan and should not
be allowed.
- They have a duty to protect
the ecosystems of the Adirondack Park, yet they haveabandoned
this charge with proposals in the Raqueete Boreal UMP. They must
amend the UMP to be much more protective of the Boreal Forest.
Please Send or Email
Your Letter to:
Keith Rivers
New York State DEC
7327 State Route 812
Lowville, NY 13367
e-mail: r6ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Comments Are Due Friday, October
20, 2006
The draft UMP is available on DEC’s website at
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dlf/publands/ump/reg6/raquette/rbdraftw.pdf
Thank you for helping to protect
the Raquette Boreal area.
Please send or email us a copy
of your correspondence, if possible. (Address below.)
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