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For more information:
John F. Sheehan
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518-489-4186 (home)

Released, Tuesday, December 23, 2003

ALBANY, NY -- While the Adirondack Council remains committed to helping the Adirondack Park's winter economy by connecting isolated communities via snowmobile trails, the environmental organization said today that the state's newly released plan is unacceptable.

"This is a park, not a speedway for snowmobiles," said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal. "Protecting the ecology and wild character of the Adirondack Park should be the state's primary goal.

"We want to see a plan that makes it easier for communities to improve their winter tourism economies," said Houseal. "But nobody wins if we damage the environment in the process."

Houseal said the Council was pleased that the state still retained the goal of moving trails away from the interior of the Forest Preserve and out toward the edges, near roadways.

"Our concerns center on excessive earth-moving that borders on road-building, as well as the potential for lax, or non-existent, state supervision of private work crews," said Houseal. "We have seen too often the outrageous damage that occurs when DEC turns over maintenance of trails to private recreation clubs.

"The tree-cutting and bulldozing done on trails in the Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest and on Bear Pond Road should never have been allowed," Houseal said. "But this plan would do nothing to prevent it from happening again. Private work crews should not be allowed to enter the Forest Preserve unless the public is notified first."

Houseal said the plan released today by the Department of Environmental Conservation will be the subject of a series of public meetings by DEC, starting in early 2004. Eventually, the plan will be presented to the Adirondack Park Agency. The APA will determine whether the plan meets the requirements of the Adirondack State Land Master Plan.

"One glaring omission is trail mileage," he said. "DEC has been in charge of the day-to-day management of the Forest Preserve since 1970, but insists that it doesn't really know how many miles of trails have been added to the 850 miles they said we had in 1980. So, there is no way for a member of the public to determine the level of trail expansion DEC is proposing.

"As it is currently written, this plan should not be approved by the APA," Houseal said.

Among the Council's other objections were proposals to:

• Widen some trails along the interior of the Forest Preserve to 12 feet. That is four feet wider than is legally allowed.
• Use motor vehicles and hand tools to smooth and straighten trails. The Adirondack State Land Master Plan requires snowmobile trails to retain the character of a foot trail.
• Remove all obstructions six inches tall or larger from all snowmobile trails.

Missing from the plan:

• Any attempt to set a speed limit for the 12-foot-wide community connector trails, or the others, proposed in the plan.
• Detailed maps of existing trails - a request made by all parties before the planning process began, more than three years ago. The rudimentary maps provided in the appendix are of poor quality and are not useful in determining exact trail locations.
• Any assessment of the noise and air pollution impacts of increased snowmobile trails and use in the Park.
• Reactions from local communities that might be called upon to host the new, wider community connector trails.
• Input from the Adirondack Park Agency, which has final authority over comprehensive land-use planning in the Park.

"We will have a lot to talk about when this plan comes up for review by the Adirondack Park Agency," said Houseal. "Once the public comment period is ended for DEC's work, APA will get a chance to review the plan and determine what parts are consistent with state law.

"We already have nine million annual visitors in the Adirondacks. We don't want to chase away those who seek nature and solitude. Snowmobilers will have to find ways to expand their sport without trampling the rights of others and without harming the environment."

The Adirondack Council's mission is to ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. Founded in 1975, the Adirondack Council is an 18,000-member, privately funded, not-for-profit organization with offices in Elizabethtown and Albany.