The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that effective Friday, March 31, Region 6 will be closing all gates to snowmobile trails and mud gates on seasonal access roads on Forest Preserve, State Forest, and Conservation Easement lands due to spring thaw and muddy conditions. DEC Region 6 is comprised of Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Herkimer, and Oneida counties.
Motor vehicle use during the spring mud season damages roads, resulting in road opening delays. DEC will reopen the roads once they are dry enough to safely handle motor vehicle traffic and necessary maintenance is completed.
Photo at top courtesy of the NYS DEC.
DEC-APA Defy The Courts And Keep Unconstitutional Trails Open
It’s been nearly two years since the New York Court of Appeals, the State’s highest court, ruled that extra-wide Class II Community Connector Snowmobile Trails designed, approved, and constructed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) violate Article 14, Section 1, of the New York State Constitution, the famed the “Forever Wild” clause. The high court’s decision followed a decision in 2019 by the Appellate Division, Third Department, that Class II trails violate Article 14. The Court of Appeals decision came out in May 2021 and we’re now into our second winter where the DEC and APA continue to operate unconstitutional Class II trails as if the courts have not ruled against them.
Protect the Adirondacks is now back in court in an effort to get the state to comply with the appellate court decisions.
» Continue Reading.