The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Board approved amendments to the Black River Wild Forest, the Cranberry Lake Boat Launch and the Lake George Beach and Battlefield Unit Management Plans at its June 2018 Board meeting.

What follows is part of APA’s press release describing the changes.  The Unit Management Plans can be found on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s UMP webpage.

Black River Wild Forest Amendment:

The snowmobile trail system approved in this amendment connects important destinations and communities within and surrounding the Black River Wild Forest. Improvements will minimize environmental impacts, provide community connection alternatives in anticipation of periodic disruptions in corridors where Forest Preserve roads with private rights-of-ways are plowed for winter logging and better accommodate snowmobile traffic that typically occurs in this lake effect snow-belt area.

Other facilities approved include: an additional parking lot at North Lake, an improved parking area at the Stone Dam Trailhead and several new foot trails in support of the proposed North Country National Scenic Trail.

The 127,135-acre Black River Wild Forest is located in the Towns of Ohio and Webb in Herkimer County, the Town of Forestport in Oneida County, the Town of Lyonsdale in Lewis County and the Town of Morehouse in Hamilton County. It offers a broad spectrum of recreational opportunities, from snowmobiling near the adjacent communities of Old Forge and Otter Lake, to hiking on foot trails in remote areas. Most of this area is characterized by gently rolling hills interspersed with lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands.

Cranberry Lake Boat Launch Amendment:

The approved amendment primarily addresses facilities for people with disabilities. New accessible parking including spaces for vehicles with trailers will be built, a recreational access pathway to the water and an accessible hand launch for small water craft will also be constructed. In addition, a floating dock for canoes and kayaks will be added and some existing structures will be modified or relocated to accommodate the improved design of the boat launch facility.

The Cranberry Lake Boat Launch Site is located in the Town of Clifton, St. Lawrence County, NY. It is approximately 70 miles east of Watertown and 30 miles west of Tupper Lake on NYS Route 3. The boat launch is in the Hamlet of Cranberry Lake, about one-quarter mile south of NYS Route 3 on Columbian Road.

Lake George Beach and Battlefield Park Amendment:

The Agency Board approved plans for the Lake George Park Commission to construct a new building to house their administrative offices and serve as a Lake George Visitor Interpretive Center.

The new administrative offices will enhance the ability of the Park Commission to serve the general public and carry out to the fullest extent authorized by the legislature the authority granted to the Commission to preserve, protect and enhance the resources of the Park and the natural and scenic beauty of Lake George and its surrounding environs. This includes: water quality, watershed and scenic protection, lakeshore protection, marine patrol, invasive species prevention/management and stream corridor management.

The new Visitor Center will occupy the entire basement floor of the new building. There will be a walk-out basement style separate entrance facing the Park’s fields and major attractions such as the Father St. Joques monument and the statues across Fort George Road. The Visitor Center will use educational displays, panels and artifacts to highlight the historical importance of the Lake George Battlefield Park grounds and related historic events that occurred in the Lake George region.

The APA signed a Letter of Resolution between the Agency, the New York State Office of Parks, Restoration and Historic Preservation, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Lake George Park Commission that details specific archaeological stipulations that must be addressed during the construction of this facility. The facility would be located on Fort George Road in the Village of Lake George, Warren County.

Photo of Cranberry Lake Wild Forest courtesy DEC.