ACTION ALERT!

April 10, 2008

DEC Releases Revised Catskill Park State Land Master Plan and
Amendment to Windham High Peak UMP

Have your say on the quality of the Catskill hiking experience for the next 25 years

On April 3, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released the revised draft Catskill Park State Land Master Plan (Plan). Adoption of this plan will result in new and expanded wilderness areas and prohibit mountain bike use on steep and narrow hiking trails such as the Devil’s Path and the Escarpment Trail.

ADK has worked closely with DEC to ensure that the revised Plan provides for greater protection of the Catskill Forest Preserve while also enhancing responsible recreational activities for the public. DEC will be accepting written comments on the draft Plan until May 19, 2008. ADK needs you to write a letter to help ensure that the Plan revisions are approved.  

DEC has also released a Draft Unit Managerment Plan (UMP) amendment for Windham High Peak Wild Forest, which is discussed later in this alert. A public meeting on this issue has been scheduled for April 30, 2008. Read below for more information.

Catskill Park State Land Master Plan

The following is a summary of the highlights of the revised plan:

Expansion and Creation of Wilderness Areas: ADK is proud to report that the revised plan expands one existing Wilderness Area and creates a new Wilderness Area in the Catskill Forest Preserve. ADK worked hard to ensure that these new and expanded Wilderness Areas would be included in the revised plan.

Hunter West Kill Wilderness Area (27,000 acres): The revised plan would expand the West Kill Wilderness Area to include most of the Hunter Mountain Wild Forest.  An exception would be made for the Spruceton Trail (jeep road) to and including the fire tower. This narrow corridor would be designated as part of a Rusk Mountain Wild Forest.

It is vital to secure a “Wilderness” designation for Hunter Mountain since this will make it far easier to thwart attempts to remove Hunter Mountain from the Forest Preserve for private ski center development. ADK successfully defeated such an attempt in 1996.

Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness Area (17,000 acres): This area combines the former Blackhead Range and North Mountain Wild Forests with portions of the Windham High Peak and Black Dome Wild Forests. The western boundary of the unit will be the east side of the Elm Ridge Trail, which is the eastern boundary of the newly created Elm Ridge Wild Forest.

It is very important to emphasize that this western boundary be maintained and the summits of Windham High Peak, Acra Point and Burnt Knob be classified as Wilderness to preclude bicycle use on the narrow and steep Windham High Peak - Escarpment hiking trail.

New Land Classification - Primitive Bicycle Corridor: Under the previous plan mountain bikes were permitted on all trails in all land classifications in the Catskill Forest Preserve. The revised plan prohibits the use of mountain bikes in Wilderness Areas. As a compromise, the revised plan creates a new land classification category that would reclassify four trail corridors through existing or proposed new Wilderness Areas that would allow for mountain bike use but will otherwise be managed according to wilderness guidelines. All corridors are along old roads. ADK does not oppose these primitive corridors as long as no additional corridors are created.

In Wild Forest Areas mountain bikes will be permitted on roads and trails unless such use is deemed unsuitable through the UMP process. This is consistent with the regulations set forth in the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.

Group Size Limitations: The revised plan requires a camping permit for groups of more than 10. In Wilderness Areas, camping permits will not be issued for groups in excess of 12 people. Additionally, the revised plan recommends a day group limit of 12 in Wilderness areas and 20 in Wild Forest areas. This limit is voluntary and not mandatory.

Trailless Peak Register Boxes: Trailless peak register boxes will be permitted in Wilderness and Wild Forest areas as long as they are maintained under an approved Adopt-a-Natural Resource agreement.

As mentioned above, DEC will be accepting written comments on the revised plan until May 19, 2008. Please address your comments to: Peter J. Frank, Bureau Chief, Forest Preserve Management, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4254 or e-mail your comments to lfcat@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Click here to read more about the plan.

 

DEC Holding Public Meeting and Accepting Written Comments
on Windham High Peak Draft UMP

In early April 2008, DEC also released a draft amendment to the Windham High Peak Wild Forest UMP. DEC will be holding a public meeting on the draft UMP amendment on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 from 6:00-8:00pm at the Windham Town Hall in Hensonville, NY. The Town Hall is located on Route 296, approximately 1.4 miles south of the intersection of Route 23 and Route 296 in Windham.

It is critical that ADK members speak out to ensure that mountain bike use will not be permitted on the large section of the Windham High Peak - Escarpment Trail that is to become part of the of the proposed Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness Area.

While Windham High Peak Wild Forest will no longer exist if the revised Catskill Park State Land Master Plan is adopted as proposed, the UMP amendment has been released in order to include additional mountain biking trail loops. Hiking and cross-country skiing in addition to mountain biking would also be permitted on these trails. However, ADK is concerned that there will be pressure on DEC to permit mountain bike use on the section of the Escarpment Trail that should become Wilderness when the revision to the Catskill Park State Land Master Plan is approved.

According to the draft UMP amendment for Windham High Peak Wild Forest the portion of Windham High Peak Wild Forest that will become part of the Windham Blackhead Range Wilderness will not contain any mountain bike routes. The mountain bike trails that are proposed would be located on the newly proposed Elm Ridge Wild Forest. For more detail on the mountain bike routes proposed in the UMP amendment, click here.

DEC will be accepting written comments on the draft amendment to the Windham High Peak Wild Forest UMP until May 19, 2008. Please address your comments to: Frank Parks, Senior Forester, NYSDEC, 65561 SR 10, Suite 1, Stamford, NY 12167 or e-mail your comments to: feparks@gw.dec.state.ny.us.