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The Proposed Final Drafts of the Hurricane Mountain and St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area Unit Management Plans (UMPs) were presented by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff to the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board at their monthly meeting on February 14, 2014. Pursuant to the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan (SLMP) requirements for Historic Areas, the Agency will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 to solicit public comments related to the proposed UMPs’ conformity with the provisions of the SLMP.
The Hurricane Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the Summit of Hurricane Mountain in the Town of Keene, Essex County. The St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower Historic Area is located on the summit of St. Regis Mountain in the Town of Santa Clara, Franklin County.
The hearing will begin at 6:00 pm at APA Headquarters located in the NYS Office Building Complex in Ray Brook, NY. The public is invited to attend starting at 5:00 pm to review relevant documents. APA will also accept written comment on SLMP conformance for the proposals contained in the final draft UMPs until March 26, 2014.
Some of the proposed management actions in the draft UMPs include:
Maintain the fire towers in a manner that complies with the State Historic Preservation Act; Make necessary structural improvements to the fire towers to allow for safe public access; Maximize the fire towers’ interpretive and educational potential; Install a radio repeater and solar panels on the Hurricane Mountain fire tower to strengthen emergency communications for NYS Forest Rangers and Environmental Conservation Officers.
UMPs are required by the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan for each unit of State land in the Adirondack Park. The plans integrate the goals and objectives of the State Land Master Plan, related legislation, and resource and visitor use information into a single document.
The UMP is available for viewing or downloading from the Adirondack Park Agency website.
All written comments pertaining to State Land Master Plan compliance should be addressed to:
Kathy Regan
Senior Natural Resource Planner
NYS Adirondack Park Agency
P.O. Box 99
Ray Brook, NY 12977
apa_slmp@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Written comments must be received by March 26, 2014.
The meeting facility is wheelchair accessible. Please provide any requests for specific accommodations to Keith P. McKeever at 518-891-4050.
The mission of the Adirondack Park Agency is to protect the public and private resources of the Adirondack Park through the exercise of the powers and duties of the Agency as provided by law. For more information, call the APA at (518) 891-4050 or visit www.apa.ny.gov.
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‘IF” we are going to keep/maintain the towers let’s ‘add some value’ by leasing ‘air rights’ to mobile/wifi/’white space’ carriers. Figures to to me to be a win-win-win ‘IF” we keep the towers.
Win 1: New or MUCH enhanced mobile/wifi access in ‘dark territory’ [don’t forget/discount the + safety e-services benes here].
Win 2: One time refurb costs and long term maintenance funding can be negotiated in air rights packages, letting
Win 3: tax payers are off the hook.
I ‘get’ the return to wild state argument too, and confess to mixed feelings/emotions. And, if I hadn’t spent the last year + sitting in on monthly ADKaction.org meetings on how to increase bandwidth availability and speeds inside the Blue Line, ironically America’s LEAST (mobile) accessible turf inside ‘America’s MOST Accessible Wilderness’, I might be more inclined to ‘reversion’.
Like I said, mixed emotions. But if we are going to keep them, let’s utilize them too. #justsayin
Good idea but how are you going to get power to the towers for the cell phone antenna? They need to be wired to the grid. Some have BU power but you gotta have power most of the time to the tower.
Getting approval for the power line to the fire tower will be tricky.