PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:                              Contact:

Wednesday, April 14, 2010                              Paul Ertelt, (518) 449-3870

                                                                     or Neil Woodworth,

                                                                     (518) 668-4447 Ext. 13

                                                                     or (518) 669-0128

OPRHP Releases Plan for Allegany State Park

 

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) applauded the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) for its detailed and thoughtful draft Master Plan for Allegany State Park.

At nearly 65,000 acres, Allegany is the largest park in the OPRHP system and a popular destination for ADK’s members in the western part of the state. Allegany boasts spectacular scenic beauty, vast stretches of mature forests and a wide variety of flora and fauna. The park attracts about 1.5 million visitors a year.

“After a quick review of this voluminous document, I’ve found much that we can support, including the designation of the entire park as a Natural Heritage Area and a Bird Conservation Area,” said ADK Executive Director Neil Woodworth. “The plan also designates more than 80 percent of the park as Park Preservation areas, which must be managed as ‘forever wild.’ The Park Preservation Area designations provide the best possible protection against private-sector oil and natural gas exploration in Allegany State Park.”

The state does not own subsurface mineral rights to as much as half of the park, so Allegany is vulnerable to claims from energy companies seeking to explore for oil or gas. The proposed Park Preservation areas would include nearly all of the areas of Allegany State Park that are most vulnerable to oil and natural gas exploitation. This designation would make it easier for the state to reject energy exploration proposals on environmental grounds.

Copies of the draft Master Plan and draft Environmental Impact Statement are available at www.nysparks.com/inside-our-agency/public-documents.aspx. ADK will submit detailed comments on the plan after a thorough review and consultation with the local ADK chapters and members who use the park, especially on the proposals for new recreational trails.

The Adirondack Mountain Club, founded in 1922, is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve, state parks and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation. ADK has 28,000 members and 25 chapters, including chapters in the Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Binghamton and Syracuse areas.