Please
Note: Comment Period is Over
Adirondack
Park Agency Wants Your Input on How to Classify Newly Acquired
Lands
Letters Needed to Protect the Future of the Boreal Forest and
Northern Flow River Corridors
Deadline for comments is June 24, 2005
The Adirondack
Park Agency (APA) is seeking public input on the classification
or re-classification of over 70,000 acres of state land in the
Adirondack Park. This process will determine how the Department
of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will manage these lands and
what public recreational uses will be allowed on these lands
in the future. This is a very important process that will have
a tremendous impact on the Park’s environment.
The
Classification Process
The State Land
Master Plan (SLMP) requires the APA to classify Forest Preserve
lands by their physical characteristics and their capacity to
withstand use. The DEC is then required to manage these lands
according to their classification. Under the SLMP, there are
seven classifications, with most lands falling into: Wild Forest,
Primitive or Wilderness.
Wild Forest areas
generally contain public roads and allow public motorized access
in designated areas. Wilderness areas are off limits to motorized
traffic of any kind. Primitive areas are “Wilderness-in-waiting”
that often contain some private lands not yet acquired by the
state or other non-Wilderness uses that need to be phased out
before the lands can be classified as Wilderness. Public motorized
access is eliminated, but owners of private in holdings are allowed
to keep and use their current roads and driveways.
The
Current Proposals and the Council’s Position
The APA is proposing
to classify 47,575 acres of state land and reclassify approximately
26,308 acres in several counties in the Park. The Council supports
the majority of the proposals as the classifications identified
reflect the natural resource protection needs of most of these
areas. The Council is concerned, however, about a few of the
proposals that would compromise the Park’s sensitive riparian
ecosystems and the boreal forest habitat. (To see a map of this
area, click
here.)
The Raquette-Boreal
Forest Area Must be Classified Primitve or Wilderness
In the northwest quadrant of the Park is the boreal forest ecosystem
that contains a rare, evergreen forest that is otherwise found
only in Canada and Siberia. It is home to many, rare plant and
animal species that are not found anywhere but in New York and
their survival will depend on how the state manages these lands.
The Council has
recognized the ecological importance of the boreal forestlands
and has been advocating for their protection 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.” In 1993, state officials incorporated
the Boreal Wilderness proposal into the NYS Open Space Conservation
Plan.
This sensitive
area must be protected from motor vehicle use and other inappropriate
recreational uses. The moose, snowshoe hares, Canada lynx, among
others and the unusual plant species including the sundews and
pitcher plants, need a place free from the damage of motorized
traffic in order to survive. The Council believes the APA must
classify all of these boreal forest lands as Wilderness or Primitive.
Northern
Flow River Corridors Must Be Classified Primitive
The Park Agency is proposing to classify 9,000 acres of habitat
along the St. Regis River as Wild Forest. The Adirondack Council
finds the proposed classification to be inappropriate given the
importance and need to protect riparian corridors. Northern Flow
Rivers provide vital habitat and migration corridors for plant
and animal species and the Council believes that “Primitive”
would be a more appropriate classification for these parcels.
Also, the Agency should consider reclassifying the northern section
of the St. Regis River from Recreational to Scenic to maintain
consistent classification of this river.
Similarly, the
Agency should classify the lands along the South Branch of the
Grasse River as Primitive to protect the character and ecological
significance of this river.
The
Future of the Boreal Forest and the Northern Flow River Corridors
Depend on You
Please Send a Letter to the APA
Rare plant and
animal species are counting on you to help protect their boreal
forest home. The deadline for written comments is fast approaching.
Please send your letter to the Adirondack Park Agency today.
In your letter,
• Advocate
that the sensitive riparian lands adjacent to the St. Regis and
Grasse Rivers should be classified as Primitive.
• Urge
the Park Agency to classify or re-classify any lands in the boreal
forest of the Park as either Wilderness or Primitive.
• Tell
the APA that the rare species of plants and animals in the boreal
ecosystem need to be protected and not destroyed by motor vehicles
or other types of
inappropriate recreation.
Written
Comments must be submitted by June 24, 2005
Please
send or fax all written comments to:
Richard E. Weber
NYS Adirondack Park Agency
PO Box 99
Ray Brook, NY 12977
Phone: (518) 891-4050
Fax: (518) 891-3938
Detailed maps,
tables and a narrative describing the proposals, may be obtained
by contacting: Richard Weber, or downloaded from the Agency website
at: http://www.apa.state.ny.us/State_Land/index.html
Also, for more information click here to read the Council’s news release.
Please send your
letter to the Park Agency today. The future of the Adirondack
Park’s boreal forest and northern flow river corridors depend
on it.
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